The impact of St. Juan Diego’s faith

by Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo

When the Spaniards came to St. Juan Diego’s Mexico they brought war, not peace, unfortunately. They brought infection, sickness, and epidemic to the splendid Empire of Tenochtitlan.

Because of their avarice, they seized from the Indians all their wealth, sending a part of the booty back to Spain. Hernan Cortes besieged the city, using a flotilla of brigantines to secure control of the lake. The firearms of the Spaniards were more powerful than the mere arrows used by the Indians. To make things worse, famine arose, and an epidemic brought by the Europeans overcame the Aztecs’ ferocious resistance.

The Spaniards were still unsatisfied. They wanted all the gold and silver of the Aztecs, who preferred to sink their treasures into the lake. Cortes tortured the last emperor and his courtesans to get their precious valuables.

According to history, almost all the Aztec nobility died, the only survivors being a few elderly and some strong youth. Cuauhtemoc, the last Emperor, was taken prisoner, his feet were burned, and he was hanged.

Among the survivors of this horrendous massacre, in which over 150,000 natives were killed, was Cuauhlaotzin, the Indian name of Juan Diego, whose uncle was very sick and would be the first person miraculously healed by our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Aztec empire collapsed. In this scenario our Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, to remedy so much distress and injustice. She became the Protector and Queen of the poor and persecuted. She became the hope for the Indians, whom she would convert to Jesus.

As stated previously, Juan Diego was immediately attracted by the gentleness of the missionaries. Nevertheless, until recently, very little was known about his life, except that Our Lady appeared to him four times at the hill of Tepeyac, where formerly there had been a sanctuary dedicated to an Aztec goddess called Tonanzin.

At the first apparition, Mary asked Juan Diego to request the local bishop to build a church on that site, where she could be present with all her love and compassion for her sons and daughters, who were under the duress of the Spanish soldiers.

The Bishop of Mexico, Juan Zumarraga, was reluctant to accept Juan Diego’s story; he would not listen to his ardent petition to build a sanctuary. Instead he asked Juan Diego to bring him a sign as evidence which could convince him that the apparition was truly Mary, the Mother of God, and that she desired a shrine built in her honour.

The bishop did not believe that Mary could be seen by an unknown and illiterate Indian. How was it possible that she chose to appear before an individual of a race which was inferior to the Spanish people, a man who had only recently converted to Christianity?

Unlike the more well known apparitions at Lourdes and Fatima where she appeared to young children like Bernadette and Lucia, Our Lady chose a mature indigenous man who was about 57 years old, a convert, and who had witnessed the atrocities inflicted upon his own people. The Indians were in need of peace, of a new religion, and of the protection of Mary, our most holy Mother.

Although we do not have an official biography of Juan Diego, we certainly know that he was an Indian with the characteristics of his race. He belonged to a tribe called Nahuatl, a special people whose culture paid particular respect to the virtues of their mothers. Friar Bernardino de Sahagun described how meticulously the grandparents taught their grandchildren to respect all pregnant woman.

With tenderness, they praised their pregnant mothers, sisters, and friends, explaining to everyone that the fruit of their womb was a divine gift of God. The elders advised the future mother to avoid lifting heavy burdens, to have quiet moments of prayers, to eat moderately, and never become intoxicated with the Mexican drink called “pulque.”

Pulque is a beverage which has existed for over 2,000 years, made by distilling the sap of a certain cactus. It has the flavour of honey, quenches the thirst, and inebriation comes slowly to the drinker.

Very few people know that Mother’s Day began in Mexico where, for more than a hundred years it has been celebrated as a statutory holiday on May 10th. The custom has expanded worldwide.

The high regard and veneration for mothers is noticeable around Mexico. In each little village, town, or city, a Monumento a la Madre (a statue to the Mother) stands in a prominent place.

Many Indians believe that the Virgin of Guadalupe was pregnant with her son, Jesus, as she appeared in the month of December, shortly before Christmas. The cincture around her waist appears to be high at the front as though she were pregnant.

Today she is the inspiration of those who believe that life is a gift of God and an encouragement for the pro-life movement.

Pope John Paul II wanted to emphasize all this when he canonized St. Juan Diego: the end of human sacrifices, respect for life, and dignity for the Indians, who were converted in great numbers, as we will see.

Msgr. Lopez-Gallo’s columns are available in two volumes for $20 each from St. Andrew’s Church Supply, 275 E. 8 Ave., Vancouver, V5T 1R9, or toll-free at 1-800-663-7161. Proceeds will go to Hogar de Nazareth Orphanage in Mexico, which he sponsors.