The cloak full of flowers
In 1531 a peasant, Juan Diego, reported seeing an apparition of the Virgin Mary on the hill of Tepeyac, today swallowed up in the metropolis of Mexico City. The Virgin, he said, spoke to him in in Nahuatl, his first language, asking that a church be built on the site in her honour.
The then archbishop wasn’t convinced, even when Juan Diego said he had seen her a second time. He told the peasant to ask her for a sign should she appear again. She did reappear, he asked for the sign, and she promised to provide one.
The fourth time he saw her he was on his way to find a priest to attend his sick uncle’s deathbed. The Virgin assured him his uncle would be cured and asked him to gather flowers from the summit of the hill. Although it was December, he found flowers growing there, which the Virgin arranged in his cloak or tilma. When he later opened his cloak to show the archbishop the flowers, they fell to the floor, revealing the image of the Virgin on the fabric. Meanwhile his uncle was indeed cured, having also been visited by an apparition.
The shrine
The archbishop kept the miraculous tilma and had a chapel built on the hill to house it. The shrine was named for Our Lady of Guadalupe, as the Virgin had requested. From that small chapel, over the centuries, an entire complex of churches and chapels has evolved, responding to the pilgrims who throng here to worship and to plead for the Virgin’s help. Whether you’re a believer or not it’s hard not to be moved by the faith of those who are. And whatever your beliefs, there’s no denying the beauty of these churches, both old and new.
We visited the shrine with our guide Alfonso on our way back to the city from Teotihuacan. Let me take you on a walk around …
The New Basilica
We should start (just as we did with Alfonso) with a visit to view the tilma itself. This hangs above the altar in the modern basilica. Careful design of the building allows pilgrims and other visitors to pass slowly beneath it on a travelator (which is at a lower level and therefore hidden from the main area of the basilica). This ensures that no one can linger too long, and everyone gets a turn. Photography (without flash) was allowed here and throughout the complex.
The tilma
From here we can continue into the main area of the modern basilica, built in the 1970s as the old one could no longer cope with the numbers wanting to worship here. This building is very striking, designed (Alfonso told us) to look like Mary’s outspread robes sheltering the faithful. It also allows everyone an uninterrupted view of the tilma.
The new Basilica
A mass was in progress when we visited (my guess is that there would be so most of the time) so we just observed from the back. There was a lot of coming and going, of both pilgrims and tourists. I wondered if those attending the mass were able to give it their full attention. Certainly one younger member of the congregation was more interested in the tourists behind him rather than the priest in front! And another had a rather inappropriate caption on her top.
At mass in the New Basilica
The Old Basilica
A short distance away across the main plaza, the Atrio de las Américas (shown in my feature photo), is the older basilica. This was built at the turn of the 18th century and is dedicated to Christ the King. It shows very obvious signs of having slipped over time, due to the unstable ground here.
The old Basilica of Christ the King
We found this much quieter and more peaceful, with a mix of individual pilgrims praying and respectful tourists circulating around the edges. It is beautiful in a much more traditional fashion. I loved the intricate stained-glass windows and some modern statues of saints. The dome and parts of the ceiling have mosaics which reminded me of Byzantine churches.
In addition to the two basilicas there are several smaller chapels, a convent, a museum and a pantheon and cemetery where a number of the country’s greats have been entombed. With limited time we only went inside two of the other churches.
The Capilla de Indios
This chapel was built, Alfonso told us, for the indigenous converts who weren’t allowed to pray in the main basilica. It stands on the site of the original chapel built here to house the tilma.
The Capilla de Indios: the light was beautiful inside
The Capilla del Pocito
This chapel is considered a small Baroque masterpiece, and has an especially beautiful dome, inside and out. It was built over a well that was considered miraculous. Nearby is a sculpture depicting the moment Juan Diego opened his tilma to reveal the image of the Virgin to the archbishop.
The Capilla del Pocito
Inside the dome is painted with small angels, many of whom carry symbols associated with Mary. The painting is rather worn but still lovely.
In the Capilla del Pocito
At this point we ran out of time and stamina. We left the pilgrims to continue their worship in the relative peace of the shrine and returned to the hectic centre of Mexico City.
I visited Mexico in February 2024
35 Comments
Annie Berger
Thanks so much for the explanation of the tilma as that was the raison d’etre for the cathedral of course. Even though we also visited in 2017 after most of the day at the ruins, I have zero recall of the tilma unfortunately. Normally, I do my due diligence learning about each sight in advance but I’m drawing a blank on this one. I do remember being overwhelmed or affected emotionally by the number of pilgrims in the open space in front of the modern basilica as they were all disabled or of “differing abilities.” They were so lovingly tended to it brought tears to my eyes. I also vividly recall a large group of indigenous dancers in the same space – wonderful seeing the old and new cultures come together.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Annie 🙂 To be honest I only half-understood the story at the time of our visit. I knew the image was at the heart of it but not the origins of that image, and although our guide Alfonso was great at giving us a thorough tour and allowing plenty of time for photos, I think he must have assumed we knew it as I didn’t expand on that at all. It was afterwards I read it up and realised what was behind the devotion.
