Saints of Culture: St. Juan Diego

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St. Juan Diego is the humble Indian peasant of Mexico to whom Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared in 1531 and to whom She gave the famed likeness of Herself. He was born in 1474 and died on May 30, 1548. Together with the other windows on this side of the church, this window celebrates the marvelous cultural diversity of our parish and represents in a special way all those of Mexican and Latin American background.

The iconographic tradition for St. Juan Diego’s face is sketchy. In the earliest known image (the so-called “verdadero retrato”), he is depicted with dark skin and facial hair. Also present in this earliest depiction of St. Juan Diego is his broad-rimmed hat. He wears the hat which evokes both his cultural background and his labors and journeys under the hot sun of Mexico. He is also dressed in the
traditional garb of the Mexican peasant, the sandals on his feet once again underlining his humble origins. We are reminded in this window that Mary has most often chosen to visit the humble and the poor in Her apparitions on earth.

St. Juan Diego holds the tilma in front of him with roses spilling out, recalling the events which surrounded the first “unveiling” of the holy image. The miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is at the center and heart of the window, imprinted on St. Juan Diego’s tilma, as She was at the center and heart of the saint’s life.

St. Juan Diego’s Indian name (Cuauhtlatoatzin) means “the talking Eagle”. In the panel above his head there is a soaring eagle with beak opened. Pictured in the background of the window are some typical plants and cacti native to Mexico. The mountains in the background flatten at one point evoking the mesa-like landscape of the southwest.

The window contains a bottle at St. Juan Diego’s feet with the initials “O.I.” which stand for Oleum Infirmorum or “Oil of the Sick”. St. Juan Diego was on his way to seek the sacrament of the sick for his uncle who was seriously ill when Our Lady stopped him to give him the miraculous image on December 12th, 1531. The bottle at his feet represents his errand of mercy interrupted by Our Lady (who also looked after the cure of the sick uncle). Growing at St. Juan Diego’s feet are the aloe plants which are native to Mexico and contain many healing properties—a further symbol of God’s abundant graces granted to the sick who receive this Sacrament.

The shield in the lower panel is that of Bishop William R. Johnson, first bishop of the diocese of Orange (from 1978-1986). The left side of the shield is that of the diocese of Orange with the characteristic Santa Ana mountains, orange tree, mission courtyard and waves of the ocean. On the right side of the shield are the personal arms of Bishop Johnson.