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From a religious perspective, Juan Diego is the most prominent name in all of Mexico. When he was 50 years old a Franciscan priest, Fr. Peter da Gand, one of the first Franciscan missionaries, baptized him. According to legend, on the 9th December 1531, when Juan Diego was on his way to morning Mass, the Blessed Mother appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill, the outskirts of what is now Mexico City. She asked him to go to the Bishop and to request in her name that a shrine be built at Tepeyac, where she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her. The Bishop, who did not believe Juan Diego, asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was true. On the 12th of December, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac. Here, the Blessed Mother told him to climb the hill and to pick the flowers that he would find in bloom. He obeyed, and although it was winter, he found roses flowering. He gathered the flowers and took them to Our Lady who carefully placed them in his mantle and told him to take them to the Bishop as "proof". When he opened his mantle, the flowers fell on the ground and there remained impressed, in place of the flowers, an image of the Blessed Mother, the apparition at Tepeyac.
The true miracle of Guadalupe rests in the multiracial, multicultural treasures inherited by the people of the Americas. We invite you to discover them on this journey… “Following the steps of Juan Diego.”
Another aspect of our trip will be to discover the magic of Mexico City itself. Mexico City is a federal district (Distrito Federal), much like our own Washington, D.C. It is almost 700 years old and is the highest city on the North American continent at 7,349 feet. It has been a flourishing cosmopolitan center for nine centuries since its founding as the ancient capital of the Aztec Empire. It is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Western Hemisphere and is over 700 square miles in area. Today it is a vibrant cultural and business center well immersed in the high-tech 21st century, yet still retains its brilliant historic and architectural heritage.
Our side trip will be to Cuernavaca and Taxco. Cuernavaca is in the state of Morelos, approximately 40 miles south of Mexico City. During the course of those 40 miles, there is a drop in elevation ultimately placing Cuernavaca about 2,000 feet closer to sea level than the more-than-mile-high Mexico City. The result- perennial great weather and hence the nickname “city of eternal spring.”
Steeped in tradition and Old World style, Taxco is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful towns in all of Mexico. As recently as 70 years ago, most traveling to this stunning hillside town was done on horseback. Modern roads now wind their way through picturesque mountains, fields of roses, and breathtaking scenery bringing you to face to face with a hillside dotted with red-tile roofs and the remarkable filigree spires of the Santa Prisca Church… indeed a living postcard.
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