In December 1531, ten years had passed since the fall of the city of Tenochtitlan (Mexico) in the hands of the Spanish conquerors, when the Blessed Virgin appeared to the Indian Saint Juan Diego, on the hill of Tepeyac. She appointed him as her messenger to Bishop Fray Juan de Zumárraga, to have a temple built for her.
The proof that Juan Diego's words were true were the roses that he carried on his cloak and the beautiful image that appeared drawn on it. Since then, year after year, thousands of pilgrims go to that sanctuary to ask the intercession of the mother of Jesus, they go to give thanks, to seek comfort and help in the midst of life's tribulations. For many, Mary is the way to reach the invisible and infinite God, through her gestures and words of tenderness.