The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe |
The 12th of December is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On the 9th of December 1531, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Saint Juan Diego, an Aztec peasant, saw the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Hill of Tepeyac which is near present-day Mexico City. The Bishop requested that Her identity be proved, and Our Lady instructed Saint Juan Diego to gather roses found growing on the hill and take the roses to the bishop. The roses were not native to the area and it was not in season. Saint Juan Diego gathered the roses in his tilma, a cloak, and when he opened the tilma to reveal the roses to the bishop, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared on the tilma, dressed as a pregnant Aztec princess. The designs in the tilma are like the codex to the Aztecs, and reveals the truth of the Catholic faith that was preached by the missionary priests. Millions were converted as a result of this miracle. The apparition and image are known under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe and is the first apparition in the new world and the only apparition where Our Lady produced an image of Herself. The tilma is now venerated at the basilica and shrine in Mexico City. She is the patroness of the Americas, the new Evangelisation and the unborn.