The Virgin Mary appeared to a man named Juan Diego and instructed him to go to the Bishop to tell him to build a church at this town. This was a miraculous event that happened on December 9, 1531. One of the things that still survives today is Juan's mantle that was used to carry the flowers for prove to the Bishop that the Virgin Mary had appeared to him. This incredible event is celebrated today on December the 12th. It is estimated that 10 million people visit her Basilica every year, making her Mexico City home the most popular Marian shrine in the world, and the most visited Catholic Church in the world next to the Vatican.
After two years of the Aztec capital of Tenochitlan falling to Hernán Cortés and his Conquistadors, the first Roman Catholic missionaries arrived in Mexico to branch out Christianity. And one of the first a men to be converted into Christianity was a 57 years old man named Juan Diego.
Bishop Joseph Inima
House of the Virgin Mary now a chapel in Ephesus, ...
A view from Tepeyac Hill Where Juan Diego had the ...The story of the Virgin Mary appearance began on December 9, 1531, when Juan was walking early on a Saturday morning to attend mass. He was greeted by the Virgin Mary "radiant as the sun" at Tepeyac Hill, which was 3 miles from the Mexico City Cathedral. He heard a Heavenly music and then her voice in his own language (Nahuatl) spoke to him. She addressed him as "my son" and said, "I am the Mother of all of you who dwell in this land." She told him to go tell the Bishop that they were to build a church on this land. So that she is near them to protect them and love them.
He went to the Bishop (Zumarraga) to address his vision. He was a poor and a humble...