Virgin Mary of Guadalupe - the famous image of the Virgin, is considered the most revered shrine in all of Latin America. It is noteworthy that this is one of the few images of the Virgin on which she is dark. In the Catholic tradition, it is revered as a miraculous image.
Appearance story
Among the first sources mentioning the appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe is a recording of Luis Lasso de la Vega. All indications are that they were made in 1649. In them, in particular, it is indicated that at the end of 1531 the Mother of God four times appeared to a local peasant named Juan Diego Kuauhtlatoattsin.
It was an Aztec, which in our time is revered as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. According to legend, the Virgin appeared to Juan for the first time in early December, this happened on the top of a hill called Tepeiac, now it is the northern part of the modern Mexican capital - the city of Mexico City. The Virgin began to speak with him, saying that she wanted to build a temple in this place. Then she told Juan to go to the bishop of Mexico and tell him about her desire.
It is noteworthy that with her appearance she fully corresponded to the ideas of the Indians about how a young girl of unearthly beauty should look, in particular, the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe was initially dark-skinned.
The peasant did not dare to disobey the mysterious stranger, going to the Franciscan bishop Juan de Sumarraga.
De Sumarraga was a Spanish priest, the first bishop of Mexico. Historians say that this was an extremely controversial person. On the one hand, it was his merit that in Mexico appeared higher education, health care system, printing, in 1534 he opened the country's first public library, waged a fierce struggle against slavery. At the same time, he neglected the past of the people who lived on this earth. On his orders, the monuments of Indian culture were destroyed, he became the founder of the Mexican Inquisition.
At the same time, de Sumarraga listened to the peasant, but did not believe his words, asking him to come later, as he supposedly needs time to think things over. On the way home Diego again saw Madonna on the hill, he immediately admitted to her that the bishop did not believe his story. The Mother of God in response to this told him the next day to go again to de Sumarraga, repeat his request, emphasizing that this desire comes from the mother of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin.
The next day was Sunday. Diego first visited the church, and after the service went to the bishop for the second time. Togo was still tormented by doubts, although when he saw what a persistent peasant he began to believe in him little by little. Still, de Sumarraga asked Diego to convey to the Mother of God that he needed some sign from above in order to finally believe. All on the same hill, the Virgin was still waiting for Juan. Hearing the bishop’s request, she ordered the peasant to return to this place the next day to receive the “sign” that would convince the bishop to begin building the church.
On Monday, Diego had to go visit his uncle, who was seriously ill. He could not miss this visit, he even went the other way to his relative, so as not to meet with the Virgin, but she nevertheless appeared on his way. She immediately reassured the peasant, saying that he should not rush to his uncle at all, because he had finally recovered. Instead, Diego should head to the top of the hill to pick up the confirmation of her words for the bishop.
According to the tradition that exists in Catholicism, on a hill Diego discovered that at its very top there are many blooming roses, despite the fact that it was winter around. He cut off several flowers, wrapped them in a cloak, and came to the bishop. At the priest's reception, the peasant silently took off his cloak, throwing roses at his feet. Seeing this, all those present fell to their knees, since the image of the Virgin Mary appeared on the cloak at that moment.
Temple construction
The very next day, Juan took the bishop to the place where the Virgin ordered the construction of the temple. By the way, his uncle really recovered, saying that the Virgin Mary appeared to him. It was to him that the Theotokos informed her that her image should be called Guadalupe. This word comes from a distorted Aztec expression, which means "the one that crushes the snake."
The temple was built on the site of the destroyed pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Tonanqing.
Catholic development
After this event, it was decided to build a temple on a hill in honor of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. In the following years, thousands of pilgrims from all over America began to flock there, as it was a unique case when the Virgin herself chose a place for the construction of the temple and actually blessed it.
This event was important for the development of Christianity in Mexico. It was thanks to the construction of this temple and the story of the appearance of the Madonna that the Aztecs, the peasant, began to accept Catholicism en masse, before that missionaries only managed to persuade a few in their faith. After these events, local residents began to be baptized on their own, no longer resorting to the help of Spanish missionaries. Over the next six years, about 8 million Aztecs converted to Christianity. At that time, it was almost the entire indigenous population of Mexico.
