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Church Planting in Mexico
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Who is the Virgin of Guadalupe? A. A virgin born in Guadalupe Mexico B. A reincarnation of the virgin Mary as a Mexican C. A vision of a dark skinned virgin Mary* D. A sacrifice to an Aztec god. The Virgin of Guadalupe The "Virgin of Guadalupe" is most sacred to Mexicans. Almost every home has at least one picture of her framed on their wall. The story goes back to 1531 several years after the Spanish conquest when Juan Diego an Aztec peasant saw a vision of a dark skinned "Virgin Mary" who identified herself as the "Virgin of Guadalupe." The local priest did not believe his story, so the "Virgin" appeared to him a second time. This time, she told him to take roses and wrap them up in his coat and take them to the priest. He did so, and when he opened up the coat, the roses had imprinted the image of the virgin on the coat. Today, that coat can be found in the Basilica, the Catholic Cathedral in Mexico City which the Virgin requested to be built. Juan Diego was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II in 1990. December 12th is a national holiday in Mexico celebrating the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This time of year is celebrated by people making pilgrimages to the Basilica in large groups from all over the country. Some go without any shoes, and others go on their hands and knees. Fireworks are heard throughout the night of the 11th and all day on the 12th. (For those of you who live in rural areas where there is lots of hunting, it sounds like the opening day of buck season.) These fireworks are blessed by the priests and are prayers that go up to heaven. There is much skepticism about the veracity of the story. People even question whether or not Juan Diego even existed. An abbot of the Basilica has also said that the story is a myth. The virgin is a form of syncretism, the fusion of two religions. In this case, Catholicism and the Aztec belief systems. The site where Juan Diego had his vision was a former temple to Tonantzin who was an Aztec goddess known as "Our Mother." The picture of the "Virgin," which has become the national symbol, shows Mary with the sun around her and on a crescent moon which are symbols of the Aztec gods. Here are some more sites that talk about the "Virgin". The Mystery of the Virgin of Guadalupe Google Search for The Virgin of Guadalupe
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