St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was an Indigenous Mexican layman associated with the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531. Catholics seek his intercession for humility, faithful service, reconciliation, and love for the Mother of God.
Begin PrayingMore about St. Juan Diego
The Guadalupe accounts present Juan Diego as a baptized Chichimeca man who encountered the Virgin Mary at Tepeyac in December 1531. She sent him to the bishop with a request for a chapel, and the sign of Castilian roses and her image on his tilma confirmed the message. The story places a humble Indigenous Christian at the center of an event that deeply shaped the evangelization and Catholic identity of Mexico and the wider Americas.
St. John Paul II canonized Juan Diego in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2002 and praised him as a simple, faithful disciple who accepted the Gospel without rejecting his Indigenous identity. His witness points to an evangelization that receives what is true in a culture and directs it toward Christ. This novena asks for his quiet perseverance, respect for every people, and willingness to carry Mary’s invitation to the Church.
