Today is the Catholic feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico.
Here’s her story: In the 16th Century, La Virgen appeared to an indigenous man named Juan Diego outside Mexico City. She wanted a church built nearby, but, when Diego took the message to the bishop, the leader was skeptical. Diego returned to where he saw the virgin and she grew roses in the desert for him. He gathered them in his tunic and, when he spilled them out before the bishop, the image of the mother of Jesus appeared on the fabric.
To this day in Mexico, pilgrims flock to the image – stored in the church the virgin requested. It depicts Mary with dark skin like one of the indigenous people of Mexico – not the country’s Caucasian transplants.
To find out how some Hispanic Catholics in Central Florida are celebrating el Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe, 90.7’s Matthew Peddie spoke with Lino Rodriquez of St. Patrick’s Church in Mount Dora.