Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary Celebrates Patroness Feast

It has been 483 years since Our Lady first appeared to a young Aztec convert, St. Juan Diego, on Tepeyac hill, in what is now Mexico City.  Through a series of visions and conversations between Juan Diego and Our Lady, God ultimately decided to impress an image of Mary upon the hemp tilma of Juan Diego. In this image, Our Lady is believed to be with Child, standing upon a crescent moon, and held by an Angel.

This image of Our Lady of Guadalupe should have, by all scientific accounts, crumbled to dust many centuries ago, but it continues to this day, undaunted and uncorrupted by the passage of time. It has no under sketch, no pigments, and the reflection of the bishop and his assistant can be seen in her eyes.  Scientists of our age have also come to realize that the tilma presents a perfect stellar map of the sky in 1531, a feat difficult to accomplish even for the learned of the day.  Equally miraculous is that the tilma brought about the conversion of more than eight million Aztecs over a short seven year period, virtually ending paganism in Mexico.

The tilma thus stands as a testament to the miraculous, science-defying power of God, and the powerful intercession and conversions that can be wrought from Our Lady.

Our Lady of Guadalupe became the Patroness of the Americas, and when the decision was made to found a seminary in North America in the 1990s, Our Lady of Guadalupe was chosen as the Patroness.  It is right and just, therefore, that the priests and seminarians of the seminary celebrate and honor the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with great prayer and solemnity.

As an added blessing, Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary was graced by its Ordinary. His Excellency James Conley traveled to the seminary in order to offer the Solemn High Mass in honor of Our Lady. Enjoy pictures of the Feast.