THE HISTORY OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

compiled 1995 additions Feb. 2001

INTRODUCTION

Aztec word for Guadalupe is COATLAXOPEUH

They translate it - "She who breaks, stamps, crushes the

SERPENT GOD " ( to whom they sacrificed)

Spanish translation - "Wolf or Hidden River or River of Light "

Today the statue of "Divine Motherhood" stands on the Guadalupe River in Spain. From 711-1326 it was lost. In 1326 Our Lady appeared, and the statue was found in a cave on the Guadalupe (Wolf ) River. A shrine and monastery was built. The monastery is called the Royal Monastery of Guadalupe. It houses the statue of "Divine Motherhood".

It was there, that Columbus, and the Franciscan Friars, who sailed with him to America, prayed.

It was also there, that Cortez and the 12 Franciscan Friars, who sailed with him to the Americas, prayed.

When Juan Diego in 1531 was told by Our Lady on Tepeyac, The Hill to the pagan Mother God , to tell the Spanish Bishop that she wished her image to be called "de Guadalupe", we can certainly see what a confirmation he must have received.

The impossible task of conversion of the Aztec Nation was accomplished through this image of Guadalupe, with the conversion of 3000 people a day for 8 years. ( That was 9 Million conversions) . This was the most monumental conversion in all of Christian History.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

THE HISTORY

On the surface the historical events of the conquest of Mexico by Hernando Cortez are puzzling and mysterious to historians. In an article from the Smithsonian, Charles L. Mee Jr. states that the amazement of the Indians was a theme of most historians for the past four centuries or more. They speculate that the Spaniards were thought to be gods. Why did the Aztec lavish the Spaniards with gifts of gold? Why did Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, allow himself to be taken hostage by Cortez in his own city? Some historians think that Montezuma and the Aztec believed Cortez was the ancient god-king Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered serpent returned to assert his rule. Why did the Aztec civilization diminish so rapidly after 1531?

The historical events become complete as we look deeper. Historians also reported events preceding the coming of Cortez and his men; a comet appeared and split in three; water of the lake boiled up in a rage; a sign like a tongue of fire burned up into the sky up to the heavens; Omens foretold their coming. But the most amazing event was the dream in 1509 of Princess Papatzin, Montezuma's sister. The Princess fell ill in a coma and was buried in a tomb. Hearing her cry, they opened the tomb. She then told of a luminous being who took her to the shore of a boundless ocean where she saw a large number of ships with black crosses on their sails. The luminous guide also had a black cross on his forehead. She was told that the ships carried men who would conquer the country and bring knowledge of the True God.

Thus when Montezuma was brought a Spanish helmet bearing the black cross, he was convinced that his kingdom was to come to an end and began to lavish gifts on the Spaniards in hopes to buy them off.

The god Quetzelcoatl to whom at times thousands per day were sacrificed, was also the name applied to a great prophet who in the dim past preached a semblence of Christianity that became intermingled with paganism. It was believed that one day he would return and redeem Aztec society.

After the conquest Cortez began to demolish the blood soaked temples converting them into Catholic Churches. One temple was reported to have 20,000 victims a year cruely sacrificed to the sun god Huitzilopochtli. This particular temple became Santiagode Tlaltelolco Church. Two other gods are significant - Ixtilxochitl, the unkown god, creator of all things also known as Ipalnemohuani, he whom by everything lives. His divinity was called Tloque Nahuaque or who is by, or present, to all things. Our Lady revealed herself as the Mother of this God to Juan Diego and the Aztec people in her first statement by saying she was "the Mother of the True God, through whom everthing lives, the Lord of all things". And the second god of significance was Tonantzin, the Mother god whose temple was on a small hill called Tepeyac, where the events unfold in the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe as the Mother of All, the Mother of the Americas.

