Juan Diego

Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin also known as Juan Diegotzil (1474–1548), a native of Mexico, is the first Roman Catholic indigenous saint from the Americas. He is said to have been granted an apparition of the Virgin Mary on four separate occasions in December 1531 at the hill of Tepeyac, then outside but now well within metropolitan Mexico City.

The Basilica of Guadalupe located at the foot of the hill of Tepeyac claims to possess Juan Diego's mantle or cloak (known as a tilma) on which an image of the Virgin is said to have been impressed by a miracle as a pledge of the authenticity of the apparitions. These apparitions and the imparting of the miraculous image (together known as the Guadalupe event, in Spanish "el acontecimiento Guadalupano") are the basis of the cult of Our Lady of Guadalupe which is ubiquitous in Mexico, prevalent throughout the Spanish-speaking Americas, and increasingly widespread beyond. As a result, the Basilica of Guadalupe is now the world's major centre of pilgrimage for Roman Catholics, receiving 22 million visitors in 2010, the vast bulk of whom were pilgrims. Juan Diego was beatified in 1990, and canonized in 2002.

Juan Diego (name)

Juan Diego is a Spanish compound name which may refer to:

Juan Diego (actor)

Juan Diego (born 14 December 1942 in Bormujos, Seville, Spain), full name Juan Diego Ruíz Montero is a Spanish actor who has appeared on stage, in television and film productions since 1957. Among his leading roles are San Juan de la Cruz in La noche oscura (1989), Cabeza de Vaca in Cabeza de Vaca (1991), Cochero in Déjeme que le cuente (1998), Gildo in La Vida que te espera (2004); and Damián in Remake (2006). Among his awards is the Silver Biznaga for Best Actor for Smoking Room (2002).

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Juan Bernardino

Juan Diego Bernardino (ca. 1460 – May 15, 1544) was one of two Aztec peasants alleged to have had visions of the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531.

Life

Little is known of the life of Juan Bernardino. He lived in Tolpetlac, some nine miles north of Tenochtitlán and brought up his nephew, Saint Juan Diego, after the latter's parents died. After the 1529 death of Juan Diego's wife, Maria Lucia, Juan Diego moved to be near his then-aged uncle in Tolpet.

Vision of Our Lady

At the time of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Juan Diego in December 1531, Juan Bernardino fell ill. According to most sources, he contracted cocolixtle, a dreaded fever that normally led to death. On December 9, 1531, Juan Diego returned from his first two apparitions to find his uncle very ill. All that night and next day, Juan Diego tended to his uncle. Towards sunset, it became clear that Juan Bernardino was dying. Juan Diego set out at four the following morning, to bring back a priest to hear his uncle's confession and administer the last rites.