St. Juan Diego

St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was born in 1474 in Cuauhtitlán, near present-day Mexico City. He was a member of the Chichimeca people, one of the culturally advanced groups in the Anáhuac Valley. Around 1524, Juan Diego and his wife, María Lucía, were among the first indigenous people to be baptized by Franciscan missionaries. His wife passed away before the apparitions of 1531.

On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill while on his way to Mass. She requested that he ask the bishop to build a shrine in her honor. After initial skepticism from Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, Juan Diego returned with a miraculous sign: roses blooming in winter, which, when placed in his tilma, left an image of the Virgin. This event, known as the Guadalupe apparition, led to the construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a major pilgrimage site.

Juan Diego spent the remainder of his life serving at the shrine, dedicating himself to prayer and caring for pilgrims. He died in 1548 and was buried in the first chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Juan Diego was beatified in 1990 and canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II. His feast day is celebrated on December 9, and he is revered as the first indigenous saint of the Americas.