Juan Diego

A baptized Native American named Juan Diego, lived in Tolpetlac near the old Aztec capital in Mexico. On 9/12/1531 Juan was on his way to mass, as he climbed the hill near his village he saw a cloud surrounded by a rainbow and he heard music. From within the rainbow appeared the Blessed Virgin Mary calling him by name. She told Juan to go to the local Bishop and ask that a church be built there. Juan went to see the Bishop, but the Bishop asked Juan for proof of her visit. Juan went back to the mountain where Mary told him to return the following day and the Bishop would have his miracle. The next day Mary told Juan to go to the top of the Tepeyac Hill and gather the Castilian roses growing there. Juan was astonished to find roses growing on the mountaintop in mid-winter. He picked the roses and gave them to Mary who placed them inside Juan’s cloak and told him to show them to no one but the Bishop.

When Juan came before the Bishop he opened his cloak to reveal the roses, but was surprised to see the Bishop and those in the room falling to their knees in awe. When Juan looked inside his cloak he saw the most beautiful image of Mary – a portrait. The Bishop had his miracle! A church was built and the image placed beside the altar. As part of the celebrations it was customary for the Mexicans to put on a mock battle, then came the next miracle. A man taking part in the battle was shot through the neck by accident with an arrow and died. His friend took his body and placed it before the miraculous image and the man was brought back to life and healed. Other miracles took place but to many to mention here. By the time Juan and the Bishop died over 9 million Native Americans had become Christians making it the biggest mass conversion in Christendom

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