During her appearances to St. Juan Diego in 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary) told him to gather roses on the hill where she had appeared (on the outskirts of what is now Mexico City). The roses were a sign to be presented to the local bishop to convince him of the authenticity of the apparitions and persuade him to build a church in Mary’s honor, according to her request. Notably, the roses bloomed miraculously in winter and were native to Castile, Spain, the bishop’s homeland. Juan Diego gathered the roses in his tilma (cloak) to bring to the bishop. When he presented them to the bishop, an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on the inside of his cloak—another miracle of her manifestation.
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