Blessed Juan Diego
Juan Diego's story is best documented by Don Antonio Valeriano, who is credited with writing the 16th century document called the Nican Mopohua.

Graphic courtesy of La Prensa San Diego

Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Christianity, is said to have passed his story to Don Antonio just before his death in 1548. It tells of the Virgin Mary appearing to him seven times. When Mary first appeared on the hill of Tepeyac, she transformed the environment making everything seem as if it were made of jewels. Her request was for Juan Diego to go to the Bishop and ask that a temple be built for her.

Don Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the bishop at the time, met the request with suspicion and dismissed the whole affair. This sent Juan Diego back to Guadalupe asking that a more worthy person finish the task. Guadalupe assured him and sent him to finish the task. This time, the Bishop asks for evidence of the encounter. The third apparition of Guadalupe promised Juan Diego that a sign will come. When Juan Diego is on his way to meet the Virgin once more, he skipped the appointment to attend to the health of his sick uncle. He then tried to avoid meeting Guadalupe on the road, but she appeared to him several times and provided the miracle.

La Virgen de Guadalupe

When the Lady appeared to Juan Diego on the road, she assured him that his uncle was healed. She then sent him to the hill where they first met - a hill full of cactus, thorns, dry sand and rocks. There, Juan Diego saw a plethora of fragrant and blooming flowers where none should be able to grow. He gathered these into his tilma (hooded cloak) and brought them to the Virgin and then the Bishop. When he lay his cloak out for the Bishop to see the flowers, the Bishop also saw the image of Guadalupe imprinted on the cape, where it can still be seen today.

The result of the apparition and the persistence of Juan Diego is the basilica that now stands on Tepeyac hill. The immediate effect was the increased conversions of the Aztecs and other natives. These freshly conquered, weary and oppressed people saw a temple and the brown face of the Queen of Heaven on the very hill where their own temple to the Aztec goddess Tonantzín stood before the Spanish destroyed it. Mary is venerated as one who opens the minds and hearts of the skeptical and one who soothes, heals and intercedes of behalf of the Americas every day. She is the woman who is said to have given birth to the man who was one with God. Even if you believe her son was simply a radical rabbi, the qualities of the mothers of great people are certainly honorable. They raise and nourish their family only to watch the world take the child as their own.

The Feast - an American Holiday

Today the evangelical, unifying and nourishing effect that Guadalupe had on the Americas is honored every year. Beside her is the humble and persistent servant, Juan Diego, who cherished his family and his faith. Today the drama of their interaction is being played out again as devout Catholic priests try to keep Juan Diego from being canonized as a saint. They want evidence that he even existed. Some go further and fear that the apparition actually appeared, but that it is the Aztec Queen of Heaven instead of their own. These priests are the modern versions of Fray Zumárraga who doubted the message of Juan Diego 500 years ago.

Many people in the church cherish the idea that Guadalupe and Tonantzín may be one. The idea that Guadalupe was always in the Americas, or that she and Mary share a seat now is wonderful to them. In a seemingly contradictory ritual, many celebrations include traditional Aztec dancing mingled with traditional Christian hymns. La Virgen has taken many forms and many names in many nations. In Cuba, she is La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. In Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, she is La Virgen de Luján. She has other names, sometimes appearing with dark skin and sometimes with light skin. She is always celebrated as an intercessor on behalf of man and a mother to us all.

In 1999, Pope John Paul II made a decree that all who venerate Mary in the Americas should do so on December 12th, so that every nation will be unified in their celebration. In the United States, the date is primarily celebrated by Catholic Hispanics and Catholic Native Americans. For many, it is a way to reconnect with their patria by repeating a celebration held in their homelands. If there's not a celebration of Guadalupe near you this year, expect it to spread as it has been for hundreds of years.

Read: The Story of Juan Diego