The program of visiting the city included a visit to the distant La Villa district, where the Old and New Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is located, where John Paul II repeatedly held services. He is worshiped here as well as in Poland. And maybe even more and more truly because his nationality does not matter here ...
It was here that to an Aztec named Juan Diego appeared the Virgin Mary three times in December 1531.
It took us 3 hours to reach this important place for all Catholics! And the whole route was within the city: first by car to Hania’s school, where it could be easily parked, then by taxi to the city centre , and finally by bus to La Villa.
This "journey" fully captures not only the enormity of the metropolis, but also its extraordinary diversity.
"The name Our Lady of Guadalupe probably comes from the term Coatlaxopueh, which in Nahuatl means [someone who] is treading on the snake. Proponents of this interpretation believe that such a term would be appropriate in the mouth of a divine figure in Nahuatl, which replaced Quetzalcoatl (Feathery Serpent) and other Aztec gods (although other similar-sounding terms in Nahuat are also indicated.) It is also possible that the temple was originally dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Spanish Extremadura - then the term would have partly Arabic roots and could mean "Wolf Valley" (or "Wolf River") or "River of Love".
The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is currently the largest Maria shrine in the world - annually 12 million pilgrims come to Mexico. For comparison - the next largest sanctuaries are: Lourdes - 6 million, Fátima - 5 million, Jasna Góra in Częstochowa - 4 million pilgrims a year".
The new Basilica, which houses up to 20,000 worshipers, was built after a major earthquake that destroyed a large part of Mexico City in 1885. The old cathedral survived sinking deeply and tilting strongly.
The image placed in the altar can be viewed up close by going to the crypt under the altar and ride on a movable belt, from where you can throw money offerings and letters of request to a special system of rotating rollers that "swallow" donations.
