THREE MINUTES WITH THE SAINTS
Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe
She is the Patroness of the Americas
We are deep into the Christmas season, with all the color and pageantry that goes with it, but today in Mexico, much of Latin America, and many parts of the U.S. and Canada that pageantry will be taken up a notch with the sounds of mariachis, dancers in traditional Aztec attire, parades, food, and special Masses. That’s because today, December 12th, is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. Thus, for today’s installment of “Three Minutes with the Saints” we take a closer look at Our Lady of Guadalupe and her appearance to St. Juan Diego 500 years ago.
On December 9, 1531, ten years after the Spanish conquistadors had defeated the Aztec Empire, an Indian peasant named Juan Diego was walking to Mass when he came upon an apparition of a woman whom he soon came to recognize as the Virgin Mary. She had the appearance of a young Native American maiden and was dressed like an Aztec princess. She spoke to Juan in his native language, instructing him to go to the archbishop of Mexico City, a Franciscan named Juan de Zumarraga; she wanted the bishop to build a chapel in the place where she had appeared.
