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About Saint Juan Diego
Saint Juan Diego was in Mexico during the sixteenth
century. He was a lowly Indian in the Aztec Empire.
He labored in the fields and lived in a humble house
with his wife.
St. Juan Diego and his wife were converted and baptized
by Father Peter da Gand, a Franciscan missionary. Juan
became a very devout Christian, walking miles to Mexico
City for Christian instruction.
Saint Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadeloupe
In 1531, St. Juan Diego was walking to church when the
Blessed Virgin appeared to him. When St. Juan Diego
told the bishop about his vision, the bishop asked for
proof of the apparition.
St. Juan Diego returned to Our Lady, telling her of
the bishop's request. She told St. Juan to go to the
top of a hill and gather roses. Our Lady arranged the
roses for St. Juan Diego and he carried them in his
cloak to the bishop. When the roses fell from his cloak,
the face of Our Lady appeared on the fabric.
St. Juan Diego dedicated his life to prayer, virtue,
love of neighbor, and humbleness.
Many Christians today pray to St. Juan Diego for his
guidance and inspiration to become better people of
God. They wear a St. Juan Diego medal or a St. Juan
Diego necklace as a reminder to practice the virtues
of compassion, charity, and love for one another.
Prayer to St. Juan Diego
You who were chosen by Our Lady of Guadalupe as an
instrument to show your people and the world that the
way of Christianity is one of love, compassion, understanding,
values, sacrifices, repentance of our sins, appreciation
and respect for God's creation, and most of all one
of humility and obedience;
You whom we know is now in the Kingdom of the Lord and
close to our Mother;
Be our angel and protect us, stay with us as we struggle
in this modern life often not knowing where to set our
priorities;
Help us to pray to our God to obtain the gifts of the
Holy Spirit and use them for the good of humanity and
the good of our Church, through the Heart of Our Lady
of Guadalupe to the Heart of Jesus. Amen.
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