The day of the Virgin of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12.
The feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe moves thousands of parishioners every year to the Mexican shrine of Guadalupe. The authorities estimate that between December 11 and 12, 2021, about 4 million pilgrims will arrive at the temple, located on the Tepeyac hill in Mexico City.
Invocation of the Virgin Mary
According to Catholic tradition, on a Saturday in 1531 at the beginning of December, the indigenous Chichimeca Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, went very early in the morning from the town where he resided to Mexico City to attend his catechism classes and to hear mass. Upon reaching the Tepeyac hill, he heard a voice calling him by name.
Juan Diego climbed to the top and saw the Virgin. She would have told him: “Juanito: the smallest of my children, I am the always Virgin Mary, mother of the true God, by whom we live. I strongly desire that a temple be built for me here, in order to show and lavish all my love, compassion, help and defense to all the inhabitants of this earth and to all those who call on me and trust me. Go to the bishop and tell him that I want a temple on this plain. Go and put all your effort into it ”.
When he was returning home, Juan Diego met the Virgin Mary again and explained what had happened. She asked him to go again the next day to speak with the bishop, the Franciscan Juan de Zumárraga, and repeat the message. This time the bishop, after hearing Juan Diego told him that he should go and tell the lady to give him some sign that would prove that she was the mother of God.
On the way back, Juan Diego found María and related the events to her. The Virgin ordered him to return the next day to the same place because there he would give the signal. The following day the young man could not return to the hill because his uncle Juan Bernardino was very ill. In the early hours of December 12, Juan Diego hurried to get a priest for his uncle because he was seriously ill. When he reached the place where he should meet the lady, he preferred to take another path to avoid her. Suddenly Maria came out to meet him and asked where he was going.
Truths and facts about the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe
Virgin of Guadalupe, of Mexico and the world
The embarrassed Indian explained what was happening. The Virgin told Juan Diego not to worry, that his uncle would not die and that he was already healthy. Then the young man asked him for the sign that he should take to the bishop. María told him to climb to the top of the hill where she found fresh Castile roses and _ putting on her tilma (cotton blanket) _, she cut as many as she could and took them to the bishop.
Once before Monsignor Zumarraga, Juan Diego unfolded his blanket, the roses fell to the ground and the tilma was painted with what is now known as the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Seeing this, the bishop took the holy image to the Greater Church and built a hermitage in the place that the indigenous had indicated, the portal details ACI Press.
Great devotion
The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is venerated in Mexico with great devotion. It is believed that the pilgrimages began from the appearance of the image on the mantle of Juan Diego; However, historical records place the first celebration of the Virgin around 1667; On December 12 of that year, the Day in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe was instituted in Mexico through a papal bull from Clement IX.
While on December 12, 1824, the National Congress declared that day as a National Holiday. Since then, on the eve of that day, various activities have been carried out, including Las Mañanitas a la Virgen as well as masses.
However, this year several measures have been taken due to the still present COVID-19 pandemic. For example, pilgrims will not be able to spend the night in the vicinity of the basilica, attendees must wear masks permanently and present their complete vaccination schedule.
Likewise, minors or adolescents may not be taken. There will be no masses and it will not be allowed to stay long in the atrium and inside the temples; A system was designed that will allow the maximum flow of 750 people per minute through the bands of the basilica, and 1,600 people through the central corridor.
The ecclesiastical authorities indicated that the mañanitas to the Virgin of Guadalupe and the midnight mass in her honor will be prerecorded. These activities will be broadcast on social networks for everyone [Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube]; while in Mexican territory they can be seen on open television. (I)
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