Revered Relic Enshrined in L.A.

A small piece of the cloak of St. Juan Diego -- on which Catholics believe an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe miraculously appeared -- was permanently enshrined at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Tuesday amid prayers and the veneration of several hundred faithful.

Known as the Tilma of Tepeyac, the half-inch fragment was cut from the cloak on which Roman Catholics believe the image of Mary was miraculously created by the Virgin when she appeared to a poor Indian convert, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, as he stood on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico in 1531.

On Tuesday night, the relic was placed in its permanent home in a cathedral chapel by Cardinal Roger M. Mahony during a celebratory Mass. The beige fragment of coarse burlap-like material called ayate is contained in a sealed glass pendant that hangs on a necklace on a 17th century statue of the Virgin.

Thought to be the only such Juan Diego relic outside Mexico, it has become a powerful symbol of faith for millions of Latino Catholics and others. Juan Diego was canonized last year by Pope John Paul II before 10,000 worshipers in Mexico City’s Basilica of Guadalupe, becoming the church’s first indigenous American saint.

“It’s the only miracle imprint that we know of in any form other than possibly the Shroud of Turin,” Mahony said Tuesday before the Mass that celebrated the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego. “The fact that it was actually done here, in the Western Hemisphere, in Mexico, speaks volumes of the importance of the devotional life of the people.”

During a just completed 21-city tour, an estimated 140,000 people turned out to view and venerate the relic. In San Antonio, for example, 25,000 people stood in line for as long as five hours to venerate the relic, tour coordinator Andrew Walther said Tuesday. Its last stop was at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral several days ago.

“It’s been phenomenal,” said Walther, vice president of the Los Angeles-based Apostolate for Holy Relics, a nonprofit corporation for educating the public about saints and encouraging devotion and veneration. “We’ve had people come back to the church after 15 to 20 years. We’ve had people say it changed their lives. We’ve had people drive across three states to see it,” Walther said

Rosalinda Alcantara, 45, traveled to the downtown Los Angeles cathedral from Pico Rivera for Tuesday’s ceremony. “It’s a miracle to see this here in the U.S. It’s going to mean a lot to the Latino people here because of Our Lady of Guadalupe. That is the mother of God to us.”

Tuesday’s observance was part of a weeklong celebration of the feast days of the Virgin of Guadalupe and St. Juan Diego.

Mahony said it was significant that Mary had appeared to Juan Diego, a Chichimeca Indian convert. “He was not part of the Spanish reign or leadership, just an ordinary person, and he was chosen to carry this message,” Mahony said.

According to church legend, a dark-skinned Mary appeared from heaven and asked Juan Diego to inform the local bishop that she wanted a chapel built for her people. Unconvinced, the Spanish bishop asked for a sign. Mary appeared again and directed Juan Diego to gather roses, even though they were out of season, and place them in his tilma or cloak.

When he opened the cloak for the bishop, the roses -- long associated with Mary in Catholic piety -- fell out, Catholics believe. Emblazoned on the cloth was Mary’s image, which is recognized worldwide today as Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. The cloak from which the snippet was taken remains at the National Shrine in Mexico City that bears her name.

The relic was given to the Los Angeles archdiocese in 1941 by the then archbishop of Mexico City. Since 1981, the relic had been at a museum at the San Fernando Mission, until the recent tour. Before that, it had been entrusted to the late Father Fidencio Ezparza, a Mexican-born priest in Los Angeles.

Mahony said it was appropriate that a relic tied to Mary would find a permanent home in the cathedral named after her.