As we continue on our Advent journey, I offer another Saint to walk with us: Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. Saint Juan Diego, the first Roman Catholic indigenous saint from the Americas, He was raised in the Aztec pagan religion, but had a tremendous respect for the Virgin Mary. In 1524 he and his wife, Maria Lucia, converted to Catholicism.
In December 1531, Juan Diego was in a hurry to Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. He was stopped by the sight of a radiant woman who introduced herself, in his native tongue, as the “ever-perfect holy Mary, who has the honor to be the mother of the true God.” Mary told Juan Diego she was the mother of all those who lived in his land and asked him to make a request to the local bishop. She wanted the bishop to build a chapel in her honor on Tepeyac Hill, which was the site of a former pagan temple. When Juan Diego approached Bishop Juan de Zumarraga with Mary’s request, the bishop had some doubts and asked for time to reflect. Later the same day, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary a second time and told her he failed in granting her request. He explained that he was not an important person, and therefore not the one for the task: but Mary insisted that Juan Diego was the man she wanted.
Juan Diego returned to the Bishop the next day and repeated his request, but now the Bishop asked for proof or a sign that the apparition was real and truly of Heaven. Juan Diego went straight to Tepeyac and, once again, encountered the Virgin Mary. After explaining to her what the Bishop asked, she agreed and told him she’d provide him with proof on the next day, December 11. However, on the next day, Juan Diego’s uncle became very sick and he was obligated to stay and care for him. Juan Diego set out the next day to find a priest for his uncle. He was determined to get there quickly and didn’t want to face the Virgin Mary with shame for missing the previous day’s meeting. But the Virgin Mary intercepted him and asked what was wrong. He explained his situation and promised to return after he found his uncle a priest. She looked at him and asked “No estoy yo aqui que soy tu madre?” (Am I not here, I who am your mother?) She promised him his uncle would be cured and asked him to climb to the hill and collect the flowers growing there. He obeyed and found many flowers blooming in December on the rocky land. He filled his tilma (cloak) with flowers and returned to Mary. The Virgin Mary arranged the flowers within his cloak and told him this would be the sign he is to present to the bishop. Once Juan Diego found the bishop, he opened his cloak and the bishop was presented with a miraculous imprinted image of the Virgin Mary on the flower-filled cloak. The next day, Juan Diego found his uncle fully healed from his illness. His uncle explained he, too, saw the Virgin Mary. She also instructed him on her desires to have a church built on Tepeyac Hill, but she also told him she wanted to be known with the title of Guadalupe.
News of Juan Diego’s miracle quickly spread, and he became very well known. However, Juan Diego always remained a humble man. The bishop first kept Juan Diego’s imprinted cloak in his private chapel, but then placed it on public display in the church built on Tepeyac Hill the next year. Juan Diego moved into a little hermitage on Tepeyac Hill, and lived a solitary life of prayer and work, remaining there until his death on December 9, 1548. During the revolutions in Mexico, at the beginning of the 20th century, nonbelievers attempted to destroy the Image with an explosion. The altar’s marble steps, the flower-holders, and the basilica windows were all very damaged, but the pane of glass protecting the Image was not even cracked. Juan Diego’s imprinted cloak has remained perfectly preserved from 1531 to present time. The “Basilica of Guadalupe” on Tepeyac Hill has become one of the world’s most-visited Catholic shrines. St. Juan Diego was beatified on May 6, 1990 by Pope John Paul II and canonized on July 31, 2002. His feast day is celebrated on December 9 and he is the patron saint of Indigenous people.
As we approach the coming of the Lord at Christmas, may Juan Diego’s love for the Virgin Mary inspire us to embrace Her as our Mother and trust in her ability to bring us closer to Her Son. Saint Juan Diego, pray for us! Advent blessings,
Welcome to the Saint Aloysius! Our parish was founded in 1896 to serve the Catholic families that were settling in the greater New Canaan area.