Reading 6: The Virgin of Guadalupe Story Notes

Cuauhtlatoatzin, an Aztec man, converted to Christianity and was renamed Juan Diego after the Spanish invasion.
Juan Diego reported an apparition of the Virgin Mary, called the Virgin of Guadalupe, which became a symbol for native Christianity.
The account is translated from Nahuatl and was first published by Luis Lasso de la Vega in 1649.
On a Saturday before dawn, Juan Diego was heading to divine worship and his errands when he heard singing on Tepeyac hill.
The singing resembled various beautiful birds.
A voice called him "Juanito, Juan Dieguito."
He climbed the hill without fear and saw a Lady.
The Lady's garments shone like the sun, and the place where she stood glittered like precious stones.
The vegetation appeared like emeralds, turquoise, and gold.

The Lady asked Juan Diego where he was going.
Juan Diego explained that his uncle was sick with the plague and near death.
The Lady introduced herself as the ever-virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the True God.
She expressed her wish for a temple to be erected there to show her love, compassion, help, and protection to all inhabitants who love, invoke, and trust in her.

Juan Diego descended to go to Mexico City.
The bishop didn't believe Juan Diego and asked for a sign to prove he was sent by the Lady from heaven.
When Juan Diego was to carry the sign, he failed to return because his uncle, Juan Bernardino, had become gravely ill.
On Tuesday before dawn, Juan Diego went to Tlatilolco to summon a priest but went around the hill to avoid the Lady.
The Virgin Mary descended from the top of the hill.

The Virgin Mary told Juan Diego not to fear sickness or anguish and assured him of her protection.
She said his uncle was already cured.
Juan Diego was consoled and asked to be excused to see the bishop with the sign.
The Lady ordered him to climb to the top of the hill to find different flowers, cut them, gather them, and bring them before her.
Juan Diego brought the roses to the Lady, who placed them back in his tilma (cloak), saying the roses were the sign for the bishop.
She instructed him to tell the bishop that the roses represented her wish for the temple.

The bishop realized Juan Diego was carrying the proof.
Juan Diego knelt before the bishop and related his experience and the message.
He unfolded his tilma, and varieties of rosas de Castilla scattered on the floor, revealing the image of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
Juan Diego pointed out where the Lady wanted her temple built.
He wished to go home to see his uncle, Juan Bernardino.

Juan Diego's uncle was happy and well.
Juan Bernardino confirmed that the Lady had appeared to him in the same manner as she had appeared to his nephew.
The Lady told him that when he would go to see the bishop, to reveal to him what he had seen and to explain the miraculous manner in which she had cured him, and that she would properly be named, and known as the blessed Image, the ever-virgin Holy Mary of Guadalupe.
She revealed that she should be known as the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
The account was first published in Nahuatl by Luis Lasso de la Vega in 1649.