After the conquest, an administration of five ministers was set up by Charles V to rule Mexico. One of these, Don Nune de Guzman, was a cruel, harsh man. Most of the Aztec did not convert to Christianity and were by 1531 ready to take arms and kill all the Spaniards in their country. In 1530 Bishop Juan Zumarraga succeeded in getting word to Charles V who replaced Guzman with Bishop Don Sebastian Ramirez, a man of unquestioned intergrety. But it may have been to late since it would take 3 months for the new minister to arrive and months of reconstruction to salvage the explosive situation.

At this point Bishop Zumarraga secretly prayed to Our Lady to intervene and avert the eruption. He asked her to sent him Castilian roses, unknown in Mexico, as a sign that his desperate prayer had been heard.

Juan Diego and his wife were among the first along with Princess Papantzin to be baptised in 1525. Juan's uncle Juan Bernadino, who had raises Juan after the death of his parents, was also baptised. Juan and his wife traveled 30 miles on foot to the church in Mexico City for mass and instructions. In 1529 Juan's wife died and Juan moved back with his aged uncle.

Saturday December 9, 1531 on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Juan passes the little hill of Teyepac on his way to mass. Beautiful music and a glowing white cloud emblozoned by a brilliant rainbow formed by rays of dazzling light, caught Juan's attention. Then he heard the gentle voice of a women call him by name. He climbed the 130 foot summit to meet a beautiful lady. Her first words to him were "Know for certain, my dearest of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God, through whom everything lives, the Lord of all things, who is Master of Heaven and Earth. I ardently desire a teocalli (temple or literally House of God) be built here for me where I will show and offer all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people. I am your Mother, the Mother of all who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping and their sorrows, and will remedy and alleviate their sufferings, necessities and misfortunes. Therefore, in order to realize my intentions, go to the house of the Bishop of Mexico City and tell him that it is my desire to have a teocalli built here. Tell him all that you have seen and heard. Be assured that I shall be grateful and reward you for doing diligently what I have asked of you. Now that you have heard my words, my son, go and do everything as best as you can."

Juan agreed and made his way to the Bishop. It took an hour of waiting in the cold to finally see the Bishop and relate to him the lady's request. The bishop replied, "You must come again, my son, when I can hear you more at my leisure. Meanwhile. I will reflect on what you have told me." Juan felt he had failed. On returning home he passed the summit and climbed up to the spot where again the lady awaited him. He asked her to intrust this message to someone more important and well-known and to forgive him for his failure.

She told him she had many servants whom she could charge with the message, but it was necessary for him to undertake this mission. Juan agreed and said he would return with the Bishop's response on the next day, Sunday. Juan went to mass on Sunday, then went to the Bishop's house. After a long wait, he was brought to the Bishop and repeated the Lady's message with tears and pleading. Moved, the Bishop then questioned and cross-examined Juan. To be sure the Bishop asked Juan for a sign from Heaven. Juan said he would go to the Lady and request it. When Juan left, Bishop Zummarraga ordered several trusted aids to follow Juan secretly. But they could not follow him and lost him at the ravine by the hill.

The lady told Juan to return tomorrow and she would give him the sign the Bishop requested. But when Juan returned home, he found his uncle sick. Tradition passed down from generation to generation by the inhabitants of Tolpetlac says that Juan found his uncle in the near by woods fatally shot with a arrow as a result of the eminent insurrection against the Spaniards and the Christians who were thought to be collaborators. Prehaps this is why Juan tried to avoid the Lady the next day when he passed Tepeyac on his way to the Church in order to get a priest for his dying uncle.

Juan was startled to see the Lady descending from the hill in a blaze of light. She said to him, "Listen and let it penetrate your heart, my dear little son. Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is here anything else you need?" She added, "Do not let the illness of your uncle worry you because he is not going to die of his sickness. At this very moment, he is cured."

