The Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the 16th century, December 9, 1531, when a poor man named Juan Diego who lived in a small village near Mexico City was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honor of Our Lady.
He walked by a hill called Tepeyac when he heard beautiful music, and saw a radiant cloud appear before him. Standing before him was an Indian maiden dressed like an Aztec princess, and who spoke to him in his own language. She asked him to go to the bishop of Mexico, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga, and request him to build a chapel in the place where the lady appeared.
When Juan Diego did as the lady asked, the bishop told Juan he would do this only if the lady would give him a sign. About this same time Juan’s uncle became seriously ill, which led poor Juan to try to avoid the lady. Nevertheless the lady found Juan Diego and assured him that his uncle would recover.
The lady instructed Juan Diego to climb to the top of Tepeyac Hill where he would find flowers to pick. He was instructed to place these flowers in his tilma, and keep them hidden until he saw the bishop. Juan Diego gathered the beautiful and unique dark pink roses into his cloak, and headed back to see the bishop of Mexico.
On December 12, when Juan Diego opened his tilma in the bishop’s presence, Castilian roses fell to the ground, and the bishop sank to his knees. This sign was very personal to the bishop, with roses from his own hometown of Castile, Spain, it proved that his request would be answered.
On the tilma, where the roses had been, appeared an image of Our Blessed Mother’s image, exactly as she had appeared at the hill of Tepeyac, clothed in the sun with the moon at her feet.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patron Saint of:
The Americas
Mexico
