Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most revered female sacred images in Mexican Catholic tradition and culture. Her following is not limited to Mexico, however, but has transcended national boundaries throughout the Americas as well as parts of Southeast Asia. In 1935, Pope Pius XI declared her patroness of the Philippines, and in 1946, Pope Pius XII named her patroness of the Americas. Her following is largely due to the message of empowerment that is embodied in the context under which tradition tells us she appeared.

In 1521, Tenochtitlán, now known as Mexico City, fell to Hernán Cortés after Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec ruler, surrendered. During and after the conquest, Catholicism was used to justify the physical, emotional, and spiritual enslavement of the indigenous ...