St. Juan Diego

Juan Diego was born in 1474 in the calpulli or ward of Tlayacac in Cuauhtitlan in Mexico, which was established in 1168 by Nahua tribesmen and conquered by the Aztec lord Axayacatl in 1467. First called Cuauhtlatohuac (The eagle who speaks), but known since his baptism as Juan Diego, he is forever linked with Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was to him that she first appeared at Tepeyac hill on December 9, 1531. After the roses gathered in his tilma were transformed into the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, however, little more is said about Juan Diego.

Thousands of people gathered in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe July 31, 2002, for the canonization of Juan Diego. Pope John Paul II celebrated the ceremony at which the poor Indian peasant became the Church's first saint indigenous to the Americas.

Juan Diego's Feast Day is December 9.