Diego himself was a Christian by that time for several years; he converted to Catholicism in 1524. At the place of his meeting with the Holy Virgin of Guadalupe, a church was built, and the appearance of the Virgin became the oldest of those officially recognized by the Catholic Church.
Basilica in Mexico City
Today, everyone can visit this place. City with the Temple of the Virgin of Guadalupe - Mexico City.
The foundation of the basilica was built in the XVIII century, over time, it sank, it was closed for some time and inaccessible to pilgrims. The basilica has survived to this day in an updated and reconstructed form. The temple was rebuilt several times so that it could accommodate everyone. Today, it can simultaneously contain about 20 thousand people.
However, all these changes did not affect the cloak of the peasant Diego, on which the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared.
Today, the cloak remains the main shrine of the basilica. The phenomenon was studied by scientists from different countries, but they still could not agree on what happened then, there is still no rational explanation for this miracle. It is not clear how the usual mantle of the poor peasant, which was woven from herbs about 500 years ago, has survived to this day. The only thing that was able to prove the image of the Virgin was not applied with a brush and paints.
The basilica is open to visitors daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. You can get to the temple by metro from almost anywhere in Mexico City, several nearby stations are literally within walking distance from the monastery. If you decide to rent a car, then keep in mind that two spacious underground parking lots are equipped under the basilica building. About 14 million people make pilgrimages annually. According to some, this is the largest indicator in the world.
Temples of the Virgin in other cities
In Mexico, there are several more churches dedicated to the Madonna. The Temple of the Virgin of Guadalupe is in the town of Puerto Vallarta, a resort in the east of the country in the bay of Bahia de Banderas. The religious building is a church, which began to be built in 1918. Once upon a time there was an openwork dome that resembled frozen lace; it was supported by eight angels. In 1965, an earthquake occurred in Puerto Rico with a magnitude of seven points, due to which this city with the Church of the Virgin of Guadalupe lost its openwork crown.
In 1979, instead of it, they wanted to build a fiberglass roof, but this project was never implemented. A tower dome 15.5 meters high appeared only in 2009. It is worth noting that the interior of this temple is richly decorated, it has many sacred works, including a marble altar.
Another temple of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico is located in San Cristobal de las Casas, which is called the "city of churches." The religious building dedicated to the Virgin was built in 1835 on the top of the hill of Guadeloupe. It offers a beautiful view of the city. Within this temple is a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which was created in 1850.
The history of this building is interesting. Built on a hill, it eventually turned out to be surrounded by more modern city buildings. In 1844, this part of San Cristobal de las Casas was practically not populated. The church is open year-round, but pilgrims strive to visit it from December 1 to 12, when it is decorated in a special way in honor of the patron saint.
Prayer
For Mexicans, the Virgin is considered one of the most important saints. Moreover, there are several options for prayer to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Here is one of them.
Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, you
which sanctify our souls
river of light, queen of heaven
Queen of all Mexicans.
You who answer our prayers
and protect us from evil
we beg you to intercede
for all those who visit this chapel,
dedicated to you.
And here is another option that can be found on icons sold in specialized church shops.
We come to you, Virgin Mary of Guadalupe,
Since at Tepeyaka we believed
that you are our holy mother
and in Your Fifth Revelation have mercy on us
and with maternal care heal all ailments.
We are sick of the soul.
Heal us, gracious Lady,
so that we always abide in the grace of Christ the Savior.
Mother of God and Our Mother,
awake in our hearts
as lifeless and cold as Tepeyak,
love of God and our brothers.
Scientific explanation of the phenomenon
Photos of the Virgin of Guadalupe still fascinate and amaze many. Repeatedly, scientists have attempted to explain this mysterious phenomenon. The image of the Virgin Mary herself, as well as the tilma (material for the cloak) were subjected to three independent examinations, which were carried out from 1947 to 1982. According to their results, the researchers could not come to a unanimous opinion as to how the image of the Holy Virgin of Guadalupe got there. Photos of this phenomenon, which is recognized in Catholicism as one of the miracles, are very popular among believing Christians in the West and in Latin America.
The conclusions of the experts who conducted the studies were too controversial. German Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Richard Kun authoritatively stated that when creating this image dyes of animal, natural or mineral origin were not used.
