Bishop Zumarraga's Apparition Of Our Lady Of Guadalupe

The wondrous event of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe and her miraculous tilma played a significant role in Mexican and Spanish history. Especially through the converted Aztec Juan Diego, Our Lady performed many incredible deeds for the Mexicans, the Spaniards, and the Aztecs. Three specific acts that she performed were the conversion of the Aztecs, the rescue of Mexico from multiple plagues and natural disasters, and the end of the Muslim threat on the Christians. First, Mary’s intercession brought about the vast conversions of Aztecs. During the time when Bishop Zumarraga was appointed bishop in Mexico, the Aztecs and Mexicans were performing human sacrifices and the Spaniards were enemies with the Aztecs. Seeing this

He took action and prayed to Our Lady for peace between the Spaniards and the Aztecs and for a sign that she had heard his prayers, in the form of Castilian roses (Johnston 21-22). At this time, the Aztecs had used flowers to symbolize blood and killing. But Mary wanted this symbol to be viewed in a different way. “She wanted to make it clear that her flowers did not signify the blood of death, but instead, the blood of her Son, Jesus, who is new Life for all people” (Nobisso 45). Indeed, Zumarraga’s prayers were answered when Juan Diego brought the roses from Our Lady in his tilma. A church was built where the apparitions occurred with the tilma in it and this is where it all started. In addition to the peace brought between the Aztecs and Spaniards, ten million Aztecs and Mexicans were baptized over the next ten years and human sacrifice was put to a stop (Lynch). “The trickle of conversion soon became a river, and that river a flood which is perhaps unprecedented in the history of Christianity. 5,000,000 Catholics were lost to the Church owing to the Reformation in Europe at this time, but their numbers were more that replaced in a few years by over 9,000,000 Aztec converts” (Johnston 56). Second, Our Lady rescued Mexico from a number of plagues and

Apparently, while the League was forming, the Second Archbishop of Mexico, Don Fray Alonso de Montufar, heard of the many miracles that happened through the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As a gift, he had a copy of Our Lady’s image made and sent to King Philip of Spain, who placed the image within their navy. And as she had done in the past, Or Lady worked a great miracle. During the battle, the Turks surrounded the League and attacked with full force. Seeing how the Christians were losing the battle, the commander of the League, Andrea Doria, prayed to the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, asking her to save them. At that moment, a strong wind confused the navy, put them off track, and were easily defeated by the Christians. As a result, the Muslims were no longer a threat to the Christian world and their navy was no longer able to conquer Christendom any longer (Franciscan 102-104). Throughout history, Our Lady of Guadalupe has performed great wonders, especially for the Spanish and Mexicans. By looking at the miracles she performed and the prayers that she answered, especially in the conversion of the Aztecs, the rescue of Mexico from plagues and natural disasters, and the end of the Muslim threat on Christianity, one can have no doubt how