The story of Our Lady of
Guadalupe
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| Pope Francis prays beforeOur Lady of Guadalupe. (Vatican Media) |
December 12th is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We
take a look at the story behind the indigenous peasant who came across the
Patron of the Americas, and how he fought for her message to be heard.
By Francesca Merlo
The Virgin of Guadalupe, like the shroud of Turin, appears
on a piece of fabric. Both are sacred objects, hundreds of years old, and both
depict an image said to be miraculous. The Virgin of Guadalupe was declared
Queen of Mexico and is Patron of the Americas.
First apparition
Our Lady of Guadalupe first introduced herself as the Mother
of God and the mother of all humanity when she appeared on the hill of Tepeyac
in Mexico in 1531. An indigenous peasant, Juan Diego, saw a glowing figure on
the hill. After she had identified herself to him, Our Lady asked that Juan
build her a shrine in that same spot, in order for her to show and share her
love and compassion with all those who believe.
Afterwards, Juan Diego visited Juan de Zumárraga, who was
Archbishop of what is now Mexico City. Zumárraga dismissed him in disbelief and
asked that the future Saint provide proof of his story and proof of the Lady’s
identity.
Juan Diego returned to the hill and encountered Our Lady
again. The Virgin told him to climb to the top of the hill and pick some
flowers to present to the Archbishop.
Winter bloom
Although it was winter and nothing should have been in
bloom, Juan Diego found an abundance of flowers of a type he had never seen
before. The Virgin bundled the flowers into Juan's cloak, known as a tilma.
When Juan Diego presented the tilma of exotic flowers to Zumárraga, the flowers
fell out and he recognised them as Castilian roses, which are not found in
Mexico.
What was even more significant, however, was that the tilma
had been miraculously imprinted with a colorful image of the Virgin herself.
Tilma
This actual tilma, preserved since that date and showing the
familiar image of the Virgin Mary with her head bowed and hands together in
prayer, represents the Virgin of Guadalupe. It remains perhaps the most sacred
object in all of Mexico.
The story is best known from a manuscript written in the
Aztec’s native language Nahuatl by the scholar Antonio Valeriano. It was
written sometime after 1556.
Over 20 million people visit the Basilica of Our Lady of
Guadalupe each year, now situated on the very same hill on which she appeared.
In 1990, Pope Saint John Paul II visited Mexico and
beatified Juan Diego. 10 years later, in the year 2000, he was declared a
Saint.
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