In 1979, Jody Smith and Philip Callahan studied the icon of the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe using infrared radiation. Scientists came to the conclusion that the hands, parts of the face, mantles and clothes on the image were created in one step, behind which there are no obvious brush strokes or noticeable corrections.
Peruvian engineer José Aste Tonsmann, a fellow at the Mexican Guadeloupe Research Center, exposed a scanned face, photo of the Virgin of Guadalupe digitally processed. The scientist discovered amazing facts. In the reflections of the eyes of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in the photo it became clearly visible, an image of Juan Diego was discovered. It turned out that the same image is present in both eyes, but made from different angles, as, for example, when what happens directly in front of a person is reflected in human eyes.
Expert Opinions
Scientists and researchers still have no consensus on this issue. The part claims that no traces of soil were found on the canvas, which must have been used before applying the paint. Also, many who studied the image, note the amazing preservation of the material itself, while in reality the fabric from the cactus fibers, namely from it was a Mexican peasant's cloak, is extremely short-lived. Most often, it becomes completely worthless after 20 years. In this case, tilma is about five hundred years old, of which it has not been protected by glass for at least 130 years, constantly exposed to soot from candles, atmospheric phenomena, kisses and the touch of believers.
At the same time, there are sources claiming that when shooting close-ups and infrared analysis, a pigment was found that is used to highlight the face area, which helps to hide the fabric texture itself. It was also found obvious peeling and cracking of paint, which are observed throughout the vertical seam.
Infrared analysis
During infrared analysis, it was also possible to detect a feature on the coat, which surprisingly resembles a sketch line. Presumably, with its help, an unknown medieval artist sketched the contours of the face before embarking on a painting.
Interesting observations were made by the portrait painter Glen Taylor, who noticed that the hair of the Mother of God is not located in the center of the image, and the eyes, including the pupils, have outlines that are characteristic of the paintings, but do not occur in reality. So the artist suggested that these contours were applied to the cloak with a brush. According to him, some other data also indicate that the drawing was simply copied by an inexperienced artist, and then masterfully faked.
The faithful Catholics, as well as various researchers of religious miracles, are convinced that the image of the Virgin Mary is truly a miracle. True, the latter have repeatedly discredited themselves with dubious conclusions and statements. These include the American Joe Nickel from New York, who has already tried to explain the phenomenon of blood of St. Januarius. He then claimed that it was not really blood, but a potion made up of iron oxide, wax and olive oil, which melts with small changes in temperature. Moreover, he himself never investigated the relic, ignored the results of spectral analyzes, which were carried out many times.
Sculpture streams
More than once, one could encounter the fact that the statue of the Virgin Mary, to which this article is dedicated, also began to flow. In July 2018, it became known that the statue was soaked in a Catholic temple in the American city of Hobbs, located in the state of New Mexico.
Priests and parishioners drew attention to the fact that the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe is crying. After the appearance of the first such messages, pilgrims from all over the country began to flock to the temple. They began to pray in front of the bronze sculpture and take it to their mobile phones.
They said that “tears” flowed from the eyes of the sculpture. It was a clear liquid that had a pleasant aromatic odor. When the drops were tried to be erased, they soon reappeared. Many are convinced that this is another miracle of the Virgin, however, the abbots of the diocese itself, to which the church belongs, do not rush to conclusions. They stated that the competent authorities conduct a thorough examination, which will establish whether this phenomenon can be explained using natural forces, the laws of chemistry or physics, in particular, X-rays will be used. If scientists fail to do this, then the action of God through this statue of the Virgin will be officially recognized.
Details were told by the rector of the temple, who noted that all the records from the CCTV cameras installed in the temple were carefully studied. It was not possible to find anyone who would perform any manipulations with the sculpture.
According to American media reports, about 500 ml of an unknown substance has already spilled from the eyes of the sculpture. Chemical analysis showed that it is an aromatic oil that is used in the sacrament of anointing, according to Christian rites. In this case, the liquid was different from aromatic oil, as it was transparent, while the standard miro has an olive color.
Currently, the study is ongoing, however, no evidence of human intervention in these processes could be found.