A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe is displayed on a bed of flowers in the sanctuary of St. John Apostle and Evangelist Church in Mililani during a Mass on her feast day, Dec. 12. (HCH photos | Jennifer Rector)
By Jennifer Rector
Hawaii Catholic Herald
In Mexico every year on Dec. 12, as the sun peeks over the horizon, fireworks burst through the sky to greet Our Lady of Guadalupe on her feast day.
On this day dedicated to her, thousands of pilgrims travel to see the miraculous image she left behind on the hill of Tepeyac 492 years ago, an image that’s become one of the most recognized and mysterious icons in the Catholic Church.
Thousands of miles away from where she first appeared to St. Juan Diego, Catholics across Hawaii share in those traditions in love and devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“The celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe has a great importance to our Hispanic community here in Maui,” Father Ornoldo Cherrez from St. Theresa Church in Kihei told the Hawaii Catholic Herald in his native Spanish tongue, “especially for our people from Mexico.”
This year Maui’s celebration took place at Christ the King Church in Kahului. A mariachi band from Texas performed traditional Our Lady of Guadalupe songs. Bishop Larry Silva, who speaks Spanish, joined the festivities and presided at the Mass, which, he said, filled the church.
Up to 700 people from the Hispanic community on Maui participate in the celebration every year. Not only does it attract the Hispanic community, but it also brings together other unique Catholic cultures throughout the island.
A man carrying a banner of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe leads a procession in St. John Apostle and Evangelist Church, Dec. 12. (HCH photos | Jennifer Rector)
“Since Our Lady of Guadalupe is the ‘Queen of the Americas,’ people from other countries celebrate the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, like Filipinos, Tongans and Americans,” said Jose Vega, a member of Maui’s Hispanic community.
Father Cherrez, who is the chaplain of Maui’s Hispanic ministry, said, “Though I am Ecuadorian, I learned about Our Lady of Guadalupe and am now devoted with love towards her.”
He said it’s especially significant for the Hispanics on Maui who are far away from their home countries to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“Our Hispanic community feels overjoyed that they are being recognized by their culture. They ask God through Mary to help them overcome their legal situation to stay in this country, and that their families, who are far away, to be protected,” said Father Cherrez.
Honored in Mililani
On Oahu, the Our Lady of Guadalupe Ministry at St. John Apostle and Evangelist Church in Mililani spent hours creating paper flower decorations for its celebration.
The ministry is made up of people from Mexico and Colombia who share their love for Our Lady of Guadalupe.
It’s a devotion that they hope to share with all of their ohana on the island.
“It’s important to promote this devotion to Our Holy Mother and at the same time to share how this feast is celebrated in our country [Mexico] because she came as a mother to become the evangelist for Mexico and the Americas,” said Zolia Horta of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Ministry.
The Mililani celebration on Dec. 12 started with a procession of flowers laid at Our Lady’s feet, followed by the Mexican tradition of the mananitas, a musical tribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The musical line-up included St. John’s children’s choir who sang “Mama Mary,” and Maria Cervantes a Hispanic singer who sang traditional songs like “A la Virgen.”
The music was followed by Mass and a potluck.
“Bringing these traditions to Hawaii helps us to promote the love of Our Holy Mother and to share her message of love that was brought by her apparition,” said Horta. “It’s also a reminder that, thanks to her, there were millions of conversions to Catholicism in Mexico and across the Americas.”
A man kneels in prayer in front of the statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (HCH photos | Jennifer Rector)
Am I not your mother?
Juan Diego, an indigenous Indian, was born in Mexico more than 500 years ago and given the name “Cuauhtlatoatzin,” which means “the talking eagle.” He and his wife received Christian names when they were baptized.
One morning as he was walking to Mass, about 15 miles away, he heard music and a voice calling his name, “Juanito” or “little Juan.”
There then appeared Our Lady dressed like an Aztec princess radiant on Tepeyac hill, in the outskirts of what’s now Mexico City. Her image contained symbols of the indigenous culture, which made it clear to Juan Diego who she was.
Speaking to him in his native Nahuatl tongue, she called herself “Mother of the true God.” She asked him to ask the bishop, Juan de Zumarraga, to build a church on Tepeyac hill, to share her Son with all.
Juan Deigo told the bishop, but the bishop wanted a sign. The next day Juan Diego awoke to find his uncle, whom he lived with, sick. Instead of returning to the beautiful woman, Juan Diego went to seek a priest to give his uncle his last rites.
Our Lady nevertheless appeared, stopping him in his tracks and said, “Am I not here who am your mother?”
She assured him that his uncle would be well. After Juan Diego humbly told her that the bishop asked for a sign, she told him to go over a desert hill to pick some roses for the bishop.
Juan Diego obeyed. As he presented the roses that he carried in his tilma (cloak) to the bishop, the miracle happened.
Not only was the bishop in awe to receive roses that were not native to Mexico and in full bloom in the middle of winter, he was also astounded at the image of the beautiful lady imprinted on Juan’s tilma.
Two weeks later the church was built. It has since been replaced by today’s much larger church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In 1539, only eight years after the apparition, nine million indigenous converted to Catholicism, ending the human sacrifices that killed 50,000 people a year including children.
Juan Diego lived the rest of his life cleaning the church and attending to parishioners in need. He was canonized in 2002 by St. John Paul II, becoming the patron saint of indigenous peoples.
The mysterious image
Scientists who have examined the tilma said that the cactus material it was made of should have decayed after 10 years. Now nearly 500 years later, it’s left them in awe at what many call a “living” image.
It has survived being exposed for 116 years. It withstood an acid spill in 1785. It was also left unharmed after the basilica in which it was displayed was bombed in 1921. The edges of the tilma were damaged but the image was untouched.
When Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego her hair was let down. This for the Aztecs meant she was a virgin. But the black sash wrapped around her waist indicated that she was expecting. This apparition is the only one in which Mary appears pregnant.
The blue-green color of her mantle represented royalty to the Aztecs. The 46 stars on her mantle show the exact placement of the constellations in the sky on Dec. 12, 1531.
For Aztecs the sun and moon were gods. Our Lady appeared triumphing over the pagan gods by appearing in front of the sun and on top of the moon.
Those who have studied the image with a microscope can see the reflection of St. Juan Diego in her eyes. It’s so microscopic that scientists can’t explain how perfectly the images could have been painted by someone in the 1500s.
The temperature of the tilma is 98 degrees, the temperature of a living human.
Mexican accountant Fernando Ojeda used math to discover music notation embedded in the tilma. He plotted the flowers and stars and found a melody.
Many others have tried to do the same with portraits of that time, but they all came out with noise. The image of the virgin was harmonious. Many believe it could have been the music Juan Deigo heard the morning Our Lady appeared to him.
For more on what’s behind the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Knights of Columbus dive deeper in their documentary “Guadalupe; the miracle and the message.”
