The first formal investigation of the painting was in 1570.Minor correction.
Montufar, instituted a canonical inquiry, in 1556, on a sermon in which the pastors and people were abused for crowing to the new shrine. In 1568 the renowned historian Bernal Díaz, a companion of Cortez, refers incidentally to Guadalupe and its daily miracles. The lay viceroy, Enríquez, while not opposing the devotion, wrote in 1575 to Philip II asking him to prevent the third archbishop from erecting a parish and monastery at the shrine; inaugural pilgrimages were usually made to it by viceroys and other chief magistrates. Processes, national and ecclesiastical, were laboriously formulated and attested for presentation at Rome, in 1663, 1666, 1723, 1750.
Native Mexicans were forbidden to receive the sacraments until 1540…Minor correction.
According to Fray Toribio de Motolinia the number of baptized Indians in Mexico in 1536 numbered five millions. They were a flourishing community, but the difficulties of the situation must be borne in mind in order to appreciate the task that confronted the first Bishop of Mexico. The great multitude of Indians who asked for baptism, said to have greatly increased after the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531, forced the missionaries to adopt a special form for administering this sacrament. The catechumens were ranged in order, the children in front, the prayers were recited in common over all, the salt, saliva, etc., applied to a few, and then water was poured on the head of each one without using the holy oils nor chrism, because these were not to be had. So long as the Franciscans were in charge of the missions there was no question raised, but as soon as members of other religious orders and some secular ecclesiastics arrived, doubt began to be cast upon the validity of these baptisms. To put an end to dispute Bishop Zumárraga submitted the case to Rome, and on 1 June, 1537, Paul III issued the Bull "Altitudo divini consilii", which declared that the Friars had not sinned in administering baptism under this form, nothing being said with regard to its validity since on this score there could be no doubt, but decreed that in future it should not be thus administered except in cases of urgent need.
Zumarraga was in Spain between 1530 and 1534 and so could not have been inspecting miraculous paintings in Mexico in 1531.Minor correction.
According to ancient and constant tradition it was at this time (12 December, 1531) that the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe took place. Meantime the calumnies spread by the enemies of Zumárraga and the partisans of the first auditor had shaken the confidence of the Spanish Court, and the bishop received an order to repair to Spain. He set sail in May, 1532.
Catholic Encyclopedia
From EWTN News:
JUAN DIEGO: FIRST INDIGENOUS SAINT OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT
VATICAN CITY, JUL 31, 2002 (VIS) - Today John Paul II canonized Blessed Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, who became the first indigenous saint from the American continent, in the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Several cardinals and Mexican bishops from America, the Philipines and other places attended the ceremony, as well as the president of the republic, Vicente Fox and civil authorities. There were also many indigenous people who came from different regions in the country, representatives of Mexico's many ethnicities and cultures.
In addition to the 12,000 people that packed the basilica, another 30,000 followed the canonization from the square outside thanks to giant screens.
In the homily, the Pope affirmed that Juan Diego was "the simple and humble Indian who contemplated the sweet and serene face of the Virgin of Tepeyac, so dear to the peoples of Mexico."
He continued: "In accepting the Christian message without forgoing his indigenous identity,
Juan Diego discovered the profound truth of the new humanity, in which all are called to be children of God. Thus he facilitated the fruitful meeting of two worlds and became the catalyst for the new Mexican identity, closely united to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose mestizo face expresses her spiritual motherhood which embraces all Mexicans. This is why the witness of his life must continue to be the inspiration for the building up of the Mexican nation, encouraging brotherhood among all its children and ever helping to reconcile Mexico with its origins, values and traditions."
The Holy Father emphasized that "the noble task of building a better Mexico, with greater justice and solidarity, demands the cooperation of all. In particular, it is necessary today to support the indigenous peoples in their legitimate aspirations, respecting and defending the authentic values of each ethnic group. Mexico needs its indigenous peoples and these peoples need Mexico!"
"At this decisive moment in Mexico's history, having already crossed the threshold of the new millennium, I entrust to the powerful intercession of Saint Juan Diego the joys and hopes, the fears and anxieties of the beloved Mexican people, whom I carry in my heart. Blessed Juan Diego, a good, Christian Indian," he concluded, "whom simple people have always considered a saint! We ask you to accompany the Church on her pilgrimage in Mexico, so that she may be more