With these words as a personal message of deep love and maternal solitude Our Lady discloses to all her suffering children the equisite tenderness of her Immaculate Heart. Joyously Juan climbed the hill to receive the promised sign. On the hill he found many flowers, including Castilian roses, growing in the frozen, stony soil. She told him to gather them carefully. When he had them in his tilma, she rearranged them with her own hand and sent him on his way instructing him not to unfold his tilma or revail its contents to anyone except the Bishop and give to him her instructions to build a teocalli here. Again the servants made Juan wait to see the Bishop. They even tried to snatch his tilma and expose the flowers. The exquisite fragrance overcome them, but the flowers seemed to disappear into the sides of the tilma. Amazed, they finally alerted the Bishop who then ordered Juan to be admited. With Bishop Zumarraga was Bishop Don Sebastian Ramirez y Fuenleal, the new governor of Mexico who had finally arrived. Juan related the events of the day on Teyepac and then opened his tilma to allow the flowers, mingled with the Castilia roses for which the Bishop had secretly prayed, to fall to the floor. At the moment they looked up, the image of Our Lady appeared on the tilma.

The tilma was placed in the Bishop's private oratory and news spread quickly. Later a small chapel was built.

When Juan returned home, his uncle was healed and related to Juan his own encounter with the Lady. A light flooded his room and a beautiful lady appeared, telling him of Juan's mission to the Bishop. She requested that her title be known as the Ever Virgin, Holy Mary of Guadalupe. This further astonded the Bishop. Guadalupe had no meaning in Mexico. It was the name of a famous Marian shrine in Spain. Housed there is the statue of the Blessed Virgin holding the Child Jesus in one hand and a crystal septor in the other signifying her "Divine Motherhood". In 711 during the Moorish invasion it was conceled in an iron casket and hidden in a cave. It was lost until 1326 when it is said Our Lady appeared to a herdman Gil Cordeno and told him where the statue and its authenticating documents could be found. The cave was located the bank of the Guadalupe, a word which means Wolf River. In 1340 the Franciscan monastery, Royal Monastery of Guadalupe, was erected to house the statue. Christopher Columbus prayed there before sailing to the Americas.

The word Guadalupe cannot be spelt nor pronounced in the Aztec language. Bishop Zumarraga had difficulty understanding Juan since Aztec contains no G's or D's. The Aztec word was Teqantlaxopeuh (pronounced Tequetalope) which means "Who save us from the Devourer" or Coatlaxopeuh which means she who breaks, stamps or crushes the serpent.

She indeed was to stamp out the god Quetzalcoatl the dreaded feathered serpent god by the greatest mass conversion to Christianity in history. Today in areas of Mexico where the Aztec language is still spoken, she is referred to as Santa Maria Te Quatlasupe an easier form of Coatlaxopeuh instead of the Spainsh version Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe. We can correlate the Spainsh and the Aztec meanings to incorporate the Immaculate Conception and the Divine Motherhood of Mary which the image on the tilma depictes.

Today it is most significant that Our Lady be Mother of All and Mother of the Americas. She is the one who crushes the serpent and saves us from the Devourer in the Divine Motherhood. Thus, the image on the tilma confirmed and reinforced all the years of preaching by the missionaries. The experience of gazing upon the image is also attributed to converting millions. The extraordinary visual impact made by the sacred image was indescribable. Reproductions do not convey the gentleness and softness nor the features of the image. Since Aztec used pictorals as part of their language, the image told them the whole story. The Lady stood in front of the sun making her greater than the dreaded sun-god Huitzilopochtli. Her foot rested on a cresent moon which signified the god Quetzalcoatl whom she clearly vanquished. The blue-green hue of her mantle was the color worn by Aztec royalty, therefore she was a Queen. And the stars strewn across the mantle told them she was greater than the stars which they worshiped as gods. Yet she was not a god herself since her hands were folded in prayer and her head bowed in reverance to a One greater than her. The black cross on the gold brooch on her neck was identical to the one embossed on the banner and helmets of the Spaniards, telling them that she was the same religion as their conquers. Her pale red dress was the color of the spilled blood of sacrifices, the color of the sun god who gives life and is nourished with the precious liquid of life-blood. It also denotes the East from which the sun rises assuring the continuation of life. It was the color of life through death, of new beginning, of resurrection. The stars also signified the omens of the comet seen ten years before the conquest which foretold the end of their civilization and announced the beginning of a new civilization. The angel supporting her meant that she was of royalty since only royalty was carried by others. And since he was a heavenly creature, they understood that she came on her own and not with the Spaniards. Also each period for the Aztec was supported by a god, therefore this marked the beginning of a new era, the era of the Lady and everything she stood for. The face was the window of the inner person for the Aztec. The face of the Lady had the look of humility and compassion and understanding. The black maternity band around her waist meant she was with child, and it was her child that she was offering to the New World and to all the peoples of this New World. An Indian cross was placed at the center of the image over the naval, signifying the new center of the universe was the child she carried. She is both barer and follower of Christ. Since she announced herself as the Virgin Mary to Juan and the Ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God to Juan's uncle, they knew that the Christ Child was the True God.

