Tuesday, December 8, 2026 is the feast of the Immaculate Conception. In Guatemala City the Templo de San Francisco takes out its Inmaculada Concepción, the Virgen de los Reyes, whose rezado the Ministry of Culture calls one of the oldest and most deep-rooted religious festivities in the country. In 2026 it goes out at 12:00 and is scheduled to spend eleven hours on the streets of zona 1 and zona 2. The next day, Wednesday, December 9, the Catedral Metropolitana’s own Inmaculada goes out at 13:00. Cucurucho en Guatemala reproduced both official route posters on September 11, 2026. 67 days away as of today.
Quick summary: San Francisco: Tuesday, December 8, 2026, out at 12:00, back at 23:00, from the Templo Histórico de San Francisco, 6a avenida and 13 calle, zona 1 (official poster of the Cofradía de la Inmaculada Concepción and the Franciscan friars). Catedral Metropolitana: Wednesday, December 9, 2026, out at 13:00 (no other times published). Not a national holiday (Labor Code Art. 127), only a local one where the Inmaculada is the patron feast. The night before is the Quema del Diablo. Traffic plans for 2026 had not been announced when we checked on September 30, 2026.
2026 at a glance
| San Francisco procession | Tuesday, December 8, 2026: out 12:00, back 23:00 |
| Where it starts | Templo Histórico de San Francisco, 6a avenida and 13 calle, zona 1, Guatemala City |
| The image | The Inmaculada Concepción known as the Virgen de los Reyes |
| Catedral procession | Wednesday, December 9, 2026: out 13:00 from the Catedral Metropolitana |
| Public holiday? | No, not nationally (Labor Code Art. 127); only where it is the local patron feast |
| Heritage status | The San Francisco rezado is Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation (Acuerdo Ministerial 1161-2012) |
| 2026 traffic plan | Not announced as of September 30, 2026 |
The San Francisco procession: the 2026 route times
The route poster for 2026, headed Martes 8 de Diciembre 2026 and signed by the Cofradía de la Inmaculada Concepción and the Orden de Frailes Menores Conventuales, was reproduced by the procession site Cucurucho en Guatemala in a post dated September 11, 2026. Its reference points:
| Time (2026) | Reference point |
|---|---|
| 12:00 | Leaves the Templo Histórico de San Francisco (6a avenida and 13 calle, zona 1) |
| 13:30 | Catedral Metropolitana |
| 14:40 | La Merced |
| 16:05 | 11a avenida and 4a calle, zona 2 |
| 17:30 | Parque Isabel la Católica |
| 19:05 | Santa Teresa |
| 19:55 | Santa Rosa |
| 20:55 | Santo Domingo |
| 21:50 | Arco de Correos |
| 23:00 | Returns to the church |
The poster draws the outbound route in purple and the return in orange; the full map is on the poster as Cucurucho en Guatemala reproduces it.
Reference times, not a timetable. Cucurucho en Guatemala points out that the times are reference points of the official itinerary and can vary as the procession moves. 2025 is the example: La Hora reported that the procession began around 13:00, as planned, but that the anda broke as it came out onto 6a avenida, and moving the image and its decoration to a smaller anda caused a delay of about two hours, according to the rezado’s coordinators. The reports do not agree on the start: Emisoras Unidas, writing the same afternoon, put the departure shortly after 14:00.
Earlier than last year. In 2023 República reported a 13:00 departure and a return after midnight, and in 2025 the planned start was 13:00 (La Hora). The 2026 poster moves the start to 12:00 and the return to 23:00.
The Catedral’s Inmaculada: Wednesday, December 9
The Catedral Metropolitana has its own image of the Inmaculada Concepción, and in 2026 its procession goes out the day after the feast. The 2026 poster, signed C.I. Inmaculada Concepción Catedral Metropolitana, reads Miércoles, 09 de diciembre de 2026 and Salida: 13:00 hrs.
That departure is the only time on the poster: it prints no intermediate reference times and no return time. It marks the outbound route in yellow and the return in red; Cucurucho en Guatemala reads the outbound leg as heading toward the Cerrito del Carmen area and the return as passing El Sauce on its way back to the historic centre.
