Who is Our Lady of Guadalupe?
Early one December morning, Juan Diego was walking to Mass when he heard birds singing on the hill of Tepeyac. A beautiful lady called him by name, in his own language. She told him she was the Virgin Mary, and she asked him to go to the bishop and ask for a church to be built there.
The bishop listened kindly, but he asked for a sign. Then Juan Diego’s uncle fell very sick, and Juan Diego hurried past the hill to find a priest. Mary met him on the way. “Am I not here, I who am your mother?” she said, and she told him his uncle would get well.
She sent him to the top of the hill, where roses were blooming in the cold of December. Juan Diego gathered them in his tilma and carried them to the bishop. When he opened it, the roses tumbled out, and there on the cloth was a picture of Mary, just as he had seen her.
The church was built, and the picture is still there today. Every December 12, families all over Mexico and the Americas bring flowers and sing to her, and many children dress up as Juan Diego.
When is Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day?
Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day is December 12. It remembers the day in 1531 when her picture appeared on Juan Diego’s tilma. In Mexico it’s one of the biggest feasts of the year, with flowers, songs and Mass.
Clara tells the whole story at bedtime, in the Little Prayer Stories app.Get the app →
