Our Lady of Guadalupe is regarded as Mexico's most popular religious and cultural image. On Saturday, a ceramic mosaic of Our Lady of Guadalupe, will be inaugurated in Taipei, Taiwan.
The Our Lady of Guadalupe mosaic is part of celebrations to commemorate the reported appearance of the Virgin Mary to a peasant nearly five centuries ago, on December 12, 1531. According to the Taipei-based Mexican Trade Services Documentation and Cultural Office, "the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was donated by the Iberoamerican Community in Taiwan to observe the Catholic event."
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe. According to the traditional account, on Dec. 12, 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared miraculously to a Native American peasant, Juan Diego at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of Mexico City.
Juan Diego recognized her as the Virgin Mary, and she instructed him to have the bishop build a temple on the site, and left an image of herself imprinted miraculously on his cloak, which was made of tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth that should have degraded within 20 years. However, reported, to this day, it shows no sign of decay until today. Juan Diego was canonized by Pope John Paul II July 31, 2002.
On Saturday, there will be a ceremony to inaugurate the mosaic of "Our Lady of Guadalupe," which has already been set on the sidewalk outside the church, as well as a St. Damian crucifix. A special Holy Mass is scheduled to be held today at St. Christopher Church located in Taipei's Little Manila on Zhongshan North Road.
The Our Lady of Guadalupe mosaic is made of Talavera tiles from the Mexican city of Puebla. The crucifix is made of limestone from the Mexican state of Guanajuato.
In 1945, Pope Pius XII declared Our Lady of Guadalupe "Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas," and in 1946 "Patroness of the Americas." Pope John XXIII invoked her as "Mother of the Americas" in 1961, and addressed her as Mother and Teacher of the Faith of All American Populations. In 1979, Pope John Paul II called her the “Star of Evangelization."
Written by Michael Santo
HULIQ.com
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