Our Lady of Guadalupe

The first “Virgin of Guadalupe”

 

The story first begins with St. Luke, author of the gospel of Luke, and one of the first disciples of Jesus. Tradition states that he crafted a statue of Our Lady, whom he knew intimately, and which was a true likeness, being that he helped take care of the virgin after the death of John the Baptist, and was closely associated with her since the death of Jesus. After St. Luke’s death, it was in Rome until St. Gregory I gave the statue to St. Leander of Seville, probably in the later half of the 500’s, AD. It remained in Seville until the attack of the moors in 712, when a group of priests took the statue and buried it in the mountains near Seville. In the beginning of the 1300’s AD, a young cowboy named Gil Cordero was searching for a missing animal in the same mountains when the Virgin Mary appeared to him, and asked him to recruit some priests to dig in the ground at the site of the apparition. He went and recruited some priests, who dug and discovered the statue. After that, a monastery was founded on the site, where the statue can still be seen. It is now covered with a very beautiful set of clothes. A river runs near the site, whose name has both Arabic and Latin origins, Guadal coming from the Arabic “wadi” meaning “river,” and Lupe from Latin “lupus” meaning wolf. 

 

The Conquest of Mexico

 

Hernan Cortez arrived in Mexico in 1519, and over the course of the next two years embarked in a military campaign that resulted in the defeat and conquest of the Aztec empire. Cortez was aided by rival tribes that disliked the brutal Aztec thirst for human sacrifice, and also by the effect of diseases on the local indigenous population. The local tribes were glad to have the rule of the Aztecs ended, but in spite of the arrival of missionaries and because of the mistreatment of them by early Spanish rulers of the colony, not many of them converted to Christianity. In Spain, the Catholic Spanish monarchs recognized that there was a problem with the conversion of the indigenous peoples, so they decided to send the best priests they could to try to help with the endeavour. The foremost among them was the Fray Juan de Zumarraga, who was a man with a great reputation of sanctity, and who was designated to be the first Bishop of Mexico, and therefore, of the Americas. He was given the title as “Protector of the Indians,” and he took it as his special mission to try to bring as many indigenous people into the Roman Catholic faith as possible. In prayer, he asked God that if it were His Will to grant his petition that the indigenous people were to be converted, that God would bring him some Castilian roses as a sign. De Zumarraga was ordained a bishop, and underwent a long and difficult journey to Mexico city, where many of his companion priests died on the way as a result of the difficult conditions. He arrived in August of 1530. He built the first Hospital, University, and Library in the Americas, and is also credited with bringing the pipe organ to Mexico. 

 

The Account of St. Juan Diego 

 

(Based on the original “Nican Mopohua,” with my corrections to the original Spanish translation from Nahuatl.)

 

Also known by his Aztec name Cuauhtlatoatzin, Juan Diego was a peasant of the Chichimec indigenous tribe in Mexico. He and his wife Maria Lucia were one of the first indigenous Mexicans to be baptized after the arrival of the first 12 Franciscan missionaries to Mexico in 1524, though apparently his wife died about 2 years before the start of the story. 

 

In December of 1531, Juan Diego was on his way from his home to mass, needing to pass by the hill of Tepeyac on his way. This hill was previously the location of a temple dedicated to an Aztec mother goddess “Tonantzin” that required human sacrifice as part of her worship, but had been destroyed by the Spanish (that goddess is called Pachamama in areas of South America). 

 

On a Saturday morning, as he was walking by the hill on the way to mass, he heard the singing of many rare birds. He stopped to listen to the birds, and a voice called out his name. He climbed the hill towards where he heard his name being called. The Virgin Mary, dressed as an Aztec woman, appeared to him there and asked him where he was going. He told her he was going to mass, and she said to him:

“Know certainly, my dear young son, that I am the Holy and Perfect Ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the Great One God of truth who gives us life, the progenitor and creator of people, the owner and Lord of all around us, all that touches us, and is close to us, the owner and Lord of the sky, the owner of the Earth. I strongly desire they build my little Sacred house here,

 

In which I will show Him, glorify Him, and make Him manifest, give Him to the people in my personal love, in my compassionate gaze, in my help, and in my salvation, because I am truly your compassionate mother, yours and all the people who live in this land, and of all the other people of different ancestry, those who love me, cry to me, seek me, and trust me. 

 

Because there I will listen to their weeping and their sadness, and will remedy, cleanse and nurse all of their different afflictions, miseries and suffering. 

