Patroness of the Americas
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mystical Rose, Mother of the true God for whom we live — pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Enter the PresenceA Sacred Dedication
To the Mother of Our Lord and Savior
This sanctuary is dedicated in filial love to the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe — she who appeared upon the hill of Tepeyac in December of 1531 to St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, leaving her miraculous image upon his humble tilma.
She came not as a distant queen, but as a Mother: "the ever-Virgin Holy Mary, Mother of the true God for whom we live, of the Creator of all things, Lord of heaven and earth." Through her maternal intercession, millions were drawn to the heart of her Son, Jesus Christ.
In 1946, Pope Pius XII declared her Patroness of the Americas. Her feast is celebrated on December 12, kept throughout the United States as a feast on the liturgical calendar of the Church.
Come here daily. Pray. Rest beneath the mantle of the Mother of God.
Tepeyac, 1531
The Apparitions to St. Juan Diego
December 9, 1531
On his way to Mass, Juan Diego hears celestial music on Tepeyac hill. A radiant Lady appears, speaking in his native Nahuatl, asking that a church be built where she might show her love and compassion to all.
December 10, 1531
Bishop Juan de Zumárraga asks for a sign. The Lady promises one, but Juan Diego, tending his dying uncle, avoids the hill. She intercepts him with tender words: 'Am I not here, I who am your Mother?'
December 12, 1531
She sends him to gather Castilian roses blooming impossibly in winter frost. When Juan Diego opens his tilma before the Bishop, the roses fall — and upon the cloth appears her miraculous image, untouched by human hands.
Roses in December
Come and Pray Before Her Each Day
"Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear that sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, I who am your Mother?"