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Guadalupe
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Guadalupe

Mary appears to Juan Diego · Mexico City, Mexico

In December 1531, ten years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico, the indigenous farmer Juan Diego saw a young woman on the hill of Tepeyac who spoke to him in his own language, Nahuatl. She asked for a church to be built there. When the bishop wanted a sign, Juan Diego brought roses in his cloak, and when he opened it, an image of Mary was on the cloth. Today that cloak, the tilma, hangs in the modern basilica, where moving walkways carry visitors past it.

Did you know?

The cloak hangs in the basilica and is seen by millions each year, making this one of the most visited Catholic shrines in the world.

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An inspiring story

'Am I not here, I who am your mother?'

Have you ever taken a detour to avoid someone?

In December 1531 Juan Diego, a poor Indigenous farmer, had already seen a lady appear on the hill of Tepeyac. But now his uncle was dying and he was in a hurry to fetch a priest. Embarrassed that he had not kept his appointment with her, he took a different path around the hill, hoping to avoid her. She came down to meet him anyway. Why? Because she was not angry. 'Do not be afraid. Am I not here, I who am your mother?' His uncle, she told him, was already healed.

You cannot take a path so far around that God's love cannot meet you there.

Am I not here, I who am your mother?Nican Mopohua (16th century)

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