Am I not here I who am your mother? The Virgin of Guadalupe asked Juan Diego. These words are inscribed above the main entrance to the Basilica of Guadalupe.
The Virgin of Guadalupe is also known as Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Virgin of Guadalupe is associated with Marian apparitions to Juan Diego. The apparitions also included Juan’s uncle Juan Bernardino. These apparitions reportedly occurred in December 1531. This was when the Mexican territories were part of the Spanish Empire.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a significant figure. The shrine is in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. This basilica enshrines a venerated image on a cloak. The cloak is a tilmahtli.
Let’s look back to December 9 1531. This is when Juan Diego experienced his first vision. He saw a young woman at Tepeyac Hill. Tepeyac Hill is now part of Villa de Guadalupe. It is a suburb of Mexico City. The woman spoke to Juan Diego in Nahuatl. Nahuatl was his first language. It was also the language of the former Aztec Empire. She identified herself as Mary. She said she was the mother of the very true deity. She asked for a church to be erected there in her honor.
Juan Diego then sought the Archbishop of Mexico City. His name was Juan de Zumárraga. Juan Diego told him what had happened. The Archbishop did not believe Diego. Later that day Juan Diego saw the young woman again. This was the second apparition. She asked him to continue insisting.
The next day was Sunday December 10 1531. Juan Diego spoke to the Archbishop again. The Archbishop instructed him to return to Tepeyac. He was to ask the woman for a miraculous sign. This was to prove her identity. Later that day the third apparition appeared. Juan Diego reported the Archbishop’s request for a sign. She consented to provide it the next day.
Monday December 11 arrived. Juan Diego’s uncle fell ill. Juan Diego was obliged to attend to him. In the early hours of Tuesday December 12 Juan Diego journeyed to find a priest. He sought a Catholic priest in Tlatelolco. He wanted the priest to hear Juan Bernardino’s confession. He also wanted help to minister to him on his deathbed.
Juan Diego chose another route around Tepeyac Hill. He did not want to be delayed by the Virgin. He was also ashamed at having failed to meet her on Monday. Yet the Virgin intercepted him. This was the fourth apparition. She asked where he was going. Juan Diego explained what had happened. The Virgin gently chided him. She famously asked Am I not here I who am your mother? She assured him that Juan Bernardino had now recovered. She told him to gather flowers from the summit of Tepeyac Hill. This hill was normally barren. It was especially barren in the cold of December. Juan Diego obeyed. He found Castilian roses blooming there. These roses were not native to Mexico.
The Virgin arranged the flowers in Juan Diego’s cloak. The cloak was his tilmáti. Later that day Juan Diego opened his cloak before Archbishop Zumárraga. The flowers fell. An image of the Virgin appeared on the fabric.
The next day was December 13. Juan Diego found his uncle fully recovered. This was as the Virgin had assured him. Juan Bernardino said he had also seen her. This was the fifth apparition. She instructed him to inform the Archbishop. She said she desired to be known as Guadalupe.
The Archbishop kept Juan Diego’s mantle. First it was in his private chapel. Then it was in the church on public display. It attracted great attention. On December 26 1531 a procession formed. It transferred the miraculous image back to Tepeyac Hill. It was installed in a small chapel. During this procession the first miracle occurred. A native was mortally wounded in the neck by an arrow. The arrow was shot by accident. This happened during stylized martial displays. These were performed in honor of the Virgin. The natives carried him before the Virgin’s image. They pleaded for his life. The victim fully and immediately recovered when the arrow was withdrawn.
Pope Leo XIII granted a decree of canonical coronation. This was for the image on February 8 1887. The rite of coronation was executed on October 12 1895. Pope Paul VI raised the shrine to Minor Basilica status on October 6 1976. Today the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the world’s most-visited Catholic shrine. It is also the world’s third most-visited sacred site.
Remember the Virgin’s words: Am I not here I who am your mother? May these words resonate with you. May you find solace and inspiration in this sacred place.