Our Lady of Guadalupe is honored today in the Americas

Image of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City

Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Mexico
 

Our patron saint of the Americas is Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Around 1531 the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Juan Diego at Tepeyac Hill, northwest of what is now Mexico City.  During the five apparitions she asked for a chapel to be built.  In two weeks the chapel was completed due to the numerous volunteers.  In a seven year period over eight million people were baptized!  On October 12, 1945 Pope Pious XII proclaimed her Patroness of all the Americas.  Pope John Paul II called the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe the "Marian heart of America."  Click Here for history of this apparition