See for yourself the image not made by hands, the tender gift of a Mother in love with her children. In December 1531, Mary appeared to Juan Diego, a Catholic convert from Cuautlitlán, asking that a church be built in her honor on Tepeyac Hill. The bishop requested a sign of the message’s authenticity, and during her fourth apparition, Mary miraculously imprinted her image upon Juan Diego’s tilma. The tilma, surviving centuries beyond its 30-year lifespan, is now displayed here in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most visited Marian shrine in the world.

What would one priest sacrifice to be a father to his people? Blessed Miguel Pro gave everything, going in disguise to his parishioners and celebrating the sacraments in secret at a time when it was illegal to practice the Faith openly. He was martyred by the anti-Catholic Mexican government in 1927. He is buried here in the church, and in the connecting museum you can see relics and the clothes in which he died.

Did you know that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared a fifth time? This time it was to Juan Bernardino, St. Juan Diego’s uncle. At the time of her last visit to Juan Diego, he was trying to go find a priest to give his uncle Last Rites. Our Lady assured him that his uncle was going to be okay. She appeared to Juan Bernadino and cured him of his illness, and this church is built over his home. St. John Paul II designated the church as a World Center of Healing.

The town of San Miguel del Milagro is where St Michael the Archangel appeared to the 17 year old Diego Lázaro de San Francisco, in 1631 during a plague outbreak. St Michael directed the boy to a spring of water that would provide healing for those dying of the plague. Following testimonies and local verification that the healings were miraculous, a shrine was built at the site of the apparition, which continues to promote devotion to the Archangel.

In 1541, Mary appeared to another Juan Diego and directed him to a miraculous spring to heal the people of an epidemic that was inflicting the region. She gave him a statue of herself as the Virgin of Ocotlan, asking that it be placed in the Franciscan church nearby. The church was replaced by the present shrine and basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Ocotlan. The ornate Basilica is an excellent example of Churrigueresque architecture.

Walk along the Avenue of the Dead and marvel at the vast Pyramids of the Sun and Moon and imagine: these are so ancient, even the Aztecs considered them ancient! A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Teotihuacan is an ancient city known for its Mesoamerican pyramids, which predate both Columbus’ arrival in America and the Aztec Empire. It is estimated to have been the largest city in the Americas and at least the sixth-largest in the world in the first century AD.

Puebla de los Angeles is a sixteenth century city that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built at the foot of a volcano, the city is incredibly well-preserved, particularly the cathedral and the archbishop’s palace. The architecture of the Old City combines European and American styles, and became known as Mexican Baroque. Other important churches include the Churches of Santo Domingo, San Francisco, and the Jesuit Church.

The sixteenth century Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios is built on the former site of the Tlachihualtepetl Pyramid, one of the largest pyramids measuring 54×54 meters. Pray before the statue of Our Lady of Good Remedies, also known as the Little Lady of the Rain, believed to have been left at the Pyramid when Hernan Cortes and his men were fleeing the Aztecs following a defeat in 1520. The Church also offers stunning views of the Puebla Valley.