Virgin of Ocotlán
Patroness of Tlaxcala and Puebla, crowned in 1909.
The Virgin of Ocotlán is a Marian statue in Ocotlán, Tlaxcala, Mexico, serving as the patroness of Tlaxcala and Ocotlán. Pope Pius X issued a decree for her canonical coronation on 18 January 1909, and Archbishop Eulogio Gillow y Zavalza carried out the coronation on 31 July 1909.
In the summer of 1541, around the feast of the Assumption (August 15), a young Tlaxcalan convert named Juan Diego Bernardino was heading to a river thought to have healing properties. He served as a topil, or altar server, at the local Franciscan monastery and was known for his piety. An epidemic had broken out, and he wanted to bring water to his sick family. On a hilltop, a beautiful woman appeared and asked, “God bless you, my son, where are you going?” After he explained her errand, she replied, “Follow me closely. I will give you another water with which you will extinguish the contagion and cure not only your family but all who drink of it, for my heart is always inclined toward the lowly and will not suffer to see such things without remedying them.” She led him down the steep hill as night fell, to a pine grove with a spring that still exists today. She promised that even a single drop would restore perfect health. Juan Diego took water, cured the sick, and then told the friars what had happened. Struck by his expression, they believed him, perhaps because he was a regular altar server. That evening they followed him back to the grove. In the sunset, the trees seemed to burn without being consumed. One particularly fat tree was opened with a hatchet, revealing a statue of the Virgin inside. They made a litter from branches and flowers and carried the statue to the church of St. Lawrence, where it was placed in a niche.
The earliest written reference to the shrine comes from Tlaxcalan historian Diego Muñoz Camargo, who mentions a Franciscan missionary center called Santa María Ocotla in Tlaxcala around 1588 or 1589. In an earlier book, he notes a “nacimiento desta agua” (“source of this water”) where a cross among forest trees inspired great devotion.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Ocotlán, Tlaxcala, Mexico
- Approval
- Pope Pius X
- Patronage
- Mexico (Tlaxcala and Pueblo)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
According to tradition, in the summer of 1541, around the feast of the Assumption (August 15), a young native Tlaxcalan man named Juan Diego Bernardino was going to draw water from a river believed to have healing properties. Juan Diego was a convert to Catholicism known for his piety and was a topil (altar server) at the Franciscan monastery. There was an epidemic in the region, and he wanted to bring water home to his sick family. As he came to a hilltop, he encountered a beautiful lady who asked him where he was going. After he explained, she led him down the steep hill as night fell to a pine grove with a spring of water, which still exists today. She told him that whoever drank the smallest drop would be restored to perfect health. Juan Diego took water, cured the sick, and told the friars what had happened. They followed him back to the grove, where they found a statue of the Virgin inside a pine tree. The statue was taken to the church of St. Lawrence and placed in a niche.
Reader's Guide
The shrine of the Virgin of Ocotlán is now a parish church located on a hill overlooking the city. The earliest mention of the shrine is found in the writing of Tlaxcalan historian Diego Muñoz Camargo, who refers to a Franciscan missionary center in Tlaxcala in 1588 or 1589 called Santa María Ocotla. The first mention of the statue occurs in 1689, in the frontispiece of a history of the city of Tlaxcala. The third caretaker, Manuel Loayzaga, gave the shrine its present appearance, including the central retablo with a great silver niche and the camarín, an eight-sided chapel behind the niche used as the Virgin's dressing room. Loayzaga also published the final 'official' version of the Ocotlán legend in 1747 and 1750. Devotion is concentrated around processions on New Year's Day and the first and third Mondays in May, called the bajada (descent) and subida (ascent).
Did You Know?
- The statue is 148 cm tall and reportedly made of pine, though this is not certain.
- The statue has pierced ears, earrings, many finger rings, and a large crown given in 1975.
- A silver crescent moon with a 'man in the moon' face looking up at her is at the base of the image.
- The spring of water from the 1541 apparition still exists today.
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