This window is centered on the
miraculous imprint of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the cloak of St. Juan Diego as
she appeared to him at Guadalupe, Mexico in 1531. In this painting of the original image Mary is depicted as a
young Mexican Indian princess who is pregnant. She has been declared patroness
of the Americas as well as patroness of the unborn by the pope and the bishops.
Millions of pilgrims from around the world pray before this miraculous image
every year. (1)
In this miraculous image Mary has a
black sash around her waist that is tied in a bow. This was sign among the
native Mexican Indians that a woman was pregnant. The bright yellow rays surrounding
her and the moon under her feet are references from the book of Revelation -
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, adorned with the sun, standing in
the moon with twelve stars on her head for a crown. She was pregnant...(Rev.
12: 1-2) (2)
The dove descending on Mary represents the
Holy Spirit overshadowing her and causing to conceive Jesus, the Son of God.
The fire like ribbon surrounding the central image of our Lady of Guadalupe
represents the anointing of Jesus from the moment of his conception in the womb
of his mother. The eight
small blue circles that surround the central image of Mary represents
the beginning of the new creation (the eighth day) that commenced with the
conception of Jesus. The
seven fiery stars in the top of the window represents the seven spirits of God
that surround his throne in heaven (book of Revelation). The twenty small blue
circles on the outside of the window represents the twenty mysteries of the
rosary, which is a contemplative prayer on the life of Jesus and Mary while on
earth and their glory now in heaven. The twenty star like shapes on the outside
of the window represent the angels that attend Mary as the Queen of the Angels.
The flowing multi colored shapes that surround the image of Mary represent the
many and varied graces that the Holy Spirit anointed Mary with, in her vocation
as the Mother of the Lord and the new Eve.
(1) Mexican Pheonix: Our Lady of
Guadalupe, Image and Tradition Across Five Cent-
Uries by D. A, Brading - History 2001
(2) Mary Through the Centuries:
Her Place in the History of Culture
by Jaroslav Jan Peilkan