The Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico honors Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico and a powerful symbol of faith, identity and national unity. The day commemorates the appearance of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego, an Indigenous man, on Tepeyac Hill in 1531. According to tradition, Mary spoke to him in Nahuatl, his native language, and asked that a church be built in her honor. The miraculous image of the Virgin imprinted on his cloak became a revered relic.

When is the Day of Lady of Guadalupe?

The Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico is celebrated on December 12 every year.

The following is the list of the Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe from 2020 to 2049.

The History of the Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe?

According to Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an Indigenous Chichimeca convert to Christianity, on the morning of December 9, 1531, on Tepeyac Hill, near present-day Mexico City. Speaking in Nahuatl, Juan Diego's native language, the Virgin asked him to tell the local bishop, Juan de Zumárraga, that she wished for a church to be built in her honor at that site. When Juan Diego relayed the message, the bishop demanded proof of the apparition.

On December 12, 1531, the Virgin appeared again to Juan Diego and told him to gather Castilian roses from the barren hilltop. He carried the roses in his tilma (a coarse cactus-fiber cloak) to the bishop.

When Juan Diego opened the cloak, the flowers fell to the ground, revealing the miraculous image of the Virgin imprinted on the fabric. The bishop accepted the sign, and soon after, construction began on a chapel at Tepeyac Hill, today the site of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Over time, the Virgin of Guadalupe came to represent not only religious devotion but also Mexican unity and resistance. The first chapel was completed in 1533, followed by a larger church in 1709.

In 1976, the modern Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe was inaugurated to accommodate millions of pilgrims. The original tilma is preserved there, and it remains one of the most visited Catholic shrines in the world.

Pope Benedict XIV declared Our Lady of Guadalupe the Patroness of New Spain (colonial Mexico) in 1754 and approved December 12 as her official feast day. In 1910, Pope Pius X named her the Patroness of Latin America, and later, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her Patroness of the Americas in 1999. The day became not only a religious feast but also a national celebration reflecting Mexico's cultural identity.