Does anyone know why so many people visit the Basilica of Guadalupe every year? It has to do with the Virgensita. The Virgensita is more than just a place of worship. It is a symbol of faith hope and Mexican identity.
Our Lady of Guadalupe also known as the Virgensita is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is associated with apparitions to Juan Diego in December 1531. The Virgensita also appeared to his uncle Juan Bernardino. This happened when Mexico was part of the Spanish Empire.
The story says that the Virgin Mary appeared four times to Juan Diego a Chichimec peasant. She also appeared once to his uncle Juan Bernardino. The first time she appeared was on December 9 1531. Juan Diego saw a young woman at Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City.
Speaking in Nahuatl the woman identified herself as Mary. She said she was the mother of the very true deity. She asked for a church to be built there in her honor. Juan Diego told Archbishop Juan de Zumárraga. The Archbishop asked for proof.
Later the Virgin appeared again and asked Juan Diego to keep insisting. The Archbishop then told Juan Diego to ask the woman for a miraculous sign. The Virgin agreed to provide a sign the next day.
However Juan Diego’s uncle became ill. On December 12 Juan Diego went to find a priest for his uncle. The Virgin intercepted him. She asked where he was going. Juan Diego explained what had happened. The Virgin asked Am I not here I who am your mother? She told him that his uncle had recovered. She asked him to gather flowers from the top of Tepeyac Hill.
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. When he opened his cloak before the Archbishop the flowers fell away. An image of the Virgin was revealed on the fabric.
The next day Juan Diego found his uncle fully recovered. Juan Bernardino said that the Virgin had also appeared to him. She told him to tell the Archbishop about the cure. She said she wanted to be known as Guadalupe.
The Archbishop kept Juan Diego’s cloak. It was displayed in the church and attracted attention. On December 26 1531 a procession moved the image back to Tepeyac Hill. It was installed in a small chapel. During this procession a native was wounded in the neck by an arrow. The natives carried him before the image and pleaded for his life. The arrow was removed and the victim recovered.
The shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spain was important in the medieval Kingdom of Castile. The name Guadalupe comes from Arabic and Latin. It means river of the wolf or river with black stones. The shrine houses a statue said to have been carved by Luke the Evangelist.
In the 14th century the Virgin appeared to a cowboy named Gil Cordero. She told him to ask priests to dig at the site. The priests rediscovered the statue and built a shrine around it.
The Marian cult came to the Americas after the Conquest in 1519-1521. Franciscan friars used syncretism with existing beliefs for evangelization. The Codex Escalada from 1548 mentions the apparition of the Virgin. It also mentions Juan Diego.
The Nican Mopohua is a 16-page manuscript from 1556. It tells the story of the apparitions and the supernatural origin of the image of the Virgensita. It was written in Nahuatl.
The Virgin of Guadalupe has been proclaimed Queen of Mexico. She has also been named Patroness of the Americas. She is the Empress of Latin America and Protectress of Unborn Children.
In 1921 a bomb damaged the altar of the Basilica. The tilma was unharmed. A bent crucifix is now in the shrine’s museum.
Juan Diego was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1990. He was declared protector of the indigenous peoples. His feast day is December 9.
The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is of a young woman with dark hair and olive skin. She has her head inclined and her hands clasped in prayer. She wears a pink dress a blue-green mantle and stands on a crescent moon. The image is in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of Mexico. Miguel Sánchez said that the New World was won by the Virgin Mary. Her image is a unifying national symbol. Father Miguel Hidalgo and Emiliano Zapata led forces with Guadalupan flags.
The shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage destination in the world. Millions of pilgrims visit the Basilica every year. The Virgin of Guadalupe is the Patroness of Mexico and the Americas. She is venerated by Native Americans.
So next time you see the Virgensita remember its rich history and deep cultural meaning. It is a story of faith hope and the birth of a nation.