Part of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s First Chapel Still Stands 500 Years Later
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
The often-overlooked chapel at Tepeyac, where St. Juan Diego lived and guarded the miraculous tilma for 17 years, remains a key part of the Guadalupe story and Mexico’s spiritual heritage.
The story of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe began with the well-known apparitions of 1531. The Indigenous visionary remained for years dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the message of the Virgin Mary at a chapel that is still preserved and forms an essential part of the Marian complex of Tepeyac.
Next to the current Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City is the old chapel built to house the image miraculously imprinted on St. Juan Diego’s cloak. This historical site is little-known to pilgrims.
It was on his tilma (cloak) that the image of the Virgin Mary was miraculously imprinted.
After the apparitions, the archbishop ordered the construction of a small chapel to house the tilma. St. Juan Diego lived next to it for 17 years, dedicated to recounting the events and caring for the sacred image until his death in 1548.
Continued below.
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The story of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe began with the well-known apparitions of 1531. The Indigenous visionary remained for years dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the message of the Virgin Mary at a chapel that is still preserved and forms an essential part of the Marian complex of Tepeyac.
Next to the current Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City is the old chapel built to house the image miraculously imprinted on St. Juan Diego’s cloak. This historical site is little-known to pilgrims.
The Origin of the Chapel
St. Juan Diego was the Indigenous man to whom the Virgin Mary appeared from Dec. 9–12, 1531, asking him to intercede with the first archbishop of Mexico, Friar Juan de Zumárraga, that a chapel be built “on the plain of Tepeyac” as a sign of her love for all nations.It was on his tilma (cloak) that the image of the Virgin Mary was miraculously imprinted.
After the apparitions, the archbishop ordered the construction of a small chapel to house the tilma. St. Juan Diego lived next to it for 17 years, dedicated to recounting the events and caring for the sacred image until his death in 1548.
A Virgin for the ‘Completely Forgotten’
Continued below.
Part of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s First Chapel Still Stands 500 Years Later
The often-overlooked chapel at Tepeyac, where St. Juan Diego lived and guarded the miraculous tilma for 17 years, remains a key part of the Guadalupe story and Mexico’s spiritual heritage.