The story handed down at Tepeyac
The principal traditional narrative is the Nican Mopohua, a Nahuatl account whose title means “Here it is told.” Traditionally attributed to Antonio Valeriano, it was first printed by Luis Lasso de la Vega in Mexico in 1649. The Basilica preserves the text and translations alongside its historical documents.
This is the account from which the words on this page are drawn. Its tender forms of address belong to a particular language and people. Reading it attentively allows Juan Diego to remain a person within that history, with his own voice, responsibilities, and courageous response.
Basilica of Guadalupe — Historical documents and the Nican Mopohua
A messenger who keeps returning
On 9 December 1531, Juan Diego was travelling toward Tlatelolco when Mary appeared on Tepeyac and asked him to take her request for a church to Bishop Juan de Zumárraga. The bishop asked for a sign. Juan Diego’s mission brought him back to the hill and back to the bishop, carrying a request whose fulfilment depended on more than his own standing or influence.
The Holy See’s biography recounts the sign of flowers gathered at Mary’s direction and carried in his tilma, or mantle. When he opened it before the bishop on 12 December, the flowers fell and the image of Our Lady appeared. The tilma is venerated at the Basilica of Guadalupe.
Holy See — Biography of Saint Juan Diego · Nican Mopohua — Basilica of Guadalupe, complete narrative
Her tenderness meets his fear
In the Nican Mopohua, the crisis is deeply personal. Juan Bernardino, Juan Diego’s uncle, is gravely ill. Going to seek a priest for him, Juan Diego tries another path around the hill, afraid of being delayed. Mary comes to meet him. She hears his explanation and speaks to him as a mother, assuring him that his uncle will recover.
Her reassurance restores his peace and his willingness to carry out the errand. The same narrative joins that intimate consolation to a broad maternal desire: a house where she will show the true God to her children and attend to their sorrows. At Guadalupe, the tenderness of Mary and the mission entrusted to Juan Diego belong together.
The years after the sign
The Holy See’s account describes Juan Diego living as a hermit near the shrine, caring for it, and receiving those who came to pray. In a small hut near the chapel, he dedicated himself to prayer, virtue, and love of God and neighbour until his death in 1548. His service extended far beyond the days of the apparitions.
His canonization at the Basilica on 31 July 2002 placed that life before the Church. The homily recalled his humility, his indigenous identity, his love for Our Lady, and his faithfulness to Jesus and the Church. The messenger is remembered with the message: a life offered quietly can carry a great work of God.
Holy See — Biography of Saint Juan Diego · Canonization of Juan Diego, 31 July 2002 — Homily
Confidence that leads to belonging
Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort describes tender devotion as confidence like that of a child in a good mother. In True Devotion, §107, he names the needs brought to Mary: doubts, temptations, weakness, discouragement, the wish to rise after a fall, and the sorrows of body and soul. Nothing in that account requires a person to make a show of strength before approaching her.
This teaching gives words to the confidence awakened by Guadalupe. We may seek Mary’s help with simplicity, including in the very trouble that makes prayer difficult. We may also let her help bear fruit in perseverance, obedience, and love. Montfort’s purpose is explicit: devotion to her establishes devotion to Jesus more perfectly.
He writes in §62:
If, then, we establish solid devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin, it is only to establish more perfectly devotion to Jesus Christ; it is only to give an easy and sure means for finding Jesus Christ. If devotion to the Blessed Virgin drew us away from Jesus Christ, it would have to be rejected as an illusion of the devil; but far from it — on the contrary, as I have already shown and will show again hereafter, this devotion is necessary to us only in order to find Jesus Christ perfectly, and to love him tenderly and serve him faithfully.
St. Louis de Montfort · True Devotion, §107: tender devotion · St. Louis de Montfort · True Devotion, §62: finding Jesus through Mary
Words preserved in the account
Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?
The events in order
9 December 1531
The request at Tepeyac
Juan Diego is sent to the bishop with Mary’s request for a church.
12 December 1531
The sign is brought
The traditional account culminates in the flowers and the image on the tilma.
1649
The narrative is printed
Luis Lasso de la Vega publishes the Nahuatl Nican Mopohua.
Basilica of Guadalupe — Historical documents and the Nican Mopohua
31 July 2002
Saint Juan Diego
Juan Diego is canonized at the Basilica of Guadalupe.
Come to her with confidence
Bring the care that occupies your heart to Mary. The Rosary gives familiar words for that trust, while keeping the mysteries of her Son before you. An act of consecration expresses the desire to belong wholly to Jesus through her.
The passage from Montfort can accompany this response: tender love of Mary seeks Jesus, loves him, and serves him faithfully. Juan Diego’s patient service gives a beautiful setting in which to receive that teaching.
Pray with St. Alphonsus
Permit me, then, to say to you: my mother, my most amiable mother. So I call you, and so I will always call you. You, after God, are to be always my hope, my refuge, and my love in this valley of tears.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori · The Glories of Mary · Mary Our Mother, prayer (excerpt)The Church’s reception
The Basilica preserves the traditional apparition account and the venerated image. Saint Juan Diego’s canonization is documented in the celebration of 31 July 2002. The quotation above is attributed to the Nican Mopohua, the historical narrative through which these words have been handed down.
At Juan Diego’s canonization, St. John Paul II recalled the roses and the image on the tilma, calling Guadalupe and its witness a model of evangelization. His homily presents the encounter as a maternal invitation that brings peoples to Christ, and urges the faithful to let that mission bear fruit in their own lives. The Church’s reception is visible in the Basilica’s continuing pilgrimage and worship, as well as in this papal celebration.
Basilica of Guadalupe — Historical documents and the Nican Mopohua · Canonization of Juan Diego, 31 July 2002 — Homily
Sources for this account
- Nican Mopohua — Basilica of Guadalupe, complete narrative
- Basilica of Guadalupe — Historical documents and the Nican Mopohua
- Holy See — Biography of Saint Juan Diego
- Canonization of Juan Diego, 31 July 2002 — Homily
- St. Louis de Montfort · True Devotion, §62: finding Jesus through Mary
- St. Louis de Montfort · True Devotion, §107: tender devotion