Apparition to Juan Diego
On December 9, 1531, in Mexico, shaken by violence and continuous human rights and dignity violations, especially against indigenous people who suffered serious discrimination, the Virgin Mary appeared to a young Aztec Christian convert named Juan Diego. She appeared in the form of a young indigenous woman speaking Nahuatl, his first language and the language of the former Aztec Empire, at Tepeyac, a hill near Mexico City that had also been a place for worshiping Aztec earth goddesses. Mary presented herself as the “Mother of the true God” and had asked for a church to be erected at that site in her honor.
Juan Diego visited the Archbishop of Mexico City, Juan de Zumárraga, to recount his encounters with a young woman at Tepeyac. Initially skeptical, the Archbishop sent Juan Diego away. The next day, December 10, 1531, Juan Diego returned, and the Archbishop asked for a miraculous sign to validate the apparition.
On December 11, Juan Diego could not meet the Virgin because his uncle, Juan Bernardino, had fallen ill. On December 12, seeking a priest in Tlatelolco for his uncle’s last rites, he was intercepted by the Virgin. She assured him of his uncle’s recovery and instructed him to gather roses from the usually barren Tepeyac Hill. Juan Diego found Castilian roses there, which the Virgin arranged in his tilmàtli (cloak). When he later presented these to the Archbishop, the roses fell, revealing the Virgin’s image on the cloak.
The following day, Juan Bernardino was indeed healed and had seen the Virgin, who asked to be known as “Guadalupe.” The Archbishop displayed Juan Diego’s cloak, first in his chapel, then publicly, attracting much attention. On December 26, 1531, a procession moved the image back to Tepeyac, where during the event, a native was miraculously healed after being shot with an arrow, marking the first reported miracle associated with the image.
Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe
Following these miraculous events, the veneration of Our Lady of Guadalupe spread rapidly:
The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe has become a central icon in the Catholic faith, particularly in Mexico and among Mexican communities worldwide. She is venerated as the Empress of the Americas, Patroness of Latin America, and Queen of Mexico. Additionally, she is considered the protector of the unborn due to her depiction as pregnant in the image on Juan Diego’s cloak.
