Rock Island Argus., 1911-04-05
is A HOLY HILL
Shrine to Guadalupe, Mexico's s
Patron Saint, Built on
Eminence.
VIRGIN APPEARED THERE
Is the Story Told TO THIS Day by the
Simple Folk of the Land
Side Light on Country.

Fortunate is the person who has had
the opportunity Of visiting the Basil
lea, as the great church of Guada-
lupe is called, and OF looking up at
its sky decked ceilings. admiring its
gigantic and perfect proportions and
of approaching the fauitless n1ar5le
statues OF the bishop and the Indian,
Juan Diego, who. kneeling. guard the
sacred tilma within the main altar
which bears the historic figure of the
Virgin Of Guadalupe.
It seems from the best authorities
at command that the hill now known
as Guadalupe bill was a sacred spot
under the old regime OF the Aztecs,
being set apart as the place most fit
for the worship of the goddess To-
nantzin, so that from time iTmemo-
rial IL has thus been q place for
worship and is today surrounded and
surmounted by a group Of famous
churches and chapels.
But as to the story. In brief it is
this: Juan Diego, a poor Indian con
vert TO the Christianity of the Span
iards, good Catholic that he was, was
going to mass the morning of Dec. 9,
1881.
Upon that memorable morning as
he passed around the hill of Tepeyac
a beautiful woman addressed him, and
he paused CALAMITY to hear her words.
She bade him TO go to the bishop and
tell him she wished a temple built to
her honor on that hill. The simple In
dian went as he was bidden to the
bishop, who naturally was incredu-
lous. Juan, deeply impressed by the
strange occurrence. returned twice to
the hill, and each time the radiant
lady told him to bear the message to
the bishop for her. He finally told
her Of the fncredulity of the bishop; in
fact, that he demanded a sign Of proof
of the truth of the strange story. She
told him to come again the next day
and she would give him sign.
The next day poor Juan found his
uncle, with whom he dwelt, very i'll.
so that he set out in great haste and
alarm to call a confessor lest his kins-
man would die unconfessed. For fear
he would be delayed by his fair inter
locutor of past days he passed around
the other side Of the mountain, but
only to be hailed there by the beautiful
woman. He approached her somewhat
as we may imagine, owing
to the urgency of his mission, and ex-
plained the matter to her. She told
him that his uncle was already cured
and therefore would need no confessor
and bade him gather some roses from
the barren, rocky hillside where it is
said the chapel of the hill now stands.
HE RECEIVES THE SIGN.
He approached the to him well
known barren hillside in childish sim
plicity and to his great surprise found
that there were numbers Of beautiful
roses in full bloom. He wore with
out doubt the tilma made of the fiber
of the ixtn plant such as his class
anything at hand in which to place
the beautiful flowers and doubtless
very eager to assure the bishop Of the
truth of the stories he had told he
took of his tilma and filed it with the
pink roses and In haste made his way
to the house Of the bishop.
Arrived at the bishops home, the
humble Indian unrolled the dlma to
display his precious burden OF roses
when, 10, miracle of miracles, upon
the inner side Of the tilrna when the
roses rolled upon the door ut their
feet was discovered the perfect image
Of the wonderful lady who had sent
him with a sign to the bishop.
The incredulous bishop, as the story |
goes, was thoroughly convinced and |
reverently cared for the image until |
a chapel could be erected upon the |
hillside according to the mandate of |
the holy Virgin.
Beautiful as WAS the story, readily |
as it was accepted by the people within |
the valley and, in fact, all over the re- |
public wherever 1t was told, 1t took 200 !
years or more TO convince the papal /
powers of fits authenticity. The Virgin
of Guadalupe. who had been recognized /
by the people OF Mexico as their patron
saint for 200 years, did not get the full /
OF the congregation of
rites at Rome until the year 1854