About the Celebration
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Marian feast celebrated on December 12. In the United States liturgical calendar, it is observed as a Feast during Advent, with white vestments. The celebration honors the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title associated with the Guadalupe apparition tradition in Mexico and the image preserved on St. Juan Diego’s tilma.
Why Catholics Celebrate This Day
Catholics celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe to honor Mary’s maternal care and her role in drawing people to Christ, especially through the Guadalupe tradition centered on Tepeyac, the tilma, and the sign of the roses. The feast is also closely connected with the Catholic faith in the Americas and with devotion to Mary as Patroness of the Americas.
History / Biography
The feast in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe is traced to the 16th century. According to the traditional account, the Virgin Mary appeared in 1531 near Tepeyac Hill to Juan Diego, an Indigenous Christian convert also known by his baptismal name after Cuauhtlatohuac. The story says that Mary appeared to him on December 9 and asked that a chapel be built in her name at that place. On December 12, Juan Diego opened his tilma before the bishop; roses fell from it, and an image of Mary appeared on the cloak. Tepeyac became a major place of pilgrimage, and two basilicas now stand there, with the later basilica opened in 1976 and displaying the original tilma according to the cited account.
Patronage
- The Americas
- Mexico
Symbols & Iconography
- The tilma or cloak of Juan Diego
- Roses
- The image of Mary on the tilma
- Tepeyac Hill
Notable Facts
- December 12 is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
- The feast is listed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a Feast with white as the liturgical color.
- Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Peter’s Basilica on December 12 in both 2023 and 2024.
- Pope Francis highlighted the tilma, the Mother, and the Rose as simple elements associated with the Guadalupe message.
- The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe has been described as the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world.
- Before the COVID-19 pandemic, around 10 million people visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe each year, according to the cited source.
Devotional Traditions
- Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac.
- Veneration of the image of Mary displayed on the tilma.
- Liturgical celebration of the feast on December 12.
- Devotion to Mary under the title Patroness of the Americas.
Prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and loving Mother of us all, we come before you with trust and devotion. You appeared to Saint Juan Diego with words of tenderness, reminding him that he was under your protection and in your care. Look upon us with that same motherly love. Lead us closer to your Son, Jesus. Strengthen our faith, comfort us in sorrow, protect our families, and help us to place our worries in God’s hands. Our Lady of Guadalupe, protect the unborn, strengthen mothers and fathers, comfort those who are suffering, and bring hope to those who feel alone or afraid. Help us to imitate your humility, obedience, courage, and complete trust in God. May our lives always point others toward Christ. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. Saint Juan Diego, pray for us. Amen.