Her image is found everywhere, even in unlikely places.įorty years after La Morenita appeared to St. This venerable icon has come to be regarded widely as the national symbol of Mexico. When the bomb exploded, no one was hurt, but the altar was badly damaged, yet not even the glass covering the picture was broken. In 1921 during the Mexican Revolution, a bomb was planted in flowers placed before the altar behind which the image hung. In the early seventeenth century when floods almost destroyed Mexico City, her image escaped unharmed. And ever since the time that the Indian Juan Diego spoke of the sweet Lady of Tepeyac, you, Mother of Guadalupe, have entered decisively into the Christian life of the people of Mexico.”Īccounts abound of the miraculous events attributed to the Virgin of Guadalupe. taught the rudiments of the Christian faith, they also taught love for you, the Mother of Jesus and of all people. In 1979 when Pope John Paul II visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, he acknowledged the enduring appeal of this unique portrait, addressing the Virgin directly: “When the first missionaries who reached America. The Mexican faithful refer to her lovingly as La Morenita. Each year more than ten million persons venerate the mysterious image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, making this shrine the most popular in the Catholic world after St. Pilgrims can view it from a distance of twenty-five feet. Today the image is preserved behind an impenetrable glass screen in the basilica at Mexico City. The coarse, woven, cactus cloth shows no signs of fading or deterioration, although that type of material seldom lasts twenty years. Almost five centuries later the colors of that portrait have remained as vibrant as if painted this year. This happened merely a dozen years after Hernando Cortes had conquered the land that is now Mexico for the monarchy of Spain. Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant and devout convert. She is Our Lady of Guadalupe, a life-sized portrayal of the Virgin Mary as she appeared in 1531 on the cactus-cloth tilma, or cape, of St. She stands alone, her hands clasped in prayer, an angel at her feet. Her hair is jet black and her complexion is olive. The mantle covering her head and shoulders is turquoise, studded with gold stars and bordered in gold. With her head tilted to the right, her hazel eyes are cast downward in an expression of gentleness and concern. Our Lady of Guadalupe: Icon of the Church in the Americas
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