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La Guadalupana central to growing influence of Hispanic Catholics in the United States
by Dr. Christopher Anadale
More than four hundred years ago, Cuauhtlatohuac, a poor Native Mexican of Aztec
descent, was on his way to Mass when he met the lady. What transpired next would
transform nations and lead to the conversion of an entire people.
That encounter on a hillside near Mexico City was celebrated Dec. 12 at Conception
Seminary College, as it was – and is each year – by Hispanic families
throughout Latin America and the United States. The Mass was celebrated in Spanish and
mariachi music filled the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. While Our Lady of
Guadalupe is a source of great pride for Hispanic people and Mexicans in particular,
this year’s celebration emphasized that she is the patroness of all the Americas.
“Our Lady is not just Mexican, she’s universal. She is the mother of all
of us,” said Marco de Loera, a seminarian of the Diocese of Wichita.
The Hispanic students of Conception Seminary College, Father Jose Mendoza-Pinto, a seminary spiritual director (center), and Sister Maria Armijo, director
of the Language, Culture and Church program (left), pose for a photograph
with Solyluna, a visiting mariachi band, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Photo by Gerald Curran
The 16th century Spanish conquistadors were not effective evangelists to the Native
Mexicans: after nearly a generation only a few hundred had accepted the Catholic faith.
One of those converts was Cuauhtlatohuac, who upon his baptism received the name Juan
Diego. On Dec. 9, 1531, the 57-year-old widower was descending Tepeyac hill when he
heard music that sounded like the warbling of birds and then saw a radiant cloud.
Within it was a young maiden, dressed like an Aztec princess. Speaking his native
tongue, she told Juan Diego to go to the bishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumarraga, and
instruct him to build a chapel on the spot where the lady appeared. In a subsequent
appearance, the lady predicted the cure of his seriously ill uncle. Then, famously, an
intricately detailed image of the lady appeared miraculously on Juan Diego’s
cloak, instantly convincing the bishop and his attendants that his story was authentic.
Within a short time, six million Native Mexicans were baptized.
The Solyluna mariachi band took part in a special Mass for the feast of
our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12.
Photo by Gerald Curran
Alberto Perez, a seminarian of the Diocese of Tulsa, noted that Our Lady of Guadalupe
is also a symbol of racial harmony and reconciliation. She began by bringing Indians
and Spaniards together. Symbols of the many gods of the Aztec religion were present in
the image on Juan Diego’s cloak; by these means, Our Lady drew these people to
herself, and to Christ. Similarly, she can bring all the diverse peoples of the
Americas together. “Our Lady of Guadalupe is the perfect evangelist,” said
Sergio Chavez, a seminarian of the Diocese of Salt Lake City who is enrolled in
Conception’s Language, Culture and Church program.
Devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe is widespread in Mexico and in all of Latin
America. “We pretty much grew up with Our Lady of Guadalupe, pronouncing her name
since we were little,” noted Antonio Ojeda, a seminarian of the Archdiocese of
Oklahoma City.
Chavez witnessed the intensity of this devotion first hand when he worked for three
years at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
A shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe was erected near the altar of the
Holy Cross Oratory for her feast day.
Photo by Gerald Curran
“It was amazing to me to see how deep the devotion was of so many people who
traveled, sometimes walking five days, to get to the Shrine,” he said.
“Sometimes I have asked myself to compare my faith with that of all the people
who go on pilgrimage to the shrine. I was very much evangelized by the experience.”
He added that close to five million people visit the Shrine every year between December
ninth and twelfth. “It is without end: you see rivers and rivers of people.”
Devotion to the Virgin of Guada-lupe reaches to all strata of Mexican society,
Chavez noted, the poor and the marginalized among them. “Even the prostitutes
make their own pilgrimage,” he said.
De Loera said he was introduced to Our Lady through his grandmother, who is named Guadalupe. “I grew up with it,” he said. “My grandmother is 78 years old, and every year my family gathers to celebrate her name.  Every year since I was 5 years old, we would go to the Misa de Gallo, to midnight Mass, to sing the
Mañanitas to Our Lady. I grew up with that idea and with that image in my eye,
so that when I came to the United States, my devotion to her was very deep. When I go
into a church and see her image, I feel Mexican, and I feel happy and proud. So I think
her image — her figure, her face, everything — tells me how much I love God,
how much I love my culture, and how much I love my traditions.”
As the Guadalupana, Mary appears less blinding in her heavenly glory, with greater
emphasis on her humanity and her maternal care, the seminarians say. She presents
God’s message with a holiness that is not distant or intimidating, but warm and
intimate, filled with a human love.
Thinking of her in this way explains why Hispanics celebrate her day as such a
festive occasion, with music and gaiety, Ojeda said. “How would you celebrate
your mother at home? With confetti, with a party, with presents. In the celebrations,
we respect Our Lady’s holiness, while also connecting with her on a human level.”
The maternal bond is especially strong among Guadalupe devotees. “Sometimes when
we think of Mary and Jesus, we create a wall between us and them: we think of them as
divine and holy, and ourselves as so sinful,” Ojeda said. “The message of
Our Lady of Guadalupe is ‘I am your mother.’ When we think of mothers, we
should see Our Lady just as that: our human mother, the one who understands our
feelings, our disappointments, our struggles, our desires.”
Father Xavier Nacke, spiritual director of Conception Seminary College, agreed.
“Our Lady’s way of appearing,” he said, “emphasizes her message
that ‘I’m about the human person.’” He noted that as La
Guadalupana, Mary appears completely inculturated. Her image is that of a humble Indian
woman, rather than a queen. She appears as someone accessible and sympathetic.
Father. Xavier, who has a special devotion to Mary, believes that Our Lady of Guadalupe is central to the growing influence of Hispanics on the  Church in the United States. American Hispanics will have a lot of influence because their piety is so deeply rooted in faith, but is also somewhat freer and more open in its expression, he said. “They are very expressive in their faith, while we are more reluctant,” he noted. Conception’s students and faculty experienced an example of this when the mariachi band serenaded the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe after the feast day Mass.
However, this salutary influence is not a foregone conclusion, Father Xavier warned.
Their piety will not be influential if Hispanics in the U.S. get absorbed into consumer
society, he explained. To help sustain and strengthen public expressions of piety,
“there is a great opportunity for Anglos to cooperate, to meet halfway, this
strain of Catholicism.” It presents “a great challenge to deepen our
faith,” he said, “but the question for us is, are we willing to express our
faith?”
After its long incubation in Latin America, the faith expressed through devotion to
Our Lady of Guadalupe is now growing in the United States, Father Xavier said.
Following the Dec. 12 feast, a monk, enthralled by the joyous celebration, was
overheard musing, “I was born in the wrong culture.”
The Solyluna mariachi band plays during Mass on the Feast of Our
Lady of Guadalupe.
Photo by Gerald Curran
We welcome your comments:
communications@conception.edu
www.conceptionabbey.org
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