The Virgin of Guadalupe

Why Mary's Appearance to San Juan is Important for All Latin@ Christians

A poor Mexica (Aztec) man, Juan Diego, was on his way to church one Saturday, when he suddenly heard singing from top of an ancient hill, Tepeyacac. This had long been an important place for the Mexica. He heard a voice call to him, “Juan, my little one, Juan Diego.” He went to the top of the hill and saw a vision of the Virgin Mary. Mary called to him in Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica people, among other people in the area. She told him to build a church in her honor, and that he was to go to the bishop of Mexico and tell him what he had seen. At first, the bishop would not hear the words of the poor Indian man, but Juan Diego continued to have visions of Mary, and Juan diego continued coming to the bishop and telling him what Mary had spoken. The bishop said that he would need a sign that what Juan Diego was saying was true. In response to this, Mary told Juan Diego to gather roses in his tilma, his traditional Mexica cloak, and take them to the bishop. When he arrived, he told the bishop what Mary had instructed about the roses, and as he opened his tilma and as the roses poured out, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared on the tilma. This convinced the bishop that Juan Diego’s vision and words were true, and a church was constructed in Mexico City.

Up to that point, not many indigenous people had come to faith in Jesus willingly, which is understandable considering the circumstances. The Spaniards had largely been an oppressive and deadly force, giving the impression that the God of the Spaniards, Jesus Christ, was a deity who conquered through violence and disease. Yet, here was the Mother of Jesus, appearing to a poor indigenous man and not to the men of power, even though they were Christian. When she appeared to Juan Diego, she appeared as a Mexica woman, in traditional indigenous dress, and spoke to him in his mother tongue. Instead of threatening him as the Spaniards had done, she said, in Nahuatl:

Cuix amo nican nica Nimonantzin? Cuix amo nocehuallotitlan necauhyotitlan in tica? Cuix amo nehuatl in nimopaccayeliz? Cuix amo nocuixanco nomamalhuazco in tica? Cuix oc itla motech monequi?

“Am I not here, I who have the honor to be your mother? Are you not in my shadow and under my protection? Am I not the source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do you need anything more?”

After this, it is reported that millions of Mexica, Nahua, and other indigenous peoples came to faith in Jesus. If you go to the cathedral in Mexico City, you can still see Juan Diego’s tilma displayed in the sanctuary with the image of the Virgin Mary. She has been declared the Patroness of the Americas and it is believed that Mexico and the Americas are under her care.¹

Nuestra Señora - Our Lady

I know this post might be troubling for some of my Protestant and Evangelical readers, but La Virgen de Guadalupe represents something for Latina and Latino Christians. When La Virgen told Juan Diego that he was under her protection, she was not just speaking to him, but to all the indigenous peoples of Mexico and the continents. The Spaniards spoke with the sword, La Virgen spoke with love and care. Her message to us was that God did not expect or even desire for us to become more like the Europeans in order to trust Jesus. Rather, we could remain indigenous, and “enculture” our faith in a way that spoke to us. That enculturating endeavor has not always been successful, but each time we see an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, we are reminded of God’s promise through her that we would be protected and that our traditional and ancient ways are important to God and can be valid ways of expressing our faith in Jesus.

This reality may be more important now than it has been since her first appearance to Juan Diego. Her appearance then was a testimony to indigenous peoples that the story of Jesus could be trusted and that God was a good God in spite of the actions of Europeans. In this time of decolonization, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Chican@s and Latin@s of various cultures to remain Christian, believing the idea (the lie!) that Jesus is the white man’s God and not ours as well. Yet, Mary, our Lady and our Mother stands before us with our skin and our clothing and telling us in our languages that Jesus can be trusted, that the Jesus way resonates deeply with indigenous values and spiritualities.

The mother is the most important person in the Mexican home, and it is not a coincidence that when God wanted to convince our people to trust in Jesus, he sent Jesus’ mother. It was a language we spoke then and still speak today. Mothers are the heartbeat of Mexican and many other Latina cultures and Christians throughout the Americas have found comfort knowing that she watches over us and intercedes to the Father on our behalf. Mary’s love for us is a testimony that Jesus loves us, and the love of Jesus is none other than the love of God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.

On this feast day of our Lady, la Virgen de Guadalupe, we remember and honor her, and through her we remember, honor, and worship the Son of God, Jesus Christ, born of a woman, who came to redeem us from our sins and the sins done against us through his life, death, and resurrection.

Holy Mother, you bore the Light of the World, the Son of God Jesus Christ;
May God grant us, through your intercessions, a heart like yours, full of grace and humility, as we commit ourselves to Christ our God.

1. Much of the information found here is from Romero, Robert Chao. 2020. Brown Church : Five Centuries of Latina/o Social Justice, Theology, and Identity. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP, an imprint of InterVarsity Press.