Our Lady of Guadalupe

On the morning of December 12 in 1531, a poor Aztec Indian man woke up and made his way through the hills to Mass in Mexico City, as he did every morning. Juan Diego was 57 years old, a humble and devout Catholic in a still largely pagan country. As he walked the familiar path, he suddenly heard beautiful music and a woman's voice calling him.

Turning from the path, Juan climbed Tepeyac (ta-PAY-yek) Hill and found a beautiful young Indian woman waiting for him at the top. Addressing him in his native language, she told him that she was the Virgin Mary and that she wanted a church to be built on that very spot. “This church,” she told him, “will aid the conversion of the Mexican people and be a source of consolation for many."

Leaving the Lady, Juan Diego hurried to obey her request. He was finally allowed to see the bishop who, predictably, did not believe Juan. He returned to the hill and told the Lady what had happened. She reassured him, and told him to return to the bishop, who then asked for a sign from the Lady to prove that she was, indeed, the Blessed Virgin.

The requested sign was provided in the form of beautiful, fragrant roses appearing on the hillside. After Juan gathered them, Our Lady herself arranged them in his tilma, or cloak.

In the presence of the bishop for a third time, Juan opened his tilma, and the roses tumbled out. Awestruck, the bishop fell to his knees because, in addition to the roses, on the inside of Juan's tilma was a miraculous image of our Lady.

Soon, a church was built on the site of the appearance of the Virgin Mary, and in less than 20 years, some 9 million people were converted to Christianity.

Saint Juan Diego's tilma with its miraculous image hangs to this day in the splendid Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most visited Marian shrine in the world, with an estimated ten million pilgrims visiting each year. Although more than 500 years have passed, the coarse cactus fiber shows no sign of disintegration.

In 1945, because of her special role in the evangelization of the Americas, Pope Pius XII declared her the Empress of all the Americas. She is celebrated and honored every year on December 12th, the anniversary of her first appearance to Saint Juan Diego, for her message of hope and compassion, and her promise of protection.