We saw some disabled pilgrims but the majority were not, as far as I recall. And there were no indigenous dancers, unfortunately, as I would have loved to have seen them there. I too love to see old and new cultures come together 🙂
equinoxio21
I definitely prefer the old Basilica.
Sarah Wilkie
Most seem to and so do I, but I do like the new one too in some ways 🙂
thehungrytravellers.blog
We weren’t over enamoured with the new Basilica – I think on our blog post that it felt more like a conference centre than a church. The older places were a lot more impressive.
Sarah Wilkie
I do know what you mean, the scale of it apart from anything else. Maybe it felt a bit more like a church to us because there was some beautiful chanting as part of the mass that was in progress? I did like some of the details too, like those lights.
grandmisadventures
Beautiful pictures! I love how each place is so different and unique in style and feel but all of them are full of beautiful details. 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, that’s true, they’re very different but somehow all fit together 🙂
Anonymous
Thanks for sharing! and refreshing my memory.. https://harrienijland.wordpress.com/2015/05/27/mexico-from-slides-prt2-mexico-city/
Sarah Wilkie
Glad to have bright back good memories 🙂
Image Earth Travel
Lovely photos, Sarah.
The modern churches I’ve seen haven’t been as spectacular or opulent as the ancient churches and typically stunning architecture.
What I’m not a big fan of is churches/cathedrals charging an entry fee, which I’m seeing more and more…
Sarah Wilkie
No entry fee here, nor in any church or cathedral we visited in Mexico (not even a photography fee, which is something I’m usually willing to pay for). Of course there are donation boxes and religious items for sale, but nothing obligatory anywhere – very refreshing 🙂
Image Earth Travel
That is refreshing and hope it stays that way. 😉
Monkey's Tale
As others have said above, the old church appeals to me more than the new one, but even more, the capillas are beautiful and well taken care of by the looks of them. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
I agree about the capillas Maggie, but I must be one of those rare people that likes (some) modern churches as well as old!
kzmcb
A beautiful visit, indeed.
Sarah Wilkie
It was, yes – thank you 🙂
restlessjo
It sounds quite similar to the Fatima experience in a lot of ways, Sarah. The tilma is, I presume, the cross? The older building is so much more beautiful and that little Capilla del Pocito is really lovely. Faith is an incredible thing and I sometimes wish I was gifted with more.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, pretty similar to Fatima and to Medjugorje too, from what I remember from a long-ago visit! I’m sorry, I thought I’d explained that the tilma is the cloak on which the image appeared and is now framed above the altar?
restlessjo
Perhaps I didn’t read it properly- sorry!
Sarah Wilkie
Probably my usual word overload! It’s lurking in the third paragraph: ‘Although it was December, he found flowers growing there, which the Virgin arranged in his cloak or tilma. When he later opened his cloak to show the archbishop the flowers, they fell to the floor, revealing the image of the Virgin on the fabric.’
restlessjo
Yes, I read that but didn’t make the association from the photograph 🤗🩷
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
The new basilica is certainly very striking, but I prefer the old one. I always find these miracle stories interesting though they don’t convince me to throw off my scepticism!
Sarah Wilkie
I’m fascinated by these stories even though like you I lean towards scepticism. And they clearly mean s much to those who fully believe and I think help them a lot. I liked both basilicas in their different ways but it was the smaller chapels I found the most beautiful.
Anonymous
What a fascinating area…all those religious buildings from across the years, with their different designs
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂
Anne Sandler
I’m always amazed at how beautiful these churches are, and your photography does them justice. I also appreciate the research you do and your narratives.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne 😀 Some of these facts were gleaned from Alfonso during our visit, but I added a bit from research as I’m too often too busy taking photos to absorb all the info that a guide provides!
margaret21
Well, I’m quite impressed. Such sites in Europe (Lourdes, I’m looking at you) are quite unbelievably tacky, whereas both these buildings, even the more modern one seems to be quite simply an expression of faith and thanksgiving.
Sarah Wilkie
It certainly didn’t feel tacky, although there was a degree of commercialism (lots of religious objects available for sale). The travelator seemed a bit of an odd touch but makes sense when you realise how many people come here and want to see the image.
margaret21
Yes, that travelator bit does seem a bit odd. But there’s a lot I don’t understand . Maybe it’s another miracle?
Sarah Wilkie
There were three parallel travelators in fact! It’s actually a very efficient way to ensure everyone gets a close look and no one spoils it for anyone else by lingering too long or block a view. Those who want to spend longer in adoration or prayer can do so from the body of the church of course, as it’s visible from everywhere.
margaret21
That sounds like a plan that works well then.
satyam rastogi
Beautiful post beautiful pictures 👍🌹
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