Prominent & Dominant

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It’s difficult to describe how prominent the Virgin of Guadalupe (Mary) is here in Mexico and how dominant she is on the religious landscape.

Prominent and dominant is one way to describe it, pervasive is another. Her picture or image can be seen in almost every home, church, business, bus, cemetery and market. While I want desperately to give you a word picture of how worship and superstition surrounding her permeates this society, words fail me. So, I will turn to the words of others in this quest.

Pope John Paul II said in one of his visits to Mexico, "I come to you bearing in my eyes and in my soul the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, your Protectrix. You bear a filial love toward her which I have been able to spot not only in her shrine but also while passing through the streets and cities of Mexico. Wherever there is a Mexican, there is the Mother of Guadalupe. Someone recently told me that 96 out of 100 Mexicans are Catholic but 100 out of 100 are Guadalupeans!"









On the other hand one missionary wrote to me and said, “…December 12^th… is the day to honor the "Virgin of Guadalupe". Several million people a year will walk to Mexico City to the cathedral of Guadalupe to pay homage. Many will crawl on their hands and knees the last few miles or blocks to gain merit.” And from another, “To see people crawling on their knees trying to gain favor from Mary is enough to break even the hardest Christian heart. To see priests bow to Mary and ignore Jesus brings one to the point of anger. To see the precious indigenous people offering the sacrifice of first fruits to the feet of Mary is enough to drive a person to tears.”

How I wish I could inspire you to throw your life away to bring hope and light…

(You can read the account of the supposed appearance of the Virgin of Guadelupe to Juan Diego in 1531 at Mexico Connect.)