Many members of our parish community seek the intercession of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The stained glass image pictured here is a representation of the original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The origin of the image is miraculous: in 1531, Mary appeared to a humble Aztec Indian named Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill in what is present-day Mexico City. She asked him to pray and to go to the local bishop to have a church built in her honor in that place. Upon the bishop’s request for some kind of sign, Mary caused roses to bloom on the hillside, even though it was not the season for them. Juan collected the roses in his outer garment, or tilma, to bring to the bishop. When he opened his tilma before the bishop, they saw that an image of Mary had been miraculously imprinted on his cloak. Juan Diego’s tilma with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe miraculously imprinted on it can be still be seen in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, constructed on the site of the apparitions. Within a few years of Mary’s apparitions to Juan, many Aztecs converted to Catholicism. Today Mary is honored under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe by millions, and has been declared the Patroness of the Americas. Each year, millions visit the basilica to venerate Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
This image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is rich in symbolism. To learn more about this symbolism and why it was so meaningful to the Aztec people of this time, and to learn more Our Lady’s apparitions to Juan Diego, please visit the links below.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
Our Lady, our guide - www.osv.com
Through her many apparitions over the centuries, Mary leads us more closely to her Son...read more.
Our Lady of Guadalupe - About - Catholic Online - www.catholic.org
Our Lady of Guadalupe - Guadalupe, Mexico (1531) Patroness of the Americas Feast Day in the USA - December 12th. The opening of the New World brought with it both ...read more.