Queen of Rosary students reenact Our Lady of Guadalupe miracle

Submitted by Kathleen McGinn

In a prayer service for students and parents in December, Queen of the Rosary School’s eighth-grade class recreated the story of St. Juan Diego’s miraculous encounters with Our Lady of Guadalupe on Tepeyac Hill in December 1531.

Some students performed, while others read or provided technical support. Students from kindergarten through seventh grade carried roses in an opening procession.

The performance, a cross-curricular view of religion, history, and culture in 16th century Mexico, told the story of a humble Indian — one of the earliest Aztec converts to Christianity — who was met by Mary, the mother of Jesus, as he walked through the desert to mass. Mary appeared to Juan Diego in the dress of a native Indian princess and spoke in his native language. She asked that he tell the bishop, a Spaniard, to build a chapel in her name where she could offer love, compassion, and protection to the Indian people. The humble Indian tries unsuccessfully to relay the message, but the bishop does not believe him. It is not until Juan Diego returns with the miraculous Roses of Castile from Spain and an image of Mary on his tilma (cloak) that the bishop believes and begs forgiveness.

The appearance of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, 1531, led to the conversion of millions of natives, who immediately embraced Christianity and stopped their practice of human sacrifice.

Today, the tilma with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, can be seen in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Sixty thousand pilgrims visit the tilma daily, and 6,000 babies are baptized weekly in one of the six shrine churches in Mexico City.

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