Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
August 7, 2002
Canonization of Juan Diego a gift to the Church
The canonization of Juan Diego in Mexico City last week, while especially exciting for indigenous people, is a gift to the entire Church — indeed, to humankind — as it underscores the Gospel call to people of all races and ethnicities and upholds for the first time the sanctity of an indigenous man as saintly.
The story of Juan Diego is worth repeating: On Dec. 9, 1531, the Nahuatl Indian, a convert to Catholicism, was walking up Tepeyac Hill, then-outside present day Mexico City, when he received a vision of a woman clothed in light who identified herself as the Virgin Mary. She wanted a church built at the site, where she would intercede for the people, and she wanted Diego to make her request known to the bishop. He did so, twice unsuccessfully. The bishop wanted a sign that Mary's request was genuine. On Dec. 12 the sign was granted. Although it was winter, Castilian roses, which did not grow in Mexico, were in bloom on Tepeyac Hill. Mary told Diego to gather them in his cloak and take them to the bishop. When Diego opened the garment before the bishop the roses spilled onto the floor, and to Diego and the bishop's surprise, imprinted on the cloak was a miraculous image of Mary. The bishop believed and a church was built. The cloak is enshrined at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe today. The apparitions led to the greatest mass conversion to Christianity in history — within seven years nearly 9 million Aztecs converted.
Two million people lined the streets of Mexico City for Diego's canonization last week. Declaring Diego a saint recognizes the importance of indigenous people to the Church and emphasizes that the Gospel call is for all people, including the marginalized, and that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Coming at the beginning of the third millennium of Christianity, the canonization, Bishop José Gomez, S.T.D., said, is an appropriate way to mark the start of the new evangelization Pope John Paul II has called for.
The Archdiocese of Denver is currently seeking to raise funds to establish a Hispanic institute named after the new saint. The mission of Centro Juan Diego: Hispanic Institute for Family and Pastoral Care is evangelization. The institute will be housed in the former Sacred Heart of Jesus School at 28th and Larimer streets in LoDo. Renovations, estimated to cost $3 million, are set to begin in September. The institute will provide training and catechesis to the burgeoning Hispanic population so as to create lay leaders for parishes and the greater community.
Diego's deep faith and his dedication to the duty Mary entrusted to him made him an extraordinary evangelizer. His piety and devotion is representative of that of the Hispanic people, whose profound reverence for Christ and his mother is infectious.
May we use this canonization as an opportunity to help build Centro Juan Diego and enable the new saint to continue his work of evangelization in the new millennium.
For more information about Centro Juan Diego, contact Mar Muñoz-Visoso, director of the Hispanic Office, at 303-715-3235.
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