St. Juan Diego was born in 1474, given the name Cuauhtlatoazin. His father died when he was very young and he was taken care of by his uncle. At three, he began learning different domestic tasks, as all Aztecs were taught from a young age. In school, he learned to sing, dance, and worshipped many gods. When the temple, Tenochtitlan, was consecrated, the priests had about 80,000 human sacrifices to their god.

He served in the military and married a young woman who shared his social status. They were both baptized and Cuauhtlatoazin took the name Juan Diego. His wife died in 1529, and he went to live with his uncle in Tolpetlac, who had recently converted as well. On Saturdays, he would leave his home very early to go to the Mass in honor of Our Lady.

On December 9th, 1531, on his way to Mass, he heard a beautiful song coming from Tepeyac Hill. When he went up the hill, the song stopped and he heard a lady call him, “Juanito, Juan Dieguito!” The lady asked him where he was going, and he told her to the Mass in Mexico City. She told him,

I want you to know for certain, my dear son, that I am the perfect and always Virgin MARY, Mother of the True God from Whom all life comes, the Lord of all things, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I greatly desire that a church be built in my honor, in which I will show my love, compassion, and protection. I am your Mother full of mercy and love for you and all those who love Me, trust in Me, and have recourse to Me. I will hear their complaints and I will comfort their affliction and their sufferings. So that I might show all My love, go now to the bishop in Mexico City and tell him that I am sending you to make known to him the great desire I have to see a church dedicated to me built here.

St. Juan Diego went directly to the bishop and told him what Our Lady had asked of him. He did not believe his story, thinking it was an illusion. On his way home, St. Juan Diego saw Our Lady again. He asked her to choose someone else to give her message to, because he was just a simple Indian and would not be listened to by a bishop. Our Lady said in reply,

My dearest son, you must understand that there are many more noble men to whom I could have entrusted my message and yet, it is because of you that my plan will succeed. Return to the bishop tomorrow... Tell him that it is I myself, the Blessed Virgin MARY, Mother of God, who am sending you.

St. Juan Diego went back to the home of the bishop. He was asked many questions and was asked for a tangible sign as proof that the apparition was real. When St. Juan Diego left, the bishop had two servants follow him. They followed him until Tepeyac Bridge, where St. Juan Diego disappeared. The servants became angry and told the bishop that he was lying. When St. Juan Diego saw Our Lady again, she told him to come back the next day and she would give him the sign to bring to the bishop.

St. Juan Diego was unable to go back the next day because his uncle became very ill. As he became sicker, his uncle asked him to go and find a priest. He went off on December 12th, taking a different route, so he would not pass Tepeyac Hill. Our Lady came out to meet him, and St. Juan Diego explained the situation. She said,

My dear little one, do not be distressed about your uncle's illness, because he will not die from it. I assure you that he will get well... Go to the top of the hill, pick the flowers that you will see there, and bring them to me.

St. Juan Diego obeyed and went to the hill where he saw beautiful Castillian roses in full bloom in the middle of winter. St. Juan Diego picked and gathered several of the roses in his tilma. Our Lady asked him to bring these to the bishop as a sign, and that he would then build the Church she had asked for.

St. Juan Diego went immediately to the bishop, but was stopped by the guards for several hours. The guards, amazed at his patience, spoke with the other guards and allowed him to go in. St. Juan Diego spoke to the bishop about what had happened, and unfolded his tilma to reveal the beautiful roses. On the tilma, appeared the image of Our Lady. The bishop fell to his knees with tears in his eyes, and his doubts turned into great faith. He put the roses and the tilma in his private chapel and went with St. Juan Diego to Tepeyac Hill. When he returned to his uncle’s home, his uncle had been completely cured, which had taken place when Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego. His uncle said to him,

I have also seen her. She even came here and talked to me. She wants a church to be built on Tepeyac Hill and wants her portrait to be called 'Saint MARY of Guadalupe.' But she didn't explain to me why.

St. Juan Diego became very well known, but he remained humble. The bishop brought the tilma to the cathedral, to be seen by many. Soon after, the construction began for the Church that would be built on Tepeyac Hill. On December 25th, the new Church was consecrated. There was a procession of the image of Our Lady with great joy and excitement. The Indians began shooting arrows, and one hit the throat of one of the people who was at the consecration and wounded him fatally. They brought him in front of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and he was able to stand up, fully recovered.

Soon after the celebration, St. Juan Diego moved to a hermitage to live a life of simplicity, farming near the sanctuary of Our Lady. Many pilgrims came to see him and he told them all about the apparitions.  He received many prayer intentions and he spent much of his day in prayer before the image of Our Lady. He died on December 9th, 1548, seventeen years after the apparitions had begun.

http://www.ewtn.com/saintsholy/saints/J/stjuandiego.asp

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