Most of the time, we think of Our Lady of Guadalupe as a particularly Mexican devotion, for obvious reasons. Yes, Marian traditions claim she appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin in the Hill of Tepeyac, now the northernmost borough of Mexico City. Even more so, they spoke to each other in Nahuatl, one of the many languages spoken by Mexican-Aztec natives still in the XVI century. And, sure, virtually every (Catholic) Mexican home or establishment proudly houses at least one image of the beloved Virgen Morena.
But the Guadalupe is also the Patroness of all of the Americas. In a century in which the Reformation was converting half of Europe to Protestantism, the veneration of the Guadalupe gave Catholicism an unprecedented boost on the other side of the Atlantic. In more ways than one, the Guadalupe is one of the distinctive, quintessential icons of the Americas. As such, it is not surprising that we find her image in the most unsuspected places. Here, we wanted to offer you five images of La Morenita that clearly show devotion transcends nationalities —and church walls. Make sure to click on the slideshow below to discover these unique images.
And today we celebrate...