Only a few days have passed since the feast of the Immaculate Conception, but the Holy City is still in a festive mood for the Mother of the Redeemer, due to the day commemorating the miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary in Mexico to young Juan Diego.
According to the traditional story, Mary appeared on several occasions between 9th and 12th December 1531 to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an Aztec who had converted to Christianity, on the hill of Tepeyac, north of Mexico City. The name Guadalupe is said to have been dictated by Mary herself to Juan Diego: it has been hypothesized that it is the translation in Spanish of the Aztec expression Coatlaxopeuh, "she who strikes the serpent" (cf. Genesis 3,14-15). Our Lady of Guadalupe is venerated by Catholics as the patron saint and queen of the American continent and of the Philippines and her feast day is celebrated on 12th December, the day of her last apparition. The story of the meeting between this man and Mary is very moving and the miracle of the image impressed on a very humble and rough piece of cloth is full of mysteries which never cease to amaze men in every generation. The most incredible discovery about this event is that made by a commission of scientists, with the help of sophisticated electronic equipment, which showed the presence of a group of 13 people reflected in the pupils of the Holy Virgin: they are said to be Juan Diego himself, with the bishop and other unknown figures, present on that day at the miraculous event in the house of the prelate. This is a real puzzle for scholars, a scientifically inexplicable phenomenon which reveals the miraculous origin of the image and communicates a great message of hope to the whole world.
There are very many people from the American continent and from the Philippines in Jerusalem, lay people and religious, and for this reason today’s celebration had a truly international flavour. The church of St. Saviour took on a different appearance, garlands with multicoloured flowers in bright hues decorated the columns of the main nave and a decoration in pure Mexican style at the side of the presbytery became the corner for the veneration of the statue representing Our Lady of Guadalupe as she appears on the miraculous cloth, surrounded by a jubilation of flowers. The Holy Mass was presided by His Beatitude the Very Reverend Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal and concelebrated by numerous priests with the participation of truly joyous people. For some years now, the feast day has taken on an international connotation, as is the Latin Church of Jerusalem; the young altar boys of St. Saviour were the main organizers of the day which began with weeks of preparations, a night of prayer for peace in front of the Blessed Sacrament and which came to a conclusion with the celebration that followed the Eucharist and the procession with the Image of Our Lady. Joyous songs, Latino music and rhythms and Mexican dances, all to thank the Lord for the great gift of faith, hope and his most excellent creature: Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared to Juan Diego standing, dressed in the sun and who not only announced to him that she is our spiritual mother but invited him - as she invites all of us - to open up his heart to the work of Christ who loves us and saves us. She still says today, as she did to Juan Diego, to each of her sons and daughters: “Do not fear, am I, your mother, not here?”
According to the traditional story, Mary appeared on several occasions between 9th and 12th December 1531 to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an Aztec who had converted to Christianity, on the hill of Tepeyac, north of Mexico City. The name Guadalupe is said to have been dictated by Mary herself to Juan Diego: it has been hypothesized that it is the translation in Spanish of the Aztec expression Coatlaxopeuh, "she who strikes the serpent" (cf. Genesis 3,14-15). Our Lady of Guadalupe is venerated by Catholics as the patron saint and queen of the American continent and of the Philippines and her feast day is celebrated on 12th December, the day of her last apparition. The story of the meeting between this man and Mary is very moving and the miracle of the image impressed on a very humble and rough piece of cloth is full of mysteries which never cease to amaze men in every generation. The most incredible discovery about this event is that made by a commission of scientists, with the help of sophisticated electronic equipment, which showed the presence of a group of 13 people reflected in the pupils of the Holy Virgin: they are said to be Juan Diego himself, with the bishop and other unknown figures, present on that day at the miraculous event in the house of the prelate. This is a real puzzle for scholars, a scientifically inexplicable phenomenon which reveals the miraculous origin of the image and communicates a great message of hope to the whole world.
There are very many people from the American continent and from the Philippines in Jerusalem, lay people and religious, and for this reason today’s celebration had a truly international flavour. The church of St. Saviour took on a different appearance, garlands with multicoloured flowers in bright hues decorated the columns of the main nave and a decoration in pure Mexican style at the side of the presbytery became the corner for the veneration of the statue representing Our Lady of Guadalupe as she appears on the miraculous cloth, surrounded by a jubilation of flowers. The Holy Mass was presided by His Beatitude the Very Reverend Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal and concelebrated by numerous priests with the participation of truly joyous people. For some years now, the feast day has taken on an international connotation, as is the Latin Church of Jerusalem; the young altar boys of St. Saviour were the main organizers of the day which began with weeks of preparations, a night of prayer for peace in front of the Blessed Sacrament and which came to a conclusion with the celebration that followed the Eucharist and the procession with the Image of Our Lady. Joyous songs, Latino music and rhythms and Mexican dances, all to thank the Lord for the great gift of faith, hope and his most excellent creature: Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, who appeared to Juan Diego standing, dressed in the sun and who not only announced to him that she is our spiritual mother but invited him - as she invites all of us - to open up his heart to the work of Christ who loves us and saves us. She still says today, as she did to Juan Diego, to each of her sons and daughters: “Do not fear, am I, your mother, not here?”