On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, Juan Diego was on his way to church to participate in the Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and in the catechetical instruction which would follow. As he reached Tepeyac Hill, he heard beautiful music and a beautiful voice calling out his name. Our Blessed Mother appeared to him as the “woman clothed with the sun” of the Book of Revelation, pregnant with the Child Jesus. She instructed Juan Diego to go to the house of Bishop Juan de Zumárraga and to request that a chapel be built in her honor on Tepeyac Hill so that she might show the infinite majesty and mercy of God to all His children of America.

Our Lady of Guadalupe instructed Saint Juan Diego to gather Castilian roses, as a heavenly sign for the Bishop. Obedient to her command, the humble messenger gathered the roses in his tilma. When he unfolded the tilma before the Bishop, the blossoms fell to the ground, and upon the coarse fiber there appeared, by divine power, the likeness of Our Lady of Guadalupe was left and miraculously remains

Through the centuries, the sacred tilma has remained intact, preserved beyond scientific explanation. Exposed to time, to humidity, and even to accidents that should have destroyed it, the image endures as a living sign of divine mercy-its meaning and power undiminished through the ages. It is a constant reminder of Our Lady’s unfailing presence and intercession. From that miraculous image, she continues to draw countless souls to her Divine Son, leading them to the grace and mercy that flow from His Most Sacred Heart.