Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Feast on 12 December
On 12 December, just four days after the Immaculate Conception, the Church celebrates Our Lady of Guadalupe. She is the patroness of the Americas, and her shrine in Mexico City is one of the most visited Catholic places of pilgrimage in the world.
Tepeyac Hill, December 1531
In December 1531, an indigenous Mexican convert named Juan Diego was on his way to Mass when he heard singing and saw a radiant lady on Tepeyac Hill, outside what is now Mexico City. She spoke to him in his own language, Nahuatl, and told him she was the Virgin Mary, mother of the true God. She asked that a church be built on the hill, where she could show her love and compassion to everyone who came to her.
Juan Diego took the message to the bishop, Juan de Zumárraga, who asked for a sign. Our Lady told Juan Diego to gather roses from the hilltop, although it was winter and nothing should have been in bloom. He carried them in his tilma, a cloak of rough cactus fibre. When he opened it before the bishop, the roses fell out, and the image of Our Lady was found imprinted on the cloth.
The image and the shrine
The image still hangs in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where millions of pilgrims come each year. Our Lady is shown as a young woman with her head bowed, wearing a mantle covered in stars, standing before the rays of the sun. Many of the symbols in the image spoke directly to the indigenous people who first saw it. Saint Juan Diego was canonised in 2002.
Our Lady's apparitions around the world
Guadalupe is one of several apparitions that the Church has recognised. Each has its own story: Guadalupe in Mexico in 1531, the Miraculous Medal in Paris in 1830, Lourdes in 1858 and Knock in 1879. Together they show how Mary has come to people in very different places, each time with the same message: come to her Son.
Keeping the day
- Go to Mass if you can, and say a Hail Mary or a decade of the Rosary for the people of the Americas.
- Bring flowers, traditionally roses, to a statue or picture of Our Lady at home or in church.
- Tell the story of Juan Diego and the roses to a child.
If you are looking for a keepsake of Our Lady, our Marian Collection brings together purses and gifts inspired by Lourdes and Knock.
Marian Holy Art is an Irish Catholic company offering unique religious gifts and devotional items inspired by Lourdes, Knock and the Catholic faith. Our products are available exclusively through Marian Holy Art and are sold at Knock Shrine, Ireland.