ROBERT COLQUHOUN.

A recent 40 Days for Life congress called the “Spiritual battle for life” was held in Mexico City. Mexico City is also home to one of the most famous Marian Shrines in the world: the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her invocation of Our Lady of Guadalupe, at the foot of the Hill of Tepeyac. Nearly twenty million pilgrims visit the Sanctuary every year, meaning that it is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage destination on earth, an unbelievably fascinating cultural and spiritual phenomenon. The tilma defies science in its creation, survival or details and has all the characteristics of a miracle. 

In 1531, Mary appeared four times to St Juan Diego and also to his uncle who miraculously recovered from illness, asking for a Church to be built in her honour. On December 12th, 1531, she arranged roses in his Tilma, which he then took to the bishop. When he opened his cloak, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was marvelously present on the tilma. Juan found dark pink Castilian roses on Tepeyac hill, not native to Mexico, much less bloom in central Mexico in December. Within seven years of the apparition in which Our Lady manifested herself to the native people of Mexico, as a sign of her maternal care, nine million people accepted the Catholic faith. This is an average of 3,000 people a day, every day for seven years. Our Lady of Guadalupe is very important to Mexican people: she is patron of Mexico and truly interwoven into Mexican culture. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of many pro-life patrons, along with St Gianna Molla, St Gerard Magellan, St Maximilian Kolbe, and many more. As Mary is the mother of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin is an ideal patroness of the pro-life movement, Her Fiat (saying ‘yes’ to God) at the moment of the Annunciation is a great witness and example for mothers of unborn babies. Out of all the Marian apparitions, Our Lady of Guadalupe is a special pro-life patron because she is shown to be pregnant. The sash around her waist is a symbol that indicated pregnancy in the culture of the country. Our Lady appeared to a humble Mexican peasant who was a recent convert. Our Lady appears as a young virgin of noble birth, who is expecting a child. The Aztec culture at the time practiced child sacrifice. 

The image was not created by any human hand, or any process of painting known then or today, nor does the cloth contain any artifacts such as paint. Scientifically it makes no sense.

The image of an angel and moon under Our Lady of Guadalupe indicates Our Lady to be a royal personage. The moons shows she defeats the god of the night. Behind her she overshadows the rays of the sun god.

Nitric acid was spilled on the Tilma in 1791, and it repaired miraculously with no external aid. Unprotected, it survived a bomb attack in 1921, which damaged the altar and bent the brass crucifix on it. The position of the stars on the image conform to the constellations on December 12, 1521, when the image was created. Recent investigations show that when the Tilma is enlarged 2,500 times, the Virgin Mary’s eye has the reflection of all the people who were present when the tilma was revealed to the archbishop. 

The tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the only existing agave fabric from the 16th century, even though it was left unprotected for 100 years. No art or technology has been identified that could have produced the image. The tilma is a positive image, has survived 500 years, despite being made of cactus fiber which typically disintegrates in 20-40 years. For much of that time it was exposes uncovered to heat, humidity and sunlight where it was displayed, as well as the veneration of people. 

In 1936, biochemist Richard Kuhn, who later won the Nobel prize said the source of the image was unknown (not animal, mineral or fabric). Dr. Philip Serna Callahan photographed the tilma under infrared light and said the image had been formed without brush strokes. Other researchers described its character as close to a photograph, yet created 300 years before the invention of photography. 

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe which converted the Aztecs is a common sight in the pro-life movement and is brought in front of abortion centres all over the world. Our Lady of Guadalupe has been declared the “Patroness of the unborn.” Today, she speaks to us who defend life the same words as she addressed to Juan Diego:

"Hear and let it penetrate your hearts, my dear little ones. Let nothing discourage you, nothing depress you; let nothing alter your heart or your countenance. Do not fear vexation, anxiety or pain. Am I not here, your Mother? Are you not in the folds of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else that you need?"