Virgin of Guadalupe

Judy. I can’t imagine anyone, at least in the Western Hemisphere, who doesn’t know of the Virgin of Guadalupe.  Those of us who are Protestant may not know the story, but we all know that Latinos, especially Mexicans, revere her. Some years ago we visited St. Stanislaus, the Catholic Church in Chicago where Ted’s dad attended, only to find that it is now Our Lady of Guadalupe.

It’s only in the past few years I’ve learned the beautiful story behind the love and reverence shown her. In 1531, only a few years after the Spanish arrived in the New World and enslaved the native peoples, an Indigenous man named Juan Diego was on his way to visit his sick uncle. As he walked past Tepeyac Mountain, the site of an Aztec goddess, a Lady appeared to him. Juan Diego, who had become a Christian, smelled roses, heard music, and recognized sacred symbols in the clothes she wore. She addressed him as her beloved son, and told him to tell the Spanish Bishop to build a shrine to her.

Needless to say, he wasn’t even allowed to SEE the Bishop, much less ask him to build a shrine to the Lady. Three times she told him to go back to the Bishop and ask, and on the third time, after he had been refused twice, she told him to go to the mountain and gather the roses to take to the Bishop.

A statue of Juan Diego giving roses to the Bishop

But it was December! There were no roses blooming in December! Nevertheless, he went, found the roses, and filled his tilma, or cloak, with them. When he spilled them out before the Bishop, all could see the image of the Lady imprinted on his tilma. The shrine was built, and since then has been a pilgrim site for the faithful.

A painting of Juan Diego

The loveliest part is that the Lady was Mestiza, both Native and Spanish, the Mother of all.

It is impossible to explain the significance Our Lady of Guadalupe has to the Latin peoples. The Basilica is the most visited Catholic pilgrim site in the world, and the third most visited sacred site. We had no idea the site was actually located in Mexico City. We took a cab there, where the Basilica itself seats thousands, and the massive plaza holds even more pilgrims. 

The plaza and Basilica

At one point, over a million of them came at one time for Mass. There are many churches on the site, a garden with a sculpture of the Lady, and a tiny chapel marking the spot where she appeared.

In the gardens she welcomes all

The spot where the Virgin appeared

In a hallway off the Sanctuary, Juan Diego’s tilma is on display, the image still vivid. Worshippers line the church with roses, and pilgrims crawl into Mass in search of favors.

Juan Diego's tilma

 

Pilgrims

A sign over the main door reads in Spanish, “Am I not here who am your Mother?”

It is a sweet place to visit, and I’m so glad we found it.