Our Lady of Guadalupe

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most treasured among Mexicans and Catholics alike. It all started in 1531 when an Aztec Indian named Juan Diego was walking through the Tepeyac hill country in central Mexico. Near Tepayac Hill he encountered a beautiful woman surrounded by a ball of light as bright as the sun. Speaking in his native tongue, the beautiful lady identified herself and asked him to inform the bishop to buid a church in that place. Juan, age 57, went to the palace of the Bishop-elect Fray Juan de Zumarraga and requested to meet immediately with the bishop. On hearing his story, the  bishop asked him to ask the Lady to provide a sign as a proof of who she was. Juan dutifully returned to the hill and told Mary of the bishop's request. Mary responded: "My little son, am I not your Mother? Do not fear. The Bishop shall have his sign. Come back to this place tomorrow." Unfortunately, Juan was not able to return to the hill the next day. His uncle had become mortally ill and Juan stayed with him to care for him. After two days, with his uncle near death, Juan left his side to find a priest. Juan had to pass Tepeyac Hill to get to the priest. As he was passing, he found Mary waiting for him. She spoke: "Do not be distressed, my littlest son. Your uncle will not die at this time. Go to the top of the hill and cut the flowers that are growing there. Bring them then to me." While it was freezing on the hillside, and no flowers could ever bloom, Juan obeyed Mary's instructions and went to the top of the hill where he found a full bloom of Castilian roses. 

The original tilma on display in Guadalupe, Mexico

Removing his tilma, a poncho-like cape made of cactus fiber, he cut the roses and carried them back to Mary. She rearranged the roses and told him: "My little son, this is the sign I am sending to the Bishop. Tell him that with this sign I request his greatest efforts to complete the church I desire in this place. Show these flowers to no one else but the Bishop." He told the bishop his story and opened the tilma letting the flowers fall out. But it wasn't the beautiful roses that caused the bishop and his advisors to fall to their knees; for there, on the tilma, was a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary precisely as Juan had described her. The next day, after showing the Tilma at the Cathedral, Juan took the bishop to the spot where he first met Mary. He then returned to his village where he met his uncle who was completely cured. A great basilica was built on the spot where Mary appeared, and a newer basilica was built in its place recently. Juan Diego was canonized by Pope John Paul II, and for all Mexicans today is a holy day. Our Lady of Guadalupe is also the patron for pro-Life.