 | Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe,' the Image of Our Lady is actually an Aztec Pictograph which was read and understood quickly by the Aztec Indians. * THE LADY STOOD IN FRONT OF THE SUN — She was greater than their dreaded sun-god "Huitzilopochtli". HER FOOT RESTED ON THE CRESCENT MOON — She had clearly vanquished their foremost deity, the feather serpent "Quetzalcoatl". THE STARS STREWN ACROSS THE MANTLE — She was greater than the stars of heaven which they worshipped. She was a virgin and the Queen of the heavens for Virgo rests over her womb and the northern crown upon her head. She appeared on December 12, 1531, for the stars that she wore are the constellation of stars that appeared in the sky that day! THE BLUE‑GREEN HUE OF HER MANTLE — She was a Queen for she wears the color of royalty. THE BLACK CROSS ON THE BROOCH AT HER NECK — Her God was that of the Spanish Missionaries, Jesus Christ her son. THE BLACK BELT — She was with child for she wore the Aztec Maternity Belt. THE FOUR-PETAL FLOWER OVER THE WOMB — She was the "Mother of God." The flower was a special symbol of life, movement and deity — the center of the universe. HER HANDS ARE JOINED IN PRAYER — She was not God but clearly there was one greater than Her and she pointed her finger to the cross on her brooch. THE DESIGN ON HER ROSE-COLORED GARMENT — She is the "Queen of the Earth," for she is wearing a map of Mexico telling the Indians exactly where the apparition took place. |
 | Proof was obligingly provided. Mary appeared a third time to Diego and told him to go right to the top of the hill and pick for the Bishop some Castilian roses, native to the Bishop's homeland, which he would find growing in the middle of winter. Of course, that is the nature of a miracle so Juan filled his cloak [tilma] full of these roses. On presenting the cloak full of roses to the Bishop, both men were amazed to see a painted image of an indigenous Virgin Mary miraculously appear on the tilma. When the Aztecs discovered that this dark-skinned Virgin had not only appeared on Teyepac where they worshipped their own mother goddess Tonantzin, but that she had also spoken to Juan Diego in their native tongue Náhuatl, their conversion to Catholicism was assured. Juan Diego was made a saint by Pope John Paul II in the Basilica of Guadalupe in July of 2002. |
 | n 1326, when a humble cowherd named Gil, from Extremadura, reported that Our Lady had manifested herself to him, and that he had found a casket buried in the earth, the announcement evoked great emotion. When ecclesiastical authorities reached the little village of Guadalupe in the neighborhood where the casket had been unearthed, they discovered that it contained a statue, which had been concealed six hundred years before by the Knights of Don Rodrigo during their flight. Pertinent documents vouchsafed for the authenticity of the image. The statue, though buried beneath the earth for six hundred years, was perfectly preserved. "During the next 150 years or so, the Marian shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe became the most popular pilgrimage site in fifteenth-century Spain, as is evidenced by the fact that on July 29, 1496, Christopher Columbus visited the shrine to thank the Virgin for her protection on his voyages.** |