Our Lady of Guadalupe: The Movie(s) & an Upcoming Major Anniversary

We're still waiting for the big-budget Hollywood rendition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but it remains one of the most amazing stories in Christendom ... and a major anniversary is on the horizon.

In the meantime, we do have some films to watch ...

What Is the Story of Our Lady of Guadalupe?

Arrayed in the dress of an Aztec princess, the Virgin Mary appeared more than once to 57-year-old Juan Diego, a simple farmer and laborer in Mexico, starting on the morning of Dec. 9, 1531, on the site of a former Aztec temple. She urged him to tell his bishop that a shrine be built on the site.

The bishop was understandably skeptical and asked for a sign. A relative’s illness derailed Juan Diego’s plans, but Mary found him again. This time, she sent him in search of blooming roses, out of season in December. But he found them, gathered them into his rough cloak, his tilma, woven from cactus fibers.

OUR-LADY-GUADALUPE-TILMA

Reaching the bishop, Juan Diego opened the tilma and let the roses spill out. To everyone’s astonishment, this also revealed the image in the photo above, which was imprinted directly on the tilma. In 2002, Saint Pope John Paul II canonized Juan Diego, making him the first Catholic indigenous saint from the Americas.

Our YouTube series Catholic Central did an episode on it:

The Guadalupe Story on the Screen

Although a bunch of showbiz A-listers haven’t yet tackled this story (it ends with increasing faith instead of doubt and apostasy, so that may explain why they’re not interested), it may yet wind up on the big screen

While we're waiting, there are other versions of the story, both scripted and documentary.

Here’s a sampling:

Guadalupe (2006)

A Spanish-language version of the story, as described at the IMDB:

Jose Maria and his sister Mercedes are archaeologists who have been given a grant to study the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom Juan Diego, an ordinary man living near the hill of Tepeyac, witnessed in December 1531.

A commenter noted:

A troubled family in Spain, an American archaeologist and others are drawn to Mexico by the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe. These 20th century ‘pilgrims’ are drawn together and helped in much the same way the Virgin of Guadalupe drew the Spanish and the Mexica together in the 16th century to form a new race, the Mexicans, A gentle dramatization of St. Juan Diego’s vision of the Virgin Mary on Tepayac Hill in 1531 is interwoven with the modern action and is appropriately spoken in Nahuatl.

Click here to buy the DVD from Amazon; here for the website (where it can be streamed to subscribers)

The Blood & the Rose (2013)

From the IMDB:

The Blood and the Rose is the story of damnation and salvation, and of a divine miracle of unity and devotion that brought hope and transformed a continent. The Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego. He was an ordinary man who was an extraordinary messenger of faith. A people were converted and our world was changed. This eternal struggle is the battle for our souls.

Catholic star Eduardo Verastegui narrates this documentary. Here’s the description from the official site:

A feature-length theatrical documentary shot on location in Mexico and Spain, The Blood & The Rose offers riveting interviews with top experts in the fields of science, history and theology, exploring the mystery of St. Juan Diego’s Tilma and the miraculous image that it bears. More than just a story about a distant event, The Blood & The Rose is an invitation and a calling to emulate St. Juan Diego in our own day, carrying the message of the Virgin of Guadalupe – Patroness of the Americas and Patroness of Life – into the culture in which we live.

Click here to stream online or buy the DVD.

Guadalupe: The Miracle and the Message (2015)

A TV special produced by the Knights of Columbus. From the press release:

“The message of Our Lady of Guadalupe helped to build bridges between cultures and worlds and began the transformation of our continent into a Christian continent of hope,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, executive producer of the film. “The apparition helped to unite the entire continent in a way that didn’t exist before. Through her intercession, then and now, those throughout this hemisphere have found a deep and shared sense of faith, hope and identity.”

The image itself has long been puzzling to the scientific community, since it has been shown to exist without having been painted, has survived despite extreme age, adverse conditions and a bombing. The image also exhibits features reminiscent of photographs, such as reflections in the image’s eyes, even though it appeared hundreds of years before photography.

Guadalupe: The Miracle and the Message brings this remarkable history to life through modern reenactments and 3D animations, which allow viewers an unprecedented glimpse into the intricacies of the centuries-old wonder, and interviews with leading theologians, historians and scientists.

The film also dispels popular myths, including that the image’s impact does not extend past Mexico’s border.

You can watch the whole thing here:

As a bonus, check out For Greater Glory, a 2012 feature film, starring Andy Garcia, set during the Cristero War (1926-1929), in which the Catholics of Mexico fought back against their repressive atheistic government. The rebels frequently fought under flags featuring the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Now for That Big Anniversary

In 2031, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady to Saint Juan Diego ... and the Church in America is making some plans.

From the inbox on Dec. 12, from the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship:

Today, in conjunction with the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship, Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone announced a new multi-year initiative to inspire more U.S. Catholics to answer Pope Francis’ call: Project Guadalupe 2031. Oakland’s Bishop Barber, Dallas’ Bishop Burns, Cardinal Burke, Lincoln (NE)’s Bishop Conley, Orange County’s Bishop Vann, the Basilica of St. Mary’s in Alexandria, VA, and Christendom College, join in this call, with more to be forthcoming.

“Our Lady of Guadalupe changed a continent,” said Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, “The 500^th anniversary of her appearance to a poor, indigenous farmer in Tepeyac is also the 500^th anniversary of the birth of Christianity in the Americas; we hope all Christians but especially all U.S. Catholics will join us in preparing to welcome Mary into our hearts and homes.”

The highlight of Project Guadalupe 2031 will be new celebrations of the Frank La Rocca’s Mass of the Americas, a unity Mass to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception commissioned by Archbishop Cordileone which uses texts in Spanish, English, Latin and Nahuatl and raises Mexican folk hymns to Mary (especially La Guadalupana) into the high sacred music tradition of the Church.

And ... the celebration may be coming to a church near you:

This week, Archbishop Cordileone is also announcing that on October 7 2025, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, he will be celebrating the Mass of the Americas at THE shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe, built as she requested where she appeared 500 years ago.

“This is the fulfilment of a great dream of mine, praise God—to bring this beautiful unity Mass to Our Mother to the place she appeared a half a millennium ago,” said Archbishop Cordileone. “My thanks to the brilliant young Mestizo-American conductor Richard Carrillo who will be leading a festival choir in celebrating the Mass of the Americas with me.”

“This large festival choir, organized with Jubilate an arm of Perform-International, will bring hundreds of voices from across the United States to Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Shrine and bring back to dozens of parishes news of Pope Francis’s call to prepare for the 500^th Anniversary,” notes Gallagher.

Options for non-singers to join the pilgrimage are also available. (Interested choirs, music directors, singers and pilgrims can find more information at https://www.wetravel.com/trips/mass-of-the-americas-at-the-shrine-of-our-lady-of-guadalupe-jubilate-tours-97970311.)

And here's a bonus documentary:

Image: Adobe Stock (TOP); Shutterstock (EMBEDDED)

Kate O’Hare, a longtime entertainment journalist, is Social Media Content Manager and Blog Editor at Family Theater Productions.