 

So to accomplish what I am trying to do with my compassionate and merciful presence, go to the Bishop of Mexico’s house, and tell him how I am sending you, so that you may reveal to him that I strongly desire him to build me a house here, to erect my temple on the plain. You will tell him everything, all that you have seen and marvelled at, and what you have heard. 

 

Know certainly that I will greatly appreciate it and reward it, and because of it I will enrich and glorify you, and that because you did this, you will deserve a reward for your fatigue and service in going to accomplish what I charge you to do. 

 

Now my dearest son, that you have heard what I have said, regarding this matter, go and do what you are responsible for.”

 

Juan Diego bid The Virgin farewell, then went straight to Mexico City and to the palace of the Bishop de Zumarraga. He tried to talk to the bishop, but was greatly delayed by his servants. finally, de Zumarraga admitted him to see him. After hearing his story, de Zumarraga said: 

 

“My son, please return again. I will listen to you patiently then, and carefully review everything from the beginning, and I will meditate on why you have come, as well as what you desire be done.”

 

On his way back, Juan Diego returned to the hill where he had met The Virgin Mary, and saw her again. He told her that he didn’t think that the Bishop believed him, and asked her to send someone who had a higher rank than he did and was better known than he was to take the matter to the Bishop. Then the Virgin Mary answered him:

“Listen my dear young son, know truly that I have many servants to whom I could entrust this matter. However, it is very necessary that you personally go and plead, that my desire and my will become a reality, and be carried out through you.

 

And I beg and order you, my dear young son, to go again tomorrow to see the Bishop, and in my name have him understand and listen to my desire and will, so that he will accomplish it, and build my house of God that I am asking him for. Please carefully tell him again, how I, personally, The Holy Ever Virgin Mary and Mother of God, am sending you.”

 

Juan Diego agreed to do what she asked the next evening, and bid her farewell. The next day was a Sunday, so he went to mass, and afterwards went to the Bishop’s residence again. Again he had a very long wait, and then saw him again. Juan Diego fell at his feet, and related the whole story again. The Bishop went through every detail very thoroughly, and questioned Juan Diego at length, however he told him that he needed a sign to be able to believe that it was indeed the Queen of Heaven who had sent him. Juan Diego asked the Bishop to think of a sign, then he promised he would go to ask her for the sign to be delivered, then the Bishop dismissed him. As Juan Diego left, the Bishop also ordered some of his household staff to follow him and make note of everywhere he went, everyone he saw, and to whom he talked. They followed him, however they lost him as he crossed a wooden bridge. They searched for him diligently, but weren’t able to find him. They felt ashamed that they had failed, so they returned to the Bishop and told him that Juan Diego was a liar, and planned to beat him if he returned again. 

 

When Juan Diego returned to the The Holy Virgin Mary, he told her the response from the bishop, to which she responded:

“That’s fine, my dear son. Tomorrow come back here, and you will be able to take the Bishop the sign he asked you for. With this he will believe you, and will no longer doubt any of this, and will no longer be suspicious of you. Know also, my dear son, that I will reward your care and the effort you have put into this for me. So go now, I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.”

 

However, when Juan Diego returned home that night, he found that his uncle, named Juan Bernardino, was very ill. So the next day, Monday, Juan Diego did not return to take the sign as he was charged to do. Instead he went to get a native healer for his uncle. The healer treated him, but was not able to cure him. So when night came, his uncle begged him to go to Tlatelolco shortly after midnight, to find a priest that could give him the last rites, since he could no longer get up, and felt so ill he thought he might die. So that Tuesday in the early hours, Juan Diego left his house and went to Tlatelolco to find a priest. However, his habitual road to Tlatelolco passed by the hill where he had seen The Virgin Mary. However, he was afraid that if he passed by the hill, that The Virgin Mary would detain him, so he took another road so he could avoid the hill and do what he needed to do for his uncle before going back to see her. However, as he passed along this road on the other side of the hill, he saw The Virgin Mary coming down the hill, and she stopped in front of the road where he was going, blocking his way. She then said to him:

 

“What is happening, my dear young son, where are you going and what are you planning to do?”

 

Juan Diego was a bit ashamed, so he started by asking The Virgin how she was doing, then told her all about his uncle who was ill, and that he was planning to find a priest for him, but that however he was planning to return as soon as that matter was settled and do what she asked of him. Then She responded:

 

“Listen and meditate on this, my dear young son. This matter that frightens and afflicts you is nothing. Do not let it disturb you, and do not fear this illness, any other illness, nor any sharp or hurtful thing. 