Until 1531 the Aztec had resisted the advances of the missionaries in embracing Christianity which would have entailed abandonment of polygamy. But as the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe spread great numbers began to long for this new moral code based on the example portraited by a Mother, Mother of the True God, clean, radiantly pure, in virture and love.

While in Europe the Reformation was taking 5,000,000 Catholics, the Aztec conversions replaced 9,000,000. Under the new Governor the exploitation of the Mexicans became less frequent and the two races merged. Juan Diego, living a life of austerity and humility, continued in charge of the little hermitage of Tepeyac where the tilma was housed and devoted the rest of his life to propogating the story and explaining the significance of the apparitions.

Between 1544 and 1548 while trying to find the site of the fourth apparition for Bishop Zumarraga, Juan found a clear, odorous, slightly acid spring which has been since attributed to many healings.

Twenty-three of the last fourty-four popes who have reigned since the apparition have issued decrees concerning the sacred image. In 1754 Pope Benedict XIV issued a bull approving Our Lady of Guadalupe as Patroness of Mexico and quotes Psalm 147, "He hath not done in like manner to every nation". Puis XI reiterated the proclamation of the Virgin of Guadalupe as Patroness of Latin America. His successor Puis XII proclamed her as Empress of all the Americas. He declared, "Hail, O Virgin of Guadalupe! We to whom the admirable ordering of providence has confided (not taking into account our own unworthiness), the sacred treasure of Divine Wisdom on earth for the salvation of souls, place again upon your brow the crown that forever places under your powerful patronage the purity and integrity of the Mexican faith and of the entire American continent. For we are certain that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe."

Pope John XXIII in proclaiming a Marian year of Our Lady of Guadalupe Dec. 12, 1960 to Dec. 12, 1961, and extoling her as the "Mother of the Americas" prayed, "Hail, Mother of the Americas, Heavenly Missionary of the New World! From the santuary of Tepeyac, for more than four centuries you have been the Mother and Teacher of the Faith to the peoples of the Americas. Be also our protection and save us, O Immaculate Mary. Aid our rulers; stir up a new zeal in our prelates; increase the virtues of the clergy, and preserve forever our Faith. In every home may the holiness of the family flourish, and in the shelter of the home may Catholic education, favoured by your own benign glance, achieve a wholesome growth." On March 25, 1966, Pope Paul VI, his successor presented to the shrine a golden rose, a privilege subsequently accorded only to Lourdes and Fatima. Today Guadalupe is the greatest Marian Shrine in the whole world visited annually by 20,000,000 prilgrims. Other countries and cities around the world have erected shrines in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

On May 3, 1959 the Archbishop of Mexico and Jerzi Skoryna, a former Polish Compatant in Exile, raised the national flag in the Basilica at Tepeyac and consecrated Poland to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Skoryna declared, "Trusting in the Queen of Heaven of Mexico and Poland, we have come to this Holy Alter... emploring from the depths of our hearts, peace, liberty, independence, and justice for the Church of Silence, for our country, and all nations which suffer the most cruel yoke of the atheistic and perfidious doctrine of Communism..."

