How is Our Lady of Guadalupe connected to Tepeyac Hill?

Our Lady of Guadalupe is inextricably linked to Tepeyac Hill, located on the outskirts of Mexico City, as the site of her reported Marian apparitions to the Indigenous convert St. Juan Diego in December 1531.123

According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego four times on the hill and requested that a shrine be built there in her honor. When the local bishop demanded a sign to verify the apparitions, Mary instructed Juan Diego to gather roses from the winter-stricken hill. Upon presenting the flowers to the bishop, an image of the Virgin was miraculously imprinted on the inside of Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak).234

This event led to the construction of a church on the site, which evolved into the Basilica of Guadalupe. Today, the original image is housed within the New Basilica, and the site remains one of the most significant pilgrimage destinations in the world, serving as a profound symbol of Mexican religious and national identity.1253