The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The story behind this celebration

+ On December 9, 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Juan Deigo Cuauhtlatoatzin on a hill near Mexico City.

+ In the apparitions—the last of which took place on December 12—Mary appearance was like that of the Aztec peoples. Mary also spoke Juan Diego’s native language, sending him to the bishop of Mexico City, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga.

+ After hearing Juan Diego’s request that the bishop build a chapel in Mary’s honor on Tepeyac Hill, the bishop asked for a sign.

+ In the final apparition, Mary provided roses for Juan Diego’s to present to the bishop as a sign of her presence. Arranging the roses in Juan Diego’s cactus-fiber cloak (or tilma), the poor man took the roses to the bishop but when he opened his cloak to show the roses to the bishop, his cloak was miraculously imprinted with the image of the woman.

+ Devotion to Mary under the title “Our Lady of Guadalupe” spread quickly and was finally approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1895. Today, Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated as the “Queen of Mexico” and “Empress of the Americas,” and is also honored as the patroness of the unborn.

For prayer and reflection

“She wanted to be a mestiza (mixed race) for us, she chose to appear as a mestiza. And not only to Don Juan Dieguito but also to the people. She chose to appear as a mestiza in order to be the Mother of all. She made herself mixed for all of humanity. Why? Because she made a mestizo of God. And this is the great mystery: Mother Mary made a mestizo of God, true God and true man, in her Son.”—Pope Francis

Vocations

For men:

The Capuchin Franciscan Friars of the Custody of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Texas-Mexico: www.capuchinos.org

The Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe: www.swfranciscans.org

The Trappist Monks of Our Lady of Guadalupe Abbey (Carlton, OR): www.trappistabbbey.org

For women:

The Carmelite Nuns of the Monastery of the Infant Jesus of Prague and Our Lady of Guadalupe (San Antonio, TX): www.carmelsanantonio.org

The Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Ada, MI): www.carmelitenuns.org

The Poor Clare Nuns of the Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Roswell, NM): www.poorclares-roswell.org

For men and women:

The Olivetan Benedictine Abbey of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Pecos, NM): http://www.pecosmonastery.org/

Prayer

O God, Father of mercies,
who placed your people under the singular protection
of your Son's most holy Mother,
grant that all who invoke the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe,
may seek with ever more lively faith
the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and of peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.