Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-04-04
VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE.
Origin of the Shrine to Mexico's Pa
tron Saint.

tron Saint.
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
it's sky decked ceilings, admiring it's
gigantic and perfect proportions and
of approaching the faultless marble
statues of the bishop and the Indian,
Juan Diego, who, kneeling, guard the
sacred tlma within the main altar
which bears the historic figure of the
Virgin of Guadalupe.
1t seems from the best authorities
at command that the hill now known
at command that the hill now known
as Guadalupe hill 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 immemo-
rial it has thus been a place for
worship and is today surrounded and
surmounted by a group of famous
churches and chapels.
But as to the story. In brief 1t Is
this: Juan Diego, a poor Indian con-
vert to the Christianity Of the Span
going to mass the morning Of Dec. 9,
1881.
Upon that memorable morning as
he passed around the hill of Tepeyac
beautiful woman addressed him, and
he paused gallantly to hear her words.
She bade him go to the bishop and
tell him she wished temple built to
her honor on that hill. The simple In
dian went as he was hidden 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 incredulity 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 a 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 he 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 beauti-
full woman. He approached her some-
what reluctantly, as we may imagine,
owing to the urgency of his mission,
and explained 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 approached the, to him we'll
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 iXtli plant such as his class
were accustomed to use. For want of
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 off his tilma and filled 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 tilma to
display his precious burden of roses
when, 10, miracle of miracles, upon
the inner side of the tilma when the
roses rolled upon the floor at their
feet was discovered the perfect image
of the wonderful lady who had sent
him with a sign to the bishop.
The increduous bishop, as the story
goes, was thoroughly convinced and
reverently cared for the image until
a chapel could he erected upon the
hillside according to the mandate of
the holy Virgin.
Beautiful as was the story, readily
as ii was accepted by the people with
i'm the valley and, in fact, all over the
republic wherever it was told, it took
200 years or more to convince the pa
pal powers of it's authenticity. The
Virgin Of Guadalupe. who had been
recognized 10y the people of Mexico as
their patron saint for 200 years, did
not get the full Endorsement of the
congregation of rites at Rome until the
year 1854.
~ To do and not be done is the code