On Tuesday, December 12, the Virgin appeared again to Juan Diego and consoled him because he was very sad, inviting him to go up to the top of the Tepeyac hill so that he could collect flowers and bring them to her.
Despite the ruggedness of the place and the fact that it was winter, Saint Juan Diego simply agreed to the Virgin’s request. When he reached the top of the mountain he found a sprout of very beautiful flowers. He then collected them and placed them, well wrapped, in his “tilma” (name of the typical mantle with which the indigenous people of the region dressed). The Virgin then asked him to take them to the bishop.
Being in front of the prelate, the saint released the front part of his tilma to let the flowers fall. Surprisingly, when they rushed, they left a female image exposed on the fabric, with brown skin and indigenous features. It was the image of the “Lady”, the Virgin of Guadalupe.
From that moment, that prodigy would become the spiritual heart of the Church in Mexico and one of the greatest Marian devotions in the world. The Virgin of Guadalupe would change the course of the Evangelization of the American peoples and would forever seal the link between the Hispanic culture and that of the native peoples of America.