Co-worker Jim Cottrill posted an excellent video on a recent visit to the Basilica of Guadalupe. Guadalupe is a manifestation of the virgin Mary, who supposedly appeared to a peasant, Juan Diego, around 1531.
In this video you will see images of the virgin being crowned by the Trinity (represented by an older man, God the Father, a young man, Jesus and a dove, the Holy Spirit). Mary is worshiped here, much more than Christ is. Indeed, the predominate images of Jesus are a bloodied victim on a cross or an innocent, helpless baby in a manger.
I don’t like visiting the Basilica, but if you want to really understand Mexican Roman Catholicism as it has mixed with indigenous paganism, there’s no better place to go. In this video you can also see representations of the sun and the moon gods, and the plumed serpent, pre-Hispanic symbols in a polytheistic belief system.
If you have trouble seeing this video, click HERE.
