Our Lady of Guadalupe

What happened at Tepeyac

In December 1531, an indigenous man named Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was walking on Tepeyac Hill, near present-day Mexico City, when a Lady appeared to him and spoke to him in Nahuatl, his own language. She asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a house built there.

The bishop asked for a sign. The Lady sent Juan Diego to gather roses at the top of the hill, in the middle of December and on dry ground. When Juan Diego opened his tilma before the bishop to show him the flowers, the image now venerated in the Basilica of Guadalupe had appeared on the cloth.

Why it means so much

The Virgin appeared not to a bishop or a nobleman, but to a poor indigenous man, and she spoke to him in his own language. She showed herself with the brown face of the people of that land. For a community that has left its country and works far from home, that is the part that needs no explaining: God draws near first to those who count for least in the eyes of the world.

Her words to Juan Diego are still prayed today: Am I not here, I who am your mother?

Her feast, December 12th

December 12th is this Mission's patronal feast and the most important day of our year. In many places the mananitas are sung before dawn, there is dancing, and Mass is celebrated.

This year's celebration times are announced in the calendar and in the announcements. If you would like to take part with your group, with dance or with music, please call the Mission.

Saint Juan Diego

Juan Diego was canonised by Pope John Paul II on July 31, 2002. His feast is celebrated on December 9th, three days before that of the Virgin.