Behind the Inspiration

When Mary appeared to the Mexican St. Juan Diego, she told him to tell the bishop to build a chapel at the apparition site. This was hard for the bishop to believe, and he told Juan Diego that he must have proof. When Juan Diego next saw Our Lady, she told him to go to a nearby hill and gather roses to give to the bishop. Despite the impossibility of roses growing in winter, Juan Diego obeyed and found beautiful roses that he gathered in his cloak and brought to show the bishop.

Upon opening his cloak, the roses fell to his feet, and the bishop recognized them as Castilian roses, which only grew in his native Spain. But even more miraculous was the image now seen on the cloak, that of a Mexican woman with child, standing on a moon and clothed in stars. This image, that of Our Lady of Guadalupe, is still visible almost 500 years later.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.