Saint Juan Diego

I was born in 1474 in Cuauhtitlan, Mexico, in an Aztec tribe with the name Cuauhtlatoatzin (meaing "talking eagle"). I belonged to the poorest and most numerous class of the Aztecs, just next to that of the slaves. I was married but had no children. My conversion to Christianity in 1524 was marked by baptism together with my wife. We were the first indigenous people there to accept Christianity. From then on, I took the name Juan Diego. Unfortunately my wife died in 1531. Two years after her death, I witnessed several apparitions of Holy Mary. For the rest of my life I lived in a hut nearby the newly built church of Our Lady of Guadelupe on Tepeyac Hill, built in honor of Mary. The church drew many pilgrims who came to her shrine. I lived a life of prayer and work and remained there until my death in 1548, 17 years after the first apparition.