A message written in pictures: World-renowned expert decodes imagery found in St. Juan Diego’s tilma

By Veronica Ambuul

PHOTO: Father Ricardo Valenzuela. Photo courtesy of Javier Cervantes.

COLORADO SPRINGS. Many Catholics in the Diocese of Colorado Springs may be aware that Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the diocese, and that Bishop James Golka dedicated a new shrine in her honor, located at 927 N. Logan Ave., on July 5. But the connection between the two is even more meaningful when considered in light of the symbolism found in the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that was miraculously imprinted on the tilma of St. Juan Diego, according to a priest considered to be one of the world’s top experts on the subject.

Father Ricardo Valenzuela, a priest of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, visited Colorado Springs Aug. 21-24 and gave several talks on the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego in 1531. Father Valenzuela served as postulator for the cause of canonization of St. Juan Diego, who was beatified in 1990 and canonized by Pope John Paul II on July 31, 2002, in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

When the Blessed Mother appeared to St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill, she instructed him to tell the local archbishop that she would like a basilica to be built on the site. The position of her hands in the image on the tilma symbolizes the building of a church, Father Valenzuela said, so it’s meaningful that the first diocesan shrine in Colorado Springs was established in her name.

The date of the apparitions, which is verified by the position of the stars on the Blessed Mother’s mantle, also carries deep meaning that is still relevant today, Father Valenzuela said. According to the calendar of the native Mexican people, the year 1531 marked the start of a new era. After years of largely unsuccessful attempts to convince native peoples to embrace Christianity, the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe sparked a wave of conversions among native Mexicans, causing them to turn away from practices such as human sacrifice. In other words, the year 1531 was truly the start of a new era when the Catholic faith blossomed and spread, Father Valenzuela said.