Other places to see the Inmaculada on December 8
- Zona 10, colonias Concepción and Alcázar. In 2025 the chapel on Bulevar Los Próceres held a dawn Rezo de Albas at 05:00 from November 30 to December 8, a serenade from 19:00 on December 7, and its rezado at 16:00 on December 8, returning at midnight (programme reproduced by Cucurucho en Guatemala, December 4, 2025). The 2026 programme had not been published when we checked on September 30, 2026.
- Antigua Guatemala. In 2025 the Catedral of Antigua (Parroquia San José) held its Inmaculada rezado before the feast: it went out on Sunday, November 30 at 14:00 and returned at 21:30, after a convite and the enthronement of the image on November 29, with a novena from December 1 to 8 (programme reproduced by Cucurucho en Guatemala, November 27, 2025). The 2026 programme had not been published when we checked on September 30, 2026. Antigua’s own December 7 is the Quema del Diablo in Barrio La Concepción.
- Ciudad Vieja, Sacatepéquez. This town in the southwest of Sacatepéquez department (Guatemala.com) celebrates its patron feria for the Virgen de Concepción on December 8. Guatemala.com lists a procession moving the image of the Virgin, the dances La Conquista, Moros, Catalina and Los Enmascarados, and the baile de la legión de los 24 diablos, named Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation in 2005. Among the Concepción ferias, it is the one a town hall spent most on in 2024: Ojoconmipisto, reading Guatecompras purchases up to December 9, 2024, counted Q712,712 for Ciudad Vieja’s feria, the highest of the municipalities in its review.
- The rest of the country. Ojoconmipisto counted at least 20 municipalities in 15 departments celebrating their patron feast for the Inmaculada Concepción in December (2024). Which towns hold their feria on December 8 is in our December feria calendar.
Is December 8 a holiday?
Not nationally. Article 127 of Guatemala’s Labor Code lists the paid holidays: January 1, Holy Thursday to Saturday, May 1, June 30, September 15, October 20, November 1, the afternoons of December 24 and 31, and December 25. December 8 is not on it. The same article adds the day of the local festivity, so December 8 is a holiday where the Inmaculada Concepción is the patron feast; Prensa Libre puts it the same way. In 2026 the feast falls on a Tuesday. The full list, with what closes, is on our Guatemala holidays page.
Why the Virgen de los Reyes matters
- Patroness of the city since 1617. The image was sworn in as Patrona Tutelar of the city of Santiago de Guatemala on September 22, 1617, according to research by city chronicler Miguel Álvarez Arévalo cited by AGN. The Ministry of Culture adds that in 1654 an oath to defend the patroness was taken in the small square of the Templo de San Francisco. The procession was carried first through Santiago de los Caballeros (today’s Antigua) and, after the capital moved, through the Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción.
- National heritage. The Ministry of Culture declared the Rezado de la Inmaculada Concepción of San Francisco Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Nation in Acuerdo Ministerial 1161-2012, dated December 5, 2012 according to La Hora.
- The dogma. The Catholic Church proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, under Pope Pius IX (Prensa Libre), although the Franciscan order had brought the devotion to Guatemala in the 16th century (AGN).
- The bonfire the night before. Guatemala.com recounts that at 6:00 PM every December 7, lanterns were hung and a bonfire was lit, and people gathered around it to sing alabados to the Virgin before the next day’s procession. Our Quema del Diablo guide has the historians’ account of how those fires became the burning of the devil.
Getting there and the streets
The procession runs through the historic centre and zona 2 on a Tuesday that is not a national holiday. AGN’s advice in 2024 was to watch for possible road restrictions near the route and use alternative routes. The 2026 closures had not been announced when we checked on September 30, 2026. The Templo de San Francisco stands on 13 calle on the Paseo de la Sexta Avenida (República, 2023).
For the diaspora
- Watching from the US: Guatemala does not use daylight saving time and the US is on standard time in December, so the 12:00 departure is 12:00 PM Central, 1:00 PM Eastern and 10:00 AM Pacific.
- The rest of the month (Virgen de Guadalupe, posadas, Nochebuena) is on our Christmas in Guatemala guide.
