There are not very many symbols that are more closely identified with Mexico than the Virgin of Guadalupe. There is a whole ritual that surrounds the day of celebration in her honor, Dec. 12. In Mexico and cities around the world where there are large Mexican communities, there are masses, processions, dancing and singing -- even fireworks, in some places. But what many might not realize is that she is not only the “Queen of Mexico,” but actually the “Patron of the Americas.” So, if you are a Catholic living in this hemisphere, the Virgin of Guadalupe is your patron saint also.

Maybe the Catholic Church wanted to take advantage of her magnetism to attract more faithful from the Continent, but whatever the reason, it has spent centuries elevating her name and likeness. I hope it's not a sacrilege to say this, but it seems to me that Pope John Paul II was obsessed with the Virgin of Guadalupe. Ever since the first time he traveled to Mexico -- his first foreign trip as pope, in 1979 -- he declared his admiration for “la virgen morena,” the dark-skinned virgin, as she is also referred to.

Her story goes something like this. One day as a Mexican indigenous man by the name of Juan Diego was crossing a deserted hill on his way to mass, he was suddenly stopped by a bright light. Before him appeared a beautiful, dark-skinned woman who claimed to be the Virgin Mary. She asked him to relay the message to the bishop that she would like to have a church built on the hill of Tepeyac. It was Dec. 9, 1531.

When Juan Diego complied, the incredulous bishop asked him to return with proof of such an appearance. On Dec. 12, Juan Diego went back to the hill, again saw the woman and informed her of the bishop's demands. She then asked the Indian to pick some flowers from the desolate hill and take them to the bishop as proof of her existence. When Juan Diego arrived and opened up his cloak to drop the roses, it revealed a perfectly clear image of the virgin. The church was built and later replaced by a larger one. The Vatican recognized the miracle more than 200 years later.

For centuries, this story has been a symbol of the cultural and spiritual history of Mexico, but for that long it also has been questioned and investigated over and over again. Pope John Paul II went out of his way to put any doubt aside. He beatified the Indian Juan Diego in 1990; he dedicated a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica to the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1992. In 1999, he named her “Patron of the Americas” and finally canonized Juan Diego in 2002 in an elaborate ceremony that drew millions of people from all over the world.

In the middle of this process, opposition to Juan Diego's sainthood came from an unlikely source. Guillermo Schulenberg, abbot of the Basilica of Guadalupe for more than a quarter-century, called into question the story of Juan Diego and, by default, the existence of the Virgin of Guadalupe. He suggested that Juan Diego was more cult than reality. One month after his controversial comments, he was forced to resign.

The Virgin of Guadalupe is, literally, larger than life. She is more than a religious figure -- she is a cultural icon. The Basilica of Guadalupe is the second most visited Catholic shrine in the world, after the Vatican. Her likeness has been commercialized in everything from paintings and stamps to clothing and jewelry. You can see her hanging from a rearview mirror in a car or tattooed on someone's arm. Her image is revered by Mexicans and draws respect from even the toughest crowds. In Los Angeles, for example, some businesses have murals of the Virgin of Guadalupe painted on their walls to prevent gang members from drawing graffiti on them.

Some believe the Virgin of Guadalupe can create miracles. In an apparent attempt to win over some Latino voters, Republican presidential candidate John McCain visited the Basilica of Guadalupe during a trip to Mexico last July. It might not have worked for him this time, but just in case, it's not a bad idea to keep the virgencita on your side.

***

(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www 
.mariaesalinas.com)

© 2008 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate