The Mexican Devotion: Our Lady of Guadalupe, the brown-skinned virgin
Though Catholicism is practiced by around 83% of the population, Mexicans are commonly called “Guadalupans”. What does this mean?
While the percentage of Catholics in Mexico may vary, the Virgin of Guadalupe is an integral and cherished part of Mexican national identity, which is reflected in the fact that countless women and men are named “Guadalupe”, having the nickname “Lupe”.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a venerated image enshrined within the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
The basilica is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world, and the world’s third most-visited sacred site.
The account of the Virgin’s miraculous revelation to Juan Diego
According to tradition the Virgin Mary appeared four times before a native Mexican peasant named Juan Diego, and once before Juan Diego’s uncle. The first apparition occurred on the morning of December 9, 1531, when the Virgin spoke to Juan Diego in his native Nahuatl language and asked that a shrine be built in her name on the spot where she appeared — Tepeyac Hill, which is now a part of Villa de Guadalupe, a suburb of Mexico City.
Juan Diego told Bishop Juan de Zumárraga about the Virgin Mary’s appearance and request, but the bishop didn’t believe him and demanded a sign before he would approve construction of the church. The Virgin appeared twice more asking him to insist, but Juan Diego got busy taking care of his uncle who fell sick.
In the early morning of Tuesday, 12th December 1531, “La Virgen de Guadalupe” made her fourth appearance to Juan Diego, while he was looking for help for his sick uncle, and ordered him to collect roses, which were out of season, in his tilmátli, a kind of cloak made of cactus fibres. Juan took the roses to the bishop and when he opened his cloak, dozens of roses fell to the floor, revealing the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe imprinted on the inside. The tilmátli with the image is now on display in the Basilica de Guadalupe.
To honour the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe to an indigenous man, 12th of December is celebrated with great devotion by Mexicans.
The first official celebration was in 1667, when by decree of Pope Clemente IX, December 12th was instituted as a celebration day to honor “La Virgen de Guadalupe”. In 1824 Mexican National Congress declared 12th of December as a National Celebration.
Nowadays expressions of love to “La Virgen de Guadalupe” have been increasing exponentially. Each year more and more people walk to “La Villa” where you can find “La Basílica de Guadalupe (the temple built in her honour), reaching almost two million people attending the celebrations. Continuing the tradition, the celebration begins on 11th December, with a Serenata in her honour, followed by distinct tributes until it is December 12th, when they sing the famous “Las Mañanitas” to “La Virgen de Guadalupe”.
There are continuous celebrations until noon of the 12th when a special celebration called “Celebración y Bendición de las Rosas” or Celebration and Blessing of the Roses is held.
Very similar to the Indian tradition of conducting “yatra” to pilgrimage spots, on this day people from all over Mexico, and peregrinos or pilgrims (yatris) from all over the world, travel to the chapel in Tepayac Hill, near Mexico City, to pray and join the celebrations. Colourful fiestas are held in Mexico and Central Americas for this occasion.
This year an estimated 5 million pilgrims visited the shrine.
More than religious, the devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe is now a cultural linkage between all Mexicans.
Throughout the Mexican national history of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Guadalupan name and image have been used as a sign of patriotism; the first President of Mexico (1824–29) changed his name from José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix to Guadalupe Victoria in honour of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The armed forces of Miguel Hidalgo, in the Mexican War of Independence 1810, and of Emiliano Zapata, in the Mexican Revolution 1910, carried Guadalupan flags bearing an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the battle cry was “Long Live Our Lady of Guadalupe”.
In 2002, Pope John Paul II canonized Juan Diego, making him the first indigenous American saint, and Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the Patroness of the Americas, the Empress of Latin America, and the Protectress of Unborn Children.
The Virgin of Guadalupe is considered the patron saint of Mexico. Also known as the brown-skinned virgin, she is depicted with brown skin, an angel and moon at her feet and rays of sunlight that encircle her. The Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe has become the recognized symbol of Catholic Mexicans. Today, her image is found everywhere throughout Mexico, gracing churches, homes, restaurants, and even vehicles.
The famous image is full of spiritual symbols.
- Instead of the typical “white” Madonna, Our Lady of Guadalupe appears with the dark complexion of the indigenous people. She is a mestizo, a combination of Mexican and Spanish.
- She is pictured in prayer, dressed from neck to feet in a pink robe and blue-green cerulean mantle, emblazoned with eight-point stars with two black tassels tied at the waist.
- A feathered cherubic angel with outstretched arms carries the robe on her exposed feet.
- Straight and wavy gold rays of sun interchange behind her.
- She stands upon a crescent moon, allegedly coloured silver in the past, but now has turned dark.
The Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes once said that “you cannot truly be considered a Mexican unless you believe in the Virgin of Guadalupe”.
Nobel Literature laureate Octavio Paz, former Ambassador of Mexico to India, wrote in 1974 that, “the Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments, have faith only in the Virgin of Guadalupe and the National Lottery”.