 

Am I not here, who am your mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not inside my mantle, and in my arms? Do you need anything else?

 

Do not let anything else worry or disturb you. Do not mourn your uncle’s illness, because he will not die of it now. Be certain that he is already well.”

 

At that moment his uncle, back in his home, was healed. Juan Diego was greatly relieved by what she said, and asked her if he could take the sign that she requested that very moment. The Queen of Heaven then responded to him:

 

“Go up to the top of the hill, my dearest son, where you saw me and I spoke to you previously, There you will see different kinds of flowers. Cut them, pick them up and arrange them, then bring them back here to me.”

 

Juan Diego did as The Virgin Mary asked him, and when he arrived at the top of the hill, he found many different flowers in bloom, which greatly surprised him, as at that time of year there was usually frost on the high places, particularly at night, and usually only thorns and cactuses grew there, and the flowers he found were very aromatic. He cut them, gathered and arranged them, and wrapped them in his tilma, then took them back to The Virgin Mary and showed them to Her. She arranged them with her own hands, then returned them to the tilma and said:

 

“My dear young son, these flowers are the proof and the sign you will take to the Bishop. You will tell him that he is to take them as a sign from me that I desire this, and that he should therefore carry out what I desire and will. I absolutely trust you to be my messenger, and I strictly order you to only open your ayate (tilma) alone in the presence of the Bishop, and show him what you are carrying, then tell him everything exactly, that I ordered you to climb to the top of the hill, to cut the flowers, and everything that you saw and marvelled at, so that you can convince the governing priest, so that he can do what lies in his responsibility, so that my temple which I have asked him for will be constructed.”

 

As soon as she had finished speaking, Juan Diego returned to the Bishop’s house, and the doorkeeper and some other of his servants went out to meet him. Juan Diego begged them to tell the Bishop how much he wanted to see him, but because it was dark, and because of the story of their companions who had lost sight of him, they pretended they didn’t understand him, and made him wait for a very long time. However, he stood there with his head down, waiting patiently to be admitted to see the Bishop. When they saw that he was still waiting, they came close to him and asked what he was carrying. He tried to refuse to show them, but when he saw that it wouldn’t be possible to hide from them what it was, he gave them a small peek and they saw it was flowers. When they saw how beautiful they were, and that it was out of season for any kind of flowers, they tried to grab some of them out of the tilma, however, every time they tried, they found it was impossible, for each time they reached for them, they saw them as though they were painted or embroidered on the tilma. So they immediately went to the Bishop and told him about Juan Diego, how he had been waiting for a long time, and what they had seen. The Bishop immediately asked to see him. Juan Diego appeared before him, and told him how he had relayed his request to The Virgin Mary, and how that morning, the Virgin had asked him to go to the top of the hill and cut the flowers he found there, different kinds of Castilian Roses. He cut them and brought them to her, and she arranged them and placed them in his ayate, and brought them to him, to act as the sign that he had requested, to show that it was her that was asking him to build the temple. Then Juan Diego opened his tilma, and as the flowers dropped to the floor, the image of The Virgin Mary just as he had seen her, and just as it is now known, appeared on the tilma. As soon as the Bishop and those there with him saw it, they were full of awe and reverence, and kneeled down. They stood up to see it, then became sad and wept. Then the bishop immediately apologized in tears to The Virgin Mary for not immediately carrying out Her will. He untied the tilma from Juan Diego’s neck, and hung it in his private chapel, and Juan Diego stayed there with her. 

 

The next day, the Bishop came to him and asked him to show him where The Queen of Heaven wanted her chapel built. He showed him, and the Bishop immediately commissioned labourers to start the construction. As soon as Juan Diego had shown the Bishop the place, he asked him leave to go and see his uncle, Juan Bernardino, since he had left him very ill. The Bishop gave his consent, but had others go with him. However, when Juan Diego arrived, he found that his uncle was in perfect health. His uncle asked why he was with so many other people, and why they were honouring him, and Juan Diego told him what had happened. And his uncle told him that it was true, that the very moment he described, he had seen her himself, in exactly the manner Juan Diego had described, and that exact moment he had been healed. She also told him that she was sending him to Mexico City to see the Bishop, and that he should tell him all that he had experienced, and that he would properly name her image The Perfect Virgin, Holy Mary of Guadalupe. Then they took him to see the Bishop, where he revealed to him all that he had experienced.