Through the years, many miraculous events confirmed the sacredness and the protection afforded the country by the sacred image. In 1545, a typhus plague and in 1629 a flood inundating Mexico and drowing 30,000 people were both averted immediately when Our Lady of Guadalupe was partitioned to carry the peoples prayers to God. During the flood a devout lay religious, Sister Petronila, saw a vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe propping up the walls of the city. Asking Our Lady why she did not intercede to avert the flooding, she was told that due to the sins of the people a worse chastisement by fire was merited, but due to the sister's prayers and penances, the punishment was mitigated to a flood. In 1571 a painted copy of the image was taken aboard the Christian flagship in the battle of Lepanto and together with the recition of the rosary by the crew members of the fleet, it is firmly believed to have aided in the impossible victory over the Turks who had never been beaten thus saving Western civilization. In 1736 a typhus plague claimed 700,000 lives in eight months and immediately subsided when Our Lady of Guadalupe was proclaimed as National Patroness of Mexico. All these events and more are recorded and verified.

Another event, ten years after the events on Tepeyac, helped save the Mexicians from smallpox which was claiming 9 out of 10 lives and was brought by the Spaniards. In 1541, in Tlaxcalan Our Lady appeared to Juan Deigo Bernardino on the hill San Lorenzo in an oak forest. She revealed a healing spring which cured everyone who used its waters. The next day the Friars and the villagers followed Juan into the forest to find an oak tree burning. The tree was not consumed and when cut down an image of Our Lady was revealed in the trunk. The image is that of the Holy Mother of God represented as the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. It is today housed in the Basilica of the Lady of Ocotlan (meaning the oak that burned) in Tlaxcalan. Miraculous healings occur there.

Francis Johnston author of "the Wonder of Guadalupe" outlines a striking parallel between our age and that of the Aztec civilization immediately before the apparitions of 1531. "Society is dominated by godlessness, pagan excess and immorality. Countless innocents today are sacrificed alive on the altars of abortion. False deities abound everywhere. Aztec polygamy and depravity are more than matched by today's universal moral collapse. A decisive collision seems inevitable and imminent, as it was in 1531."

"...As in 1531, when only a handful of clerics were praying for deliverance, we can surely trust that, if the faithful few of today persevere and multiply their ranks, Our Lady will intervine again and overwhelm the powers of darkness with the brightness of her presence...

"...One cannot help asking what is the significance of the sacred image for our present world...Why has the brief life-span of the tilma's ayate fabric been prolonged inexplicably for four hundred and fifty years? Why has the delicate material withstood the stain of millions of hands and candles, where even the hard rock of the Lourdes' getto has had to yield? Why did the fiery bite of nitric acid fail to shrival the frailest of fabrics? And above all, why did a Divine hand interpose itself in 1921 between the helpless tilma and the seering blast of a powerful bomb which exploded just beneath it?" (See the scientific data in following pages outlining all these and the images found in the eye of Our Lady)

"Has she some predestined purpose for the Americas, prehaps assuring them of their ultimate protection and safety, as Pope Puis XII believed?...

"This, perhaps, is the ultimate significance of the sacred image in Mexico City today. Four hundred and Fifty years ago, a tangible pledge of hope was left to us by the Mother of Christ, who is our Mother also, if we profess to be truly her Son's brethren. She gave us the pledge in order to sustain the world-wide rationalist revolt against God which has arisen over the past few centuries, and is now reaching its terrible cilmax. From the centre of the American continent, there blazes a beacan of reassurance in a nightmarish world, a star above, a supernatural Statue of Liberty holding up the Light of the World - the Truth that will set men really free - and proclaiming to the people who walk in darkness a wonderous message of thrilling hope:

" I am your merciful Mother, the Mother of all who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping and their sorrows, and will remedy and alleviate their sufferings, necessities and misfortunes ... Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief. Do not fear any illness or vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not your fountain of life? Are you not in the folds of my mantle? In the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else you need?"

"For we are certain that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe." Pope Puis XII

THE SCIENTIFIC DATA

THE TILMA: An Aztec outer garment worn in front like a long apron and frequently looped up to serve as a carry-all.

Made of ayate fiber ; a course fiber derived from the thread of the maguey cactus plant. Juan’s tilma was composed of 2 straight lengths of ayate fiber sewn together in the center and woven so coarsely that it was almost transparent.

Lifespan approximately 20 years.

In the 16th century it was cut down to the size of the image 66" x 41".

The material is still in tact and the two pieces heavier than the thread holding them together are still in tact even though it hung for two centuries.

THE IMAGE: After 450 years the image is still fresh and the colors vivid.

The face, robe, and mantle of the Virgin are declared inexplicable by science. The sunburst, tassels, cuff, moon, gold border of the mantle, stars, and brooch were touched up with paint by Fray Miguel Sanchez trying to enhance the image. Those overlays are showing significant cracking while the original is in perfect condition.

No reproduction can capture or convey the essence of the original nor reproduce the mysterious color changes observed in the original. Great painters have failed to successfully copy the image.

Candle smoke, insense, and purfume have not darkened the image as it was exposed in the environment of the small chapel by an open window. Also over the 1st centruy of its existance, millions of hands touched it, and some even took threads from the tilma.

In 1791, a workman cleaning the gold and silver frame accidentally spilt a bottle of nitric acid across the image. It only left a barely discernible water mark to this delicate fabric.

In the 1920’s under Plutario Calles, the Church was persecuted. Churches were closed and priest and nuns martyred. Daring not close the shrine in fear of the people, Calles had a bomb placed in a flower vase directly under the tilma. On Nov. 14,1921 at 10:30 High Mass the bomb ripped out chunks of marble and shattered stain glass windows bending an iron cross on the devastated alter. No one was seriously injured. The image was completely unscathed and the thin protective glass was not even cracked. The twisted iron cross is displayed in a glass case nearby.

THE FINDINGS : Examination by microscope, infra-red radiation or computer enhancement to 1981 have all pointed to supernatural origins.

In 1963, Members of Kodak de Mexico announced the sacred image was essentially photographic in character.

In 1979, infra-red photography that was used to determine authenticity in the artist paintings and unmask overpainting or alterations was used on the image . Results were that no sizing, no underdrawing, no protective over varnish were present and without any of these the tilma should have rotted of ruined centries ago. There were no signs of cracking or fading on the original image. Even the coarse weave of the tilma had been used in a manner to give depth to the face of the image imparting a 3-dimentional aspect and causing light diffraction.

IN THE EYE OF OUR LADY : In 1929, Alfonso Gonzales enlarged a photo ot the image and found a human face in the eye of Our Lady. His findings were shelved and forgotten.

In May 29, 1951, J. Carlos Salina Chavag also found the features and bust of a bearded man. This was made public in Dec. 1955 and the man was confirmed to be Juan Diago.

In June, 1956, Dr. Lavoignet examined the eye under a ophthalmoscope and found that the distortion and place of the man in the optic image was identical to that produced in the normal eye.

The image on the tilma was like an exposed color film.

In 1962 Dr. Wahlig found 2 more men in the eyes. By applying the law of refraction in convex mirrors he reconstructed the exact circumstance at the time the image was created. The whole scene of the two bishops facing Juan as he opened his tilma is recreated in eyes of the image as if Our Lady was standing directly behind the two Bishops. Their identification was also confirmed.

[ this addition - Jan 2001- Also visit ZENIT.ORG Vatican News in archives on Jan 14, 2001 for more recent news on the EYES - "Science Stunned by Virgin of Guadalupe’s Eyes" ] :

REFERENCES :

The Wonder of Guadalupe, by Francis Johnston

An Encounter in the Forest with the Mother of God, by David Holloway, Jr.

St. Michael Appears in the New World, unknown

That Fateful Moment When Two Civilizations Came Face to Face , by Charles L. Mee, Jr. from the Smithsonian

Our Lady of Guadalope , The Imprinted Image