On Saturday, December 12, 2026, the Church in the Americas celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. Falling in the heart of Advent, her feast reminds us that Mary always leads us to her Son.
The story
In December 1531, ten years after the fall of Tenochtitlan, a humble Indigenous convert named Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was walking to Mass when he heard singing on the hill of Tepeyac, near present-day Mexico City. A radiant young woman appeared and spoke to him tenderly in his own language, Nahuatl. She called herself the ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God, and asked that a church be built there so she could show her love, compassion, and help to all who call on her.
Juan Diego took her request to Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, who asked for a sign. When Juan Diego’s uncle, Juan Bernardino, fell gravely ill, the Lady reassured him with words beloved ever since:
“¿No estoy yo aquí, que soy tu madre?”: “Am I not here, I who am your mother?”
She sent him to the top of the hill, where he found roses blooming in the December cold. He gathered them in his tilma (cloak) and opened it before the bishop. The roses fell, and on the cloth was the image of Our Lady that is venerated to this day in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. His uncle was healed.
The image and its message
In the image, Mary stands before the sun, with the moon beneath her feet and a mantle of stars, recalling the woman of Revelation 12. Her hands are joined in prayer, and her head is bowed: she is not a goddess, but one who worships God. The black sash at her waist was understood as a sign that she is with child. She is truly an Advent image, Mary carrying Christ to a new people. Millions were baptized in the years that followed.
Pope St. John Paul II canonized Juan Diego in 2002, and his feast is December 9. Our Lady of Guadalupe is honored as Patroness of the Americas and of the unborn.
How to honor her on December 12
- Attend Mass for the feast; many parishes hold a dawn celebration with Las Mañanitas.
- Pray the Rosary or a novena from December 3 to 11.
- Bring roses to her image at your parish or home altar.
- Entrust your family, especially the sick and the unborn, to her care.
- Listen to Walsingham Radio for Marian music and prayer through the feast.
En español: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
El 12 de diciembre celebramos a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Patrona de las Américas. En 1531, la Virgen María se apareció a San Juan Diego en el cerro del Tepeyac y le pidió que se construyera un templo en su honor. Como señal para el obispo, Juan Diego recogió rosas en su tilma, y al abrirla apareció la imagen milagrosa de la Virgen, que hoy se venera en la Basílica de Guadalupe en la Ciudad de México.
Sus palabras siguen consolando a todos sus hijos: “¿No estoy yo aquí, que soy tu madre?”
Cómo celebrarla: participe en la Santa Misa y en Las Mañanitas, rece el Santo Rosario o la novena, lleve rosas a su imagen y consagre a su familia a su amoroso cuidado.
¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. / Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, ruega por nosotros.