 

Then the Bishop housed them in his residence while the chapel was built on the hill where The Virgin Mary had appeared. Then the Bishop moved the image of The Beloved Heavenly Maiden to the principal church, so it could be seen by all and admired. 

 

Afterwards, Juan Diego devoted his whole life to care for the image and spread the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He used to sleep on the hard floor of a grotto where the image of the Virgin Mary was kept in the evenings, protecting the image until his death in 1548, when Juan Diego was in his mid 70’s. 

 

As promised by the sign of the roses, the image of The Virgin of Guadalupe, caused a very large number of indigenous people in Mexico to convert to Christianity, so that there were with time more Christians among them than pagans. 

 

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was diligently preserved and can still to this day be seen visiting the newest Basilica of Guadalupe, which can still be seen in Mexico City, at the foot of the very hill where St. Juan Diego had first seen her.

 

In 2002, Juan Diego was canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic church. 

 

Miracles and Signs Witnessing to Our Lady of Guadalupe

 

Since her appearance, our Lady of Guadalupe has interceded for the people to the effect of many miracles. To list them all is beyond this discussion to do, but I will list some I am aware of.

 

In the 1700’s, some acid (said to be nitric acid) was spilled on the tilma while the frame she was being kept in was being cleaned. The effect of this acid can still be seen on the tilma, which is made of cactus fibre, but has not caused any significant degradation to it. 

 

On November 14, 1921, during the Cristero civil war in Mexico, a stick of dynamite was put inside a bouquet of flowers, ignited, and put in front of the image, which did not have any protective barrier. At the time, many bouquets of flowers were put daily before the image. The dynamite exploded, and the explosion bent two bronze crosses that were before the image. The crosses were terribly disfigured, and one of them is still on display at the current Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico. However, even though the image had no protection, it was not harmed. 

 

It is a tradition among many in Mexico, that if they pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and she grants their petition, that they come on a pilgrimage on their knees to the Basilica of Guadalupe to thank her. To permit this, there is an avenue that goes from outside the city to the Basilica. As of last I went, on any given day, someone doing this pilgrimage can be seen walking there on their knees. Usually they have two carpets. They kneel on one, put the other before them, walk onto the other kneeling, then pull out the other carpet, and put that one before them. 

 

Characteristics of the Image

 

What was most striking for the Aztecs and other indigenous people of the time are the characteristics of the image. The Aztecs were very culturally advanced, and very adept astronomers. Their religion was primarily one in which religious truths were expressed through symbolism, and through monitoring of celestial and terrestrial signs.

 

The Eclipse - Mary is clearly shown eclipsing the sun, an event which had high religious significance for the Aztecs. The edges of the rays of the sun shown are irregular, just as would be expected of the sun’s rays during a eclipse. Also the rays of the sun behind Mary darken as they reach the centre, which is a feature of eastern icons called a “mandorla,” but wasn’t regularly used in Mexico at the time, nor has been used since. 

 

The Moon - Mary is also shown standing on the moon. The moon was significant to the Aztecs as a religious symbol, and cycles of the moon determined their pagan worship. So to have mary standing on the moon and eclipsing the sun showed she was more important than those. 

 

Significant Astronomy - The particular details are explained more later, but Mary is shown standing on a particular constellation in the sky, the stars of her mantle also roughly correlate to a number of constellations that would have been seen the night of her appearance. Behind her head is a literal crown of stars, the “corona borealis”, and she stands on a crown, the “Northern crown.” The sun rises right above her head, and to her right (our Left in the sky) would have been Jupiter, which was significant to the Aztecs. As the night progresses, the sun rises where Mary’s head would be, creating the eclipse seen in the image. 

 

Aztec dress and symbolic clothing - The Virgin is seen wearing typical Aztec clothes including some interesting features. Her long hair parted in the middle was symbolic of her virginity, as virgins in Aztec culture wore their hair this way, doing it up after they were married. However, the black sash tied around the abdomen was a sign that she was pregnant in Aztec culture. Mary is shown with one leg bent, as though dancing, and dancing was primarily how Aztecs prayed. The virgin wears a mantle of stars, which correspond to stars in the night sky, but is also consistent with the decoration of many churches devoted to The Virgin Mary through out the world. Her dress is gold, but the gold dress and blue mantle are very similar to the red and blue clothes that Mary is usually depicted wearing (which symbolize her humanity, but also that she held within her divinity when she was pregnant with Jesus). Tilmas had a seam down the middle, but Mary is shown bending over so her face wouldn’t be on the seam. 

