Our Lady of Guadalupe

The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe begins in December 1531, when the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an indigenous convert to Christianity, on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City.

In her apparitions Mary asked that a chapel be built in her honor. The bishop requested a sign; Juan Diego gathered roses out of season in winter and, opening his tilma (ayate) before the prelate, the Virgin's image was imprinted on the maguey cloth.

The image, about 1.43 meters tall, shows the Virgin with a starry mantle and rose garments, gazing tenderly. Scientific studies have not fully explained the ayate's preservation over nearly five centuries.

Devotion spread quickly among indigenous peoples and colonizers, becoming a symbol of evangelization and cultural unity in the Americas. The Tepeyac shrine receives millions of pilgrims yearly.

In 1737, during an epidemic, Our Lady of Guadalupe was proclaimed patroness of Mexico City. Pius XII declared her Empress of the Americas in 1945.

Her liturgical feast is December 12, commemorating the final apparition to Juan Diego. She is patroness of Mexico and one of the widest Marian devotions in the Hispanic world.