The most revered shrine in Mexico, it honors the nation's patron saint, The Guadalupe Virgin.

Mexican Catholics believe that on December 9, 1531 the Virgin appeared to Juan Diego, a humble Indian, while he was walking to church in Tlateloco over Tepeyac Hill... speaking to him in Nahuatl language told him that a church should be built on the spot. Reporting back to the local bishop, Diego was treated with some skepticism... the bishop requested proof.

The Indian returned on December 12 - the Virgin reappeared, asking him to take roses to the Bishop as proff...using his mantle to gather the roses, on opening his cloak before the Bishop, they found a vivid image of the Virgin imprinted on the cloth. The cloth hangs over the main altar in a frame of pure gold; vistors can pass beneath the cloth via a moving sidewalk.

December 12 remains a high point in the religious calendar; the shrine brings thousands of pilgrims year-round from all over the world.