St Juan Diego

Juan Diego lived a very simple life and he was a very humble man. He loved God very much and he spent as much time in prayer as he could. He would attend Mass everyday, having to walk 15 miles to the go to Church. On December 9th, 1531, he was on this walk to Church and, as he was passing a hill named Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a glowing cloud with a rainbow around it. He heard a woman calling him to go up the hill and, when he got there, he saw a beautiful woman who was dressed like an Aztec Princess. She explained that she was Mary, Jesus’ Mother, and she had come to give Juan a message for the Bishop. She wanted the Bishop to build a Church in that spot so that she could be with the people that come to the Church, help them in their life, and let them know how much she loves them because she is their Mother. When Juan told the Bishop what had happened, he didn’t believe Juan and he asked for a sign that what he was saying was true. Juan was on his way to meet with Mary again when he heard that his uncle was dying. Instead of going to meet with Mary, Juan went to look for a priest to visit his uncle. On his way to get the priest, Mary appeared to him on the side of the road and said not to worry about his uncle, because his uncle was healed. Then she told Juan to climb to the top of Tepeyac Hill again and, when he got there, he was amazed at what he saw. There were beautiful Castilian roses, that do not grow in Mexico, growing all over the hilltop in the frozen ground, for it was winter. He gathered up all the flowers he could in his cloak and brought them to the Bishop as a sign that what he was saying about Mary was true. When he opened up his cloak to show the Bishop the roses, the Bishop saw that Mary had left her picture on Juan’s cloak. The Bishop believed what Juan was saying and he did what Mary asked and built a Church on the hill. Many people have come to know Jesus through this miracle on Tepeyac Hill and through Juan’s example of deep and humble faith. People still go to the Church that Mary had built on the hill, to see her picture on Juan’s cloak, and to get closer to Jesus through his Mother.