Our Lady of Guadalupe

On a Saturday, December 9, in the year 1531, at sunrise, the pious Diego was traveling to Mexico City to fulfill his devotion. He had reached the foot of the hill that rose between the city and his home, when he heard a melodious concert that he first took for the singing of birds. The concert continued and piqued his curiosity. He turned aside and perceived a light cloud, resplendent with clarity, and bordered by a rainbow where the most vivid colors were painted. Filled with joy, he stopped, he contemplated this spectacle avidly. The harmony ceased, and he heard himself called by his name. He distinguished a voice that came from the heart of the cloud. He climbed the hill, and saw a majestic throne upon which was seated a Virgin of incomparable Vierge d'une incomparable beauté Marian apparition in Mexico in 1531. beauty. Her face was as brilliant as the sun: from her garments sprang rays of light so vivid and in such great abundance that the surrounding rocks seemed transformed into precious stones. Diego was at first plunged into a kind of stupor. But She whose presence delighted all his senses drew him from it by saying to him: 'Where are you going?' — 'I am going,' he replied, 'to hear Mass in honor of the Virgin.' — 'Your devotion is pleasing to me,' resumed the unknown one; 'your humility pleases me. I am that Virgin, Mother of God. I want a temple to be built for me here, where I will spread my kindnesses, and where I will show myself to be the Mother, to you, to your fellow citizens, and to those who will invoke my name with confidence. Go on my behalf to find the bishop, and instruct him of my desire.'

The Blessed Virgin had inspired in the Indian an assurance that placed him above fear. He ran to the prelate and gave him an account of what had happened to him. The prelate, Jua n de Zumárraga, a Jean de Zumarraga First bishop of Mexico and witness to the miracle of the image. F ranciscan religious, religieux franciscain Religious order welcomed by Engelbert in Cologne. endowed with great virtues and, among others, a rare prudence, listened to his account with attention. The ingenuousness of Diego, the tone of conviction and truth that animated him, gave a sort of guarantee to his words; but it was not enough to fix his judgment. Before undertaking anything, he demanded surer testimonies of the will of heaven. Confused, Diego withdrew in silence; he satisfied his devotion in Mexico City, and, to return to his home, he took the path to the hill again. Mary appeared to him once more: she had at heart to grant the requested sign: "Go to the heights," she said to Diego, "and gather a bouquet of flowers there that you will carry to the Bishop of Mexico."

The order given by Mary was of a nature to astonish any reasoning mind: it was not the season for flowers. Moreover, the place was covered with thorns and brush. But Diego had a simple and upright soul, and persuasion flowed from the lips of the Immaculate Virgin. Diego knew only how to obey her voice; he climbed the hill and found there an enchanted flowerbed. There, the freshest and most radiant flowers astonished his gaze: he chose as he pleased from the multitude and came to present to Mary what he had gathered. Mary made a bouquet of them and charged her pious servant to carry it to the bishop. Diego, proud of this precious deposit, set out on the road to Mexico. The message entrusted to him absorbed all his thoughts and poured an ineffable contentment into his soul.

However, the flowers he held hidden under his mantl e sprea manteau Garment upon which the image of the Virgin was imprinted. d the sweetest perfume far and wide. This perfume betrayed him. Upon his arrival, the prelate's servants, attracted by the scent of the flowers, stopped him and opened the mantle slightly. The sight of these flowers filled them with astonishment. One of them tried to reach out to them, and he noticed that they were painted flowers. The bishop was informed of everything. The villager appeared before him and opened the mantle he had closed again. Then, to the great surprise of all those present and of Diego himself, the image of Mary was seen imprinted on this mantle. No sooner had the prelate and the members of his household cast their eyes upon this image than they fell to their knees and remained for some time silent and motionless, unable to do anything but admire the superhuman beauty of Her whose features they were contemplating. Then the prelate rose, detached the mantle from the shoulders of the pious Mexican, and exposed it in his chapel, while waiting for a sanctuary to be built to house it. The whole city flocked to the bishop's residence to honor the miraculous image.

However, the prelate, followed by a great concourse of people, went the following day, December 13, to the hill. He questioned Diego in detail; he wanted to know at what place the Virgin had appeared to him. Diego did not believe he could determine it with exact precision. A new prodigy came to relieve him of his embarrassment. A spring suddenly gushed forth and designated the place of the apparition. Since then, it has not ceased to flow. Its waters have performed several healings.

The influx of people continuing and even increasing every day, the bishop transported the holy image to the cathedral, while waiting for the sanctuary intended for it to be completed. They hastened to build it at the designated place. The edifice constructed, the image was transported there; and multiplied miracles prove more and more the truth of the facts upon which the cult rendered to Mary in this image was founded.

But eventually this new sanctuary could no longer contain the crowd that gathered around the Mother of God, and around the year 1695, it was decided to build another. The Archbishop of Mexico, Francisco de Agu François de Aguiar e Seixas Archbishop of Mexico who laid the first stone of the new sanctuary. iar y Seixas, laid the first stone. This is the superb church that we admire today. On May 1, 1709, the holy image was transferred there and placed on a silver throne. As donations multiplied day by day, rich altars of fine marble were built; the treasury was enriched with precious vessels. A Viceroy of Mexico, Don Antonio María de Bucareli, surround D. Antonio-Maria Buccarelli Viceroy of Mexico and benefactor of the sanctuary. ed the image with a solid gold cornice and enriched the altar with twelve gold candlesticks. In 1749, a Chapter was founded to serve this sanctuary. Mexico solemnly consecrated itself to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and a holy day of obligation was established for December 12, under the rite of the first class, with a privileged octave.

Dictionary of Religious Pilgrimages, published by Abbé Migne.