Transcript Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe
Fig. 1: Our Lady of
Guadalupe
The Legend
In December 1531, Juan
Diego, a Christianized
Aztec, reported to
Bishop Zumárragga
that he was visited
three times by a woman
who identified herself
as the ever virgin Holy
Mary, Mother of the
True God.
Fig. 2: Francisco Carden,
Juan Diego
The woman had told Juan, whose Aztec name
meant “talking eagle,” that she was to be
called Guadalupe, and that she was the
mother of the people of this new land. She
would protect them, she assured Juan, and
keep them in her shadow.
Unlike the pale Virgin of the Spaniards, this
Virgin had dark brown skin; skin as brown as
that of the people she vowed to protect.
The Bishop did not believe
Juan and demanded a
sign as proof.
The woman in the visions
instructed Juan to take
the roses he would find
on top of a mountain to
the Bishop as a sign that
she was the mother of
God.
Fig. 3: Guadalupe and Juan
When Juan opened his
tilma to show the
flowers to the Bishop,
an image of Guadalupe
was revealed.
Fig. 4: Juan Diego and tilma
Fig. 5: The Bishop and Juan Diego
When the Bishop saw the image on the tilma, he fell to
his knees in awe and worship. He would later order
that a temple to Guadalupe, per her request, be built
on Mt. Tepeyac, the site of the visitation.
Fig. 6: Maximo Cerezo, Pilgrims in Mexico City
Nine million people would convert to Catholicism within
seven years of the visions, as they came to claim
Guadalupe as their mother and protector.
This is compared to the four million who had converted in
the previous twelve years.
It is easy to see why the Mexican Episcopate
stated that "The Guadalupe Event meant the
beginning of evangelization with a vitality that
surpassed all expectations.
Christ's message, through his Mother, took up
the central elements of the indigenous
culture, purified them and gave them the
definitive sense of salvation.
Consequently Guadalupe and Juan Diego have
a deep ecclesial and missionary meaning and
are a model of perfectly inculturated
evangelization”(Solidarity Institute).
Sons of Guadalupe, Revolution, and
Battling Virgins
Around 1648, Mesitzos and Criollos, those of mixed
Spanish and Indigenous blood, who were treated as
unequal and severely discriminated against by the
Spanish government which controlled Mexico,
began to call themselves los hijos de la Virgen de
Guadalupe (sons of the Virgin of Guadalupe). They
began to demand independence from Spain and to
call for revolution.
In 1810, Miguel Hidalgo
y Costilla, a Criollo
Catholic priest, would
start the first Mexican
Revolution with the cry
"Long live Our Lady of
Guadalupe and death
to the gachupines!” (a
term used to refer to
the Spaniards)
Fig. 7: Father Hidalgo
He would led the
people into battle under
the banner of
Guadalupe.
Fig. 8: Banner of Guadalupe
Fig. 9: La Virgen de Remedios
The Federal Army would fight under the
banner of another version of Mary,
La Virgen de Remedios.
At one point in
the conflict, the
Federal troops
even accused
Guadalupe of
being a traitor
and “executed”
her in effigy in
front of a firing
squad.
Fig. 10: Firing Squad
Once the wars were over and independence
was achieved, the first president of Mexico,
Manuel Felix Fernández, was installed in
April of 1824. After taking office, he officially
changed his name to Guadalupe Victoria
(Guadalupe is victorious).
Guadalupe’s Legacy
In 1754, Pope Benedict XIV declared that
Guadalupe was indeed a unique blessing
from God to the Mexican people, and that
“God has not done in like manner to every
nation” (Poole 2).
In 1945, Pope Pius XII officially declared Our
Lady of Guadalupe to be the Patroness of the
Americas and mandated that all Catholic
Churches in the Americas, from Canada to
South America, honor and observe her feast
day, December 12th.
Fig. 11: Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Today, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in
Mexico City is the second most visited holy site
in the world with around 15 million visitors a
year. It is second only to the Vatican.
Fig. 12 The altar area of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Each year, on her feast day, between two and
three million pilgrims gather to offer prayers and
to worship in front of what the Church claims is
Juan Diego’s actual tilma which hangs behind the
pulpit.
Fig. 14: Aztec Dancers at the Canonization
Ceremony II
Fig. 13: Aztec Dancers at the
Canonization Ceremony
On July 31st, 2002, Pope John Paul II canonized Juan Diego in
a ceremony that blended aspects of Catholicism and
elements of the Indigenous religion.
In his speech that day, Pope John Paul II
called on “Juan Diego, "the talking eagle"! To
“Show us the way that leads to the "Dark
Virgin" of Tepeyac…[for] she is the loving,
compassionate Mother who guides us to the
true God.” (Pope John Paul II, Solidarity Institute)
Works cited
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Poole, Stafford, C.M., Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Origins and Sources of
a Mexican National Symbol, 1531-1797, (Tucson: University of Arizona
Press, 1996).
Pope John Paul, “Homily for St. Juan Diego,” as quoted in Solidarity
Institute, July 1, 2002 <http://www.solidarityinstitute.org/
faith/newsdet.asp?idnews=185>.
Solidarity Institute, July 1, 2002 <http://www.solidarityinstitute.org/
faith/newsdet.asp?idnews=185>.
Image Credits
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Fig. 1: Our Lady of Guadalupe. 1 October 2003. <http://www.sancta.org/cgi/
display.nor?image=imagen_pic_300w.jpg>.
Fig. 2: Carden, Francisco. Juan Diego. 1777. 5 October 2003.
<http://www.proyectoguadalupe.com/iconos2.html>.
Fig. 3: Guadalupe and Juan. <http://www.shjolg.com/>.
Fig. 4: Juan Diego and tilma. 5 October 2003. <http://www.sancta.org/
cgi/display.nor?image=juandiego.jpg>.
Fig. 5: The Bishop and Juan Diego. <http://www.shjolg.com/>.
Fig. 6: Cerezo, Maximo. Pilgrims in Mexico City. <http://www.stpaulchgo.org/
diarydec/english/00000003.htm>.
Fig. 7: Father Hidalgo: 5 October 2003. <http://www.tareasya.com/
laminarios/Hidalgo-a.gif>.
Fig. 8: Banner of Guadalupe: 5 October 2003. <http://www.proyectoguadalupe.com/
iconos2.html>.
Fig. 9: La Virgen de Remedios: 1 October 2003. <http://
www.cobosdesegovia.com>.
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Fig. 10: Firing Squad. British Military History. 5 October 2003. <http://www.rfc-rnasraf-register.org.uk/BritishMilitaryUniformIdentificationService.htm>.
Figure 11: Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 5 October 2003. <http://
www.sancta.org/ basilica.html>.
Fig. 12: The altar area of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe showing the Mexican
flag hung beneath the framed image of Guadalupe. 2 Februrary
2002. <http://www.sancta.org>.
Fig. 13: Aztec Dancers at Canonization Ceremony. 3 August 2002.
<http://www.sancta.org>.
Fig. 14: Aztec Dancers at Canonization Ceremony II. 3 August 2002.
<http://www.sancta.org>.