Sources
- Cofradía de la Inmaculada Concepción and Orden de Frailes Menores Conventuales, route poster Recorrido, Martes 8 de Diciembre 2026, as reproduced by Cucurucho en Guatemala, September 11, 2026.
- C.I. Inmaculada Concepción Catedral Metropolitana, route poster Cortejo procesional, miércoles 09 de diciembre de 2026, as reproduced by Cucurucho en Guatemala, September 11, 2026.
- La Hora, Anda de la “Virgen de los Reyes” se quiebra y provoca retraso en su cortejo procesional, December 8, 2025.
- Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, Devotos celebraron el tradicional Rezado de la Inmaculada Concepción el 8 de diciembre, December 9, 2025.
- AGN (Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias), December 8, 2023 and December 8, 2024.
- Emisoras Unidas, December 8, 2025.
- Cucurucho en Guatemala, zona 10 programme (December 4, 2025) and Antigua programme (November 27, 2025).
- Guatemala.com, on the San Francisco devotion (2022) and on Ciudad Vieja’s patron feast (2016).
- Ojoconmipisto, Al menos 20 alcaldías gastaron Q3 millones en ferias dedicadas a la virgen de Concepción, December 13, 2024.
- Prensa Libre, Inmaculada Concepción de María: historia, celebración y otras curiosidades, December 6, 2024; República, December 4, 2023.
- Código de Trabajo, Article 127.
Related
- Quema del Diablo — December 7, the night before
- Virgen de Guadalupe — December 12, the Santuario’s procession in zona 1
- Las Posadas — December 16-24
- Christmas in Guatemala — the December calendar
- December ferias — the towns whose feria falls on December 8
- Guatemala events calendar
- Guatemala holidays
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Immaculate Conception procession in Guatemala City in 2026?
Tuesday, December 8, 2026. The official route poster of the Cofradía de la Inmaculada Concepción and the Orden de Frailes Menores Conventuales gives the departure from the Templo Histórico de San Francisco (6a avenida and 13 calle, zona 1) at 12:00 and the return at 23:00. The poster was reproduced by Cucurucho en Guatemala in a post dated September 11, 2026.
What time does the San Francisco procession pass the Catedral and other points?
The 2026 poster lists: Catedral Metropolitana 13:30, La Merced 14:40, 11a avenida and 4a calle in zona 2 16:05, Parque Isabel la Católica 17:30, Santa Teresa 19:05, Santa Rosa 19:55, Santo Domingo 20:55, Arco de Correos 21:50, and the return to the church at 23:00. These are reference times; in 2025 a broken anda (the platform that carries the image) held the procession up for about two hours, according to the rezado’s coordinators quoted by La Hora.
Is there a second Inmaculada procession in Guatemala City?
Yes. The Catedral Metropolitana’s Inmaculada Concepción goes out on Wednesday, December 9, 2026 at 13:00, according to the official poster signed C.I. Inmaculada Concepción Catedral Metropolitana. That poster gives no intermediate times and no return time.
Is December 8 a public holiday in Guatemala?
Not nationally. December 8 is not in the list of paid holidays in Article 127 of the Labor Code. The same article adds the day of the local festivity, and Prensa Libre notes that December 8 is considered a holiday in the municipalities whose patron feast is the Inmaculada Concepción.
Is there an Immaculate Conception procession in Antigua Guatemala?
In 2025 the Catedral of Antigua (Parroquia San José) held its rezado of the Inmaculada Concepción on Sunday, November 30, leaving at 14:00 and returning at 21:30, followed by a novena from December 1 to 8, according to the programme reproduced by Cucurucho en Guatemala. The 2026 programme had not been published when we checked on September 30, 2026. Also in Sacatepéquez, Ciudad Vieja holds its patron feria for the Virgen de Concepción on December 8.
Why is December 8 called the Día Clásico in Guatemala?
The 2026 San Francisco poster itself carries the line Día Clásico de Guatemala. Guatemala.com says that early 20th-century chroniclers stressed the rezado’s huge crowds and devotion, and that the elements of this tradition turned December 8 into the Día Clásico.
