Our Lady of Guadalupe

Biography

Our Lady of Guadalupe refers to the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an indigenous Aztec convert, on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City in December 1531 — just ten years after the Spanish conquest. Mary appeared as a young mestiza woman (of mixed indigenous and European appearance), dressed in a star-covered mantle, standing on a crescent moon, speaking in Juan Diego's native Nahuatl language. She identified herself as the Mother of God and asked that a church be built on the site so she could show her love and compassion to all the peoples of the land. When the bishop demanded a sign, Mary instructed Juan Diego to gather roses from the hilltop — which bloomed miraculously in the winter frost — and carry them in his tilma (a rough cactus-fiber cloak). When he opened the tilma before the bishop, the roses tumbled out, revealing the now-famous miraculous image of Our Lady imprinted on the fabric. This image, which has never been satisfactorily explained by science (the tilma should have disintegrated within decades but has lasted nearly 500 years), remains preserved in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe — the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world, with over 10 million pilgrims visiting each year on her feast day alone. The apparition led to the conversion of an estimated 9 million indigenous people to Christianity within seven years.

Patronages

Symbols