Guadalupe Day
December 12
Juan Diego’s vision
On December 12 each year, thousands of people gather at a hill in Mexico
City. They come from all over Mexico. Many have walked long distances to
reach the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The shrine is built on the spot where a poor Indian said he had seen a
vision. About 450 years ago, the man, Juan Diego, was walking by the
hill. Suddenly he saw the figure of a young Indian woman, surrounded by
bright light. She had black hair, dark eyes, and a dark skin. She told
him she was the mother of God, and the mother of all Indians. She told
him she wanted a shrine built there.
Juan Diego told this story to a bishop. The bishop didn’t believe him.
But the Indian later returned and claimed to have seen the vision again.
He told the bishop that roses had suddenly appeared on the hillside. The
woman had told him to gather the roses in his cloak. When Juan Diego
opened his cloak to show them to the bishop, the roses fell out. And on
the cloak was a painting of the woman Juan Diego had seen.
Juan Diego told the bishop that the woman called herself Holy Mary of
Guadalupe. The bishop finally decided that Juan Diego had seen the
Virgin Mary, whom Christians believe is the mother of Jesus. He allowed
a shrine to be built on the hill. The cloak with the painting on it now
hangs in the shrine.
And Our Lady of Guadalupe is Mexico’s patron saint.
Everyone in Mexico celebrates Guadalupe Day. It is the most important
religious holiday in Mexico. People put pictures and statues of the
Virgin of Guadalupe in their windows. Gifts of flowers, pigs, chickens,
and eggs are brought to churches. And colorful puppet shows re-enact the
story of Juan Diego’s vision.
Each year on Guadalupe Day, thousands of people fill this great plaza
in Mexico City. They come to visit the old and new shrines built to
honor Mexico’s patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe.