 

Embroidered on The Virgin’s clothes are symbolic representations of local plants of religious significance just as the Aztecs would have depicted them. The plants are as follows:

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Jasmine Flower (nahui ollin) - Called the “Flower of the Sun” by the Aztecs, and the Sun was the centre of Aztec pagan worship. The Aztecs believed that they needed to continually do human sacrifice, otherwise the sun wouldn’t rise. This flower also represented the “centre of the universe,” so it would have represented the supreme God. The only place it is found on Mary’s dress is over her abdomen, which is where Jesus would have been, since Mary is pregnant in the image. 

 

Magnolia (eloxochitl or yolloxochitl) - In Mexico at the time and among the Aztecs, there were two closely related species that had similar leaves, and so this image probably represents both. The species are recognized separately now though, as “magnolia dealbata,” and “magnolia mexicana.” “Elo” is the Aztec name for an green ear of corn, which the flower of both resembles in its early stages (and chitl the name for flower), and “yollo” is the name for the heart, which the flower of both resembles when it is in bloom. Both are native to Mexico, and were used in pleasure gardens by the Aztec. They were used as medicine for heart conditions, asthma, and stomach pain (and the bark of the trees used for fevers). The Aztecs associated them both with sustenance (because of the ear of corn shape of the immature flowers), but also with the heart (which they used in their human sacrifice). The leaves are quite stylized on the fabric, but they have the typical magnolia roundness at the base and the pointed tip, seen at the time, and the flowers have the typical ear of corn shape. Modern examples of both have more oval leaves. 

 

Sacred Ear Flower (xochinacaztli (ear flower) or teonacaztli (god ear)). The scientific name for this plant is cymbopetalum pendulifolium. Highly prized for the Aztecs as both medicine and for its culinary properties (was often mixed into chocolate). They associated it with divinity. At the time, the Aztecs did not have vanilla, but the taste of this flower is very similar to vanilla, so it was highly prized and used by them as a flavouring for many things, much as vanilla is used today. It became less common as vanilla became more popular, even in Mexico. 

 

The Aztec mother deity - The spot where The Virgin Mary appeared was a temple of the Aztec earth and mother goddess Tonantzin. However, she was evil, and required daily human sacrifice. When the Spanish arrived, they demolished the temple there. However, that Mary chose that as the site of her temple shows that she wished to be seen as the mother and intercessor of the people. 

 

The miraculous nature - The fabrics that are used to make tilmas typically break down over time, however the fabric of the tilma is still in very good condition after nearly 500 years. The paint is also in very good condition, whereas most other contemporary pieces of art are cracked. The pigments have been examined, and found that Mary’s dress contains real gold, and that the moon contains real silver, which is why it has turned black from the corrosion of silver over time. 

 

The likeness of the Virgin - Mary’s facial appearance is very similar to a painting that has been attributed to St. Luke, who was known to know Mary personally, as well similar to the original Virgin of Guadalupe, which is thought to be a sculpture that was carved by St. Luke. Of note is the nose which is straight at the top and then triangular at the bottom, square eyebrows, and the short nasal filtrum, which is shared by Jesus in the shroud of Turin, and the other images of our Lady (and many historical depictions of Jesus and Mary). 

 

Eye reflections - visible in the reflections of the eyes are a number of figures, consistent with the people who would have been looking at the tilma at the moment of the apparition. 

 

Association with the book of Revelation - In the book of Revelation, when Mary is discussed (who is depicted as the new tabernacle, as she stood in the vision where the old covenant tabernacle/tent of meeting stood), she is said to stand on the sun and the moon, and have a crown of twelve stars. Interestingly, the image originally had a crown of twelve stars, but was painted over at some point. However, the new paint is peeling off, and some of the stars that form her crown can be seen again. 

 

Another interesting note is that initially the image was much larger, and above Mary’s head were two other angels and a cloud like below her feet. However, it was determined that this was too big to display, so the tilma was cut over her head, and now we only have the lower section where she is seen. 

 

Another interesting note is that when Mary speaks in the Nican Mopoha, she speaks Nahuatl, but uses the words as they are used in Hebrew, and has Hebrew phrasing. When everyone else speaks, they speak more as the phrasing and word usage is in Nahuatl and Spanish.