Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe 

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most visited sites for Roman Catholic pilgrims around the world. It is a national shrine of Mexico, located north of Mexico City. The Basilica houses the cloak of Juan Diego, which legend has it, in 1531 the Virgin Mary appeared to him and asked him to build a church in her honor.

Upon telling this story to the archbishop of Mexico, Juan Diego was told to get a “miraculous sign” from the Virgin Mary to prove her identity. The Lady of Guadalupe instructed Juan Diego to gather flowers on top of Tepayac Hill, normally barren in that time of year. Juan Diego found roses that were not native to Mexico, and used his cloak to gather them to present to the Archbishop.

The image is a full-length representation of a young woman. This image of the Virgin Mary has her hands joined, with her head slightly inclined. Over the images head is a blue mantle trimmed with gold and embellished with gold stars.

Historically, the site for our Lady of Guadalupe was once the location for a temple of an ancient goddess known as Tonantzin, or “Our Mother”, before Spanish conquerors tore the place down to create a new site for Catholic worship. It is well documented that the Christian faith used the assimilation of past icons to gain a better foothold in the spiritual lives of its new converts. 

Originally, the image had a crown, but was ordered by the clergy to remove it to give it a more modern image, in line with the nineteenth century images of the Immaculate Conception. The name “Guadalupe” is said to originate from one of three black Maddonnas found in the medieval kingdom of Castile in Spain.

In the Philippines, the Virgin of Guadalupe is revered in the town of Loboc, as it is given credit to a miracle that saved citizens from a great flood. The legend was greatly enhanced when the extensive floods stopped at the foot of an image of Virgin. This event is immortalized in a painting at the ceiling of Loboc church.      
      

I had an opportunity to create an art jewelry necklace inspired by the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Guada, our model for this piece, was herself named after Our Lady of Guadalupe, asked us to customize this necklace. I used charms with the popular image and added embellishments which was composed of crystals and seed beads. Since Guada was still in her early 20s, I decided to balance the design with the use of chains that's apt for age. I can see her using this custom made necklace over plain tank tops and tees, collared shirts and round neck one-piece dresses. 

Keeping it real.- PJV