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The story and history of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Dec. 06, 2007

The Virgin Mary, appearing as Our Lady of Guadalupe, appeared to Juan Diego, an indigenous man, on three occasions in December 1531, 10 years after Spain's conquest of the Aztec Empire. These visions of Mary to the Mexican peasant in the 1500s
Schedule for celebrations of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Diocese of Sioux City are as follows:

Sacred Heart Church, Alvord – On Dec. 16 a rosary will be held at 5 p.m. with a fiesta to follow at the Alvord Community Center.

St. Rose of Lima Church, Denison – Las mananitas will be held at 5 a.m. followed by 6 a.m. Mass on Dec. 9. Food and activities will follow in the parish center. On Dec. 12 students will participate in a torch run from Vail to Denison before the start of the 7 p.m. Mass. The Guadalupe play will follow.

St. Patrick Church, Estherville/Sacred Heart, Spencer/St. Mary, Armstrong – On Dec. 9 the celebration will begin at 5 a.m. with las mananitas followed by chocolate and sweet bread being served. The morning will also include praise and adoration, the drama of the Guadalupe/Juan Diego story and the novena prayer and rosary. Later in the day the communities will gather again for a procession in the street with the Aztec dancers. A Mass will be held at 1 p.m. at St. Patrick’s in Estherville. Father Brian Hughes and Father Brent Lingle will concelebrate the Mass. Following Mass a potluck meal, music and dancing will be held in the Duhigg Center.

Holy Trinity Parish, Fort Dodge – A novena of rosaries at different homes began Dec. 4 with the last rosary at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12 at Sacred Heart Worship Site. Mass will be celebrated at 7 p.m. followed by a potluck and party.

St. Mary Church, Hawarden – A bilingual Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 9 with a celebration to follow.

St. Mary Church, Rock Valley – On Dec. 12 the procession of dancers will begin at 5:30 p.m. with Mass at 6 p.m. Following Mass, a fiesta will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Rock Valley High School.

Christ the King Church, Sioux Center – Las mananitias will be held at 5 a.m. Dec. 12.

Cathedral of the Epiphany, Sioux City – A novena began Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. before the 7 p.m. Mass. Each night the rosary will be recited at 6 p.m. On Dec. 9 at 5 a.m. there will be las mananitas (sung prayer) along with the rosary. A group of child dancers will also be part of the celebration. Mass will be celebrated at 6:15 a.m. Bishop R. Walker Nickless will be in attendance. Following Mass, a procession will cross the street to the Epiphany Center for a play portraying the apparitions of Mary to Juan Diego with a reception (chocolate and sweet bread) to conclude the festivities. Another Mass will be held at 10: 30 a.m. followed by the play for a second time. At noon food will be served. The novena will continue until Dec. 12. Mass will be held at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12. The students in the confirmation class will help at the Mass.

St. Patrick Church, Sheldon – A 11 a.m. Mass will be held Dec. 16 followed by a fiesta.

St. Mary Church, Storm Lake – A nine-day novena began on Dec. 4 and will be held each evening at 6:30 p.m. There will be a Mass at noon on Dec. 9 followed by a fiesta in the gym until 4 p.m.
fueled conversions among the native peoples of the New World.

Juan Diego, born in 1474 in Cuautitlan, a community northwest of what is now Mexico 

City, was named Cuauhtlatoatzin, and when he was baptized by Franciscan missionaries in 1525, he received the Christian name Juan Diego.

Mary encountered him on a hill known as Tepeyac, on the north side of Mexico City. The hillside was associated with the worship of Tonantzin, a mother of gods in the Aztec religion.

Mary appeared as an Aztec princess and spoke in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs still spoken by about three million people in central Mexico. She addressed Juan Diego with an honorific title and asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a church built on the site.

When the bishop asked Juan Diego for proof she had made this request, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac. Our Lady told him to gather out-of-season roses in his cloak and take them to the bishop.

When Juan Diego returned to the bishop, he unrolled his cloak that held the flowers. After the roses fell out of the cloak, known as his tilma, the bishop could see it was emblazoned with the image of Mary, dressed as a dark-skinned Aztec princess, standing in front of the sun and on top of a crescent moon. This image is now known around the world.

The cloak now hangs behind the altar of the Guadalupe basilica in Mexico. The message was understood to be an affirmation of the indigenous people in the midst of their defeat and oppression, and was central in the church's evangelical effort. Juan Diego died in 1548. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 6, 1990, during a visit to Mexico City.

Juan Diego was canonized in July of 2002. The pope referred to him as a "simple, humble Indian" who found faith by the contemplating face of Mary. He said the saint was a catalyst for Christian evangelization in the region.

Pope John Paul II designated Our Lady of Guadalupe as patroness of the Americas and Bishop Daniel N. DiNardo, former bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City, named her patron saint of the Diocese of Sioux City. When Our Lady appeared in 1531, there was no boundary separating the United States and Mexico.

Centuries after Our Lady's appearance, she continues to be important to many people, especially Mexicans. With that in mind, many parishes in the Diocese of Sioux City plan fiestas on or near her feast day, Dec. 12.