According to tradition, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared four times to Juan Diego on the Cerro del Tepeyac. The last of these miraculous meetings took place on December 12, 1531.
According to popular traditions, on Tuesday, December 12, 1531, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared for the fourth time to the indigenous Juan Diego. The incident happened very early in the morning when the Cuautitlan native went out for help for his sick uncle. La Patrona de México met the humble man next to ‘Pocito’ where she told her that her uncle was already healthy.
So, she asked him to climb to the top of the Cerro del Tepeyac where he would find some roses, at a time and in a place where they did not bloom, which he could gather and take to the Bishop as proof of his miraculous encounters in which the Virgin has told him to build a sanctuary in that place.
Around midday, Juan Diego was received by Bishop Zumárraga, who witnessed how many roses from Castile fell from Juan Diego’s ayate, while the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was revealed from the blanket.
December 12, day of the Guadalupana
After the miracle of the fourth apparition of the Virgin on December 12, 1531, the event is celebrated since then with great devotion. The first news that we have of an official celebration is from 1667, when Pope Clement IX establishes December 12 as a holiday in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. By 1824, the National Congress declared December 12 as a National Holiday.
In 1988, the liturgical celebration of the Virgin was elevated to the rank of Fiesta also in all the diocese of the United States of America. Currently, the expressions of love Guadalupano: the pilgrims celebrating the Virgin in La Villa de Guadalupe total approximately two million.
Year after year, the festivities begin on the eve of December 12, with the interpretation of “Las Mañanitas” by famous artists who pay homage to the Virgin Morena.
As is tradition, the celebrations begin from December 11 at 6:45 p.m. with the popular serenade to the Virgin of Guadalupe, followed by different tributes until 24:00 hrs. when the traditional Mañanitas are intoned. All the early morning and until 20:00 hrs. From December 12 a series of masses continues among which, the most important is the one dedicated to the Celebration and Blessing of the Roses, at the point of midday.
