Aztec indians and Our Lady of Guadalupe

On December 9th and 12th of 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared twice to an Aztec Christian convert, Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. She has asked him to build a shrine dedicated to her on the site of her apparition, the Tepeyac Hill. When San Juan Diego approached the bishop on the second time to approve the construction of the church, the image of the Virgin Mary revealed to be imprinted in his tilma, a poncho-like cloak made of cactus fiber.

The real cloak showing the image of the Our Lady of Guadalupe is displayed inside the Basilica.

This is the miraculous story of the Our Lady of Guadalupe. I visited the Basilica of Guadalupe twice when I was in Mexico City for a conference. There, the image is venerated where millions of believers and non-believers visit per year. It is known as the most famous religious pilgrimage site in the Western Hemisphere.

Date: August 10, 2014

Saint Juan Diego showing his cloak with roses.

As a Catholic myself, I am happy to see the cloak in person. The tilma was said to be examined in 1977 using infrared photography and digital enhancement techniques but were unable to explain how the image was created.

The new Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe.

The miraculous tilma is now housed at the new Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the north of Mexico City, near the hill of Tepeyac where Juan Diego met the Virgin Mary. The cloak miraculously survived undamaged when a bomb exploded in 1921 causing great damage to the interior of the church.

A remnant of the bomb explosion in 1921.

The new Basilica was built from 1974 to 1976. The structure is circular, 100 meters in diameter, so that the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe can be seen from any point inside the church. The Basilica contains 9 chapels on the upper floor and 10 chapels under the main floor.

The altar inside the Basilica of the Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The old basilica was consecrated in 1709 and is just located near the new one. The new, more spacious basilica was built because the old one is already sinking. Much of Mexico City was built on a former lake and the unstable land has caused the old one to be closed for many years until the repairs have finished.

The old Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Aside from the new and the old Basilicas, the compound also has several churches and related building. Thus, it was called La Villa de Guadalupe. Buildings inside the La Villa include a convent and church for Capuchin nuns, the original chapel on the exact site of the apparitions to Juan Diego called Capilla del Cerrito, the miraculous Chapel of our Lady of Pocitos (small wells) where the waters can miraculously cure the sick,Parroquia de los Indios and other chapels where masses and other sacraments are being done. There was also the huge Jardin del Tepeyac (Tepeyac Garden) with the La Ofrenda monument consists of stone images of the Our Lady of Guadalupe with Saint Juan Diego and other native Indians offering gifts to her.

Chapel for the Capuchin nuns.

A statue of Pope John Paul II can be seen in between the old and the new Basilicas. His Holiness St. John Paul II has visited and honored Our Lady of Guadalupe four times including his very first trip as a Pope in 1979. On his third visit, in 1999, he declared the date of December 12th as the Liturgical Holy Day for the whole American continent coinciding with the feast of the Our Lady of Guadalupe. He also canonized Juan Diego to sainthood in 2002. No wonder he has been honored by this religious place and dedicated a statue for him.

Statue of Pope John Paul II

Another conspicuous structure at the grounds of the La Villa is the carrillón or the bell tower. The Carrillón of the Our Lady of Guadalupe is in the shape of a huge cross and is said to resemble also a pre-Hispanic God. It contains four types of clocks, the modern clock, an astronomical clock, a sun dial and an Aztec calendar clock. It is amazing how they combine the different beliefs in this bell tower.

As I have mentioned at the start, I visited the Our Lady of Guadalupe twice. I really enjoyed the spiritual atmosphere of the place. I will write more about my throwback trips in Mexico soon.