Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1889-03-07
THE MEXICAN VIRGIN.
Our Lady'of Guadalupe. the Patron
Saint of the Land of the Monte
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country, Our Lady of Guadalupe, says the
New York Evening Post. A native writer
has taken advantage of the popular interest
and has published what may be called an
attempt to give tho natural history Of the
famous apparition of 1881. Every volume
of Mexican travels, from Bernal Diaz to the
compilations of the latest newspaper CORE
spondent, has given an account, in one way
or another, Of the miraculous appearance of
the virgin TO Juan Diego on the spot where
now stands the shrine built in her honor,
and the details of the story are familiar to
all readers Such narratives. get scant
courtesy at the hands of intelligent men
nowadays. Curt dismissal is but a new in
stance Of popular deusion or a fabrication
of the priesthood is the most they can eX-
pect. But such study as the one referred
10, which SEEKS in contemporancous records
the raw material out of which the story
grew or was framed, must always have an
interest of its own if only IA being new
! triumph Of reason over superstitution.
Considerable Importance attaches to the
very name Guadalupe BY this name, SO
the story runs, the virgin directed that her
miraculous,y painted picture should be call
ed. But she was talking 10 an Indian, and
!
! Now, it is affirm cd by competent scholars
that the letters ''d'' al "g' do not occur in
these languages, and that the nearest an
Aztec could come to saying Guadalupe
would be Tecuatalope. The ancient name
of the hill where the appariton is said to
have taken place was Tereyac. Whence,
! then, came the name Of Guadalupei No
certainly-traced connection can be made out,
( but it is fact of great significance that
! Spain had her own lady of Guadalupe before
/ the conquest. According TO the 'Monarquia
/ de Espana' Of Salazar, a virgin known by
/ that name was the object Of special wor
! ship in Caceres, a small village of the pro
vince of Andalusia. Very suggestively,
though at the Same time very aygravatingly,
since the clew leads TO nothing, the historian
says that Herman Cortes was much given to
the service Of this virgin, and that he had
placed in her shrine shvcr lamp and
scorpion of gold incrusted with cmeralds.
This last, Of course, was a votive offering.
Now, Mexican history reveals no connec-
ton at all between Cortes and the Mexican
virgin of Guadalupe; yet, under the circum-
stances, it is easy to believe that one existed
Of which all trace has been lost At any
rate, it is worth knowing that virgin of
Guadalupe was no novelty to the conquer
ing Spaniards. In fact, a report of viceroy
TO Philip H.. 1915, says that the Mexican
virgin was called Guadalupan, from her
resemblance 10 one Of the same name in
Spain.
Among the direct antccclc Tents Of the spe
cial cult of the Virgin on the hill of Tepcyac
must be taken into account the wcll-estab.
lished fact that the came spot had long been
] ~ nf fsif of roll ff.fta
importance. The Indians regarded the place
as sacred long before they were taught to
venerate IL by the priests Of Spain
Sahagun, Tor example, relates that the tenn
pie TO the virgin but succeeded an older one
of the Aztccs in the same locality. The
same CathOl historian also says that Just
as the Indians now gather from leagues
around TO share in the great festival of
Guadalupe day, Dec, II, so in pagan times
throngiug multitudes used 10 90 yearly 70
the same place to join in one Of the greatest
of the heather feasts. More striking still is
| IL 10 notice the deity formerly wor5hipcd on
the spot where now the Virgin is held in
such VeneratiOn. IL was one Of the seats of
= TOnantzin. That word is variously translat-
ed NEITHER OF the Gods or Queen of the
Virgins Thus no violent wrench in the
religious ideas OF the natives was required
in their transition from one faith 10 another
AS indicative of the willingness of the
mCnxS who accompanied the Splniards TO
their own purposes IL is worthy Of mention
that the Franciscans early had hermitage
upon the hill of TCpeyac. This they had
dedicated to the special worship Of the Vir
gin Mary, though she was not yet known as
the virgin of Guadalupe, Even ofte~ the
5ppaT.t,0h was said to nave taken place anu
the Christian service had been introduced
many of the old Indian rites, dances songs,
etc, continued to be in use, as is z; ties ed by
writers who were scandalized by tie fact
hn npg,ly hon gnNra a
Indians: And still they come great dis
tances TO see their Tonantzin, just as they
used to do, and this devotion Is highly sus-
picious since there are churches of our lady
everywhere but they do not go 20 them; yet
they keep on coming leagues TO their Ton
antin;N and TANGO witnesses to the mixture
of heather with Christian ceremonies that
long prevailed at the Guadalupe shrine. Add
the fact that others Of the modern holy
places Of Mexico have borrowed no small
part of their sanctity from foregoing pagan
times-this is the case, for example, with
the seat of the other renowned Mexican vir-
gin. Our Lady of Remedios-and il will not
be hard to imagine how dcft fingers put the
new Christian patch in the old pagan gar
ment.
| 1t was not until 1757 that the holy see
granted the request of its Mexican subjects,
and gave permission for the religious cele-
bration of Guadalupe day, assigning the
! proper prayers ana Offices. Even in the de-
cree conceding this, Benedict XIV. used
| language which is very cautious, and does
! not commit the church to actual belief in
| the appariJion. This was observed by Juan
! Bautista Munoz, who read an essay on the
! question before the Royal Academy of His
tory Of Madrid in 1894. And the academy
| itself in the notice which it praflxed TO
the essay in its published proceedings, said
THE careful and rcverent criticism with
which this scholar examines the origin and
| growth Of these popular legends, demon
strating by means of trustworthy docu-
ments their want OF solid truthfulness, and.
| at The same time, the reasonablcaess of the
worship paid the sacred painting, always TO
| be held in respect even ii il never appeared
| in the way alleged, is wholly in keeping
with the reserve and distrust with which
the holy see looked upon the popular belief"
| In close, If surprising, keeping with this il
the pastoral of the Mexican bishop of
Tamaulipas' dated Oct, 10, 1887. Its material
| parts are as follows:
"Inasmuch as certain priests have asked
what they ought TO say TO those believers
and skeptics of their respective parishes
who inquire of them If the apparition of Our
Lady of Guadalupe must be considered
dogma of faith defined by Benedict XIV. or
at least by the present archbishops of Mex
| leo, these priests saying that the difficulties
raised by the Protestants on this point are
causing great harm TO the faithful, the most
illustrious and reverend bishop makes the
a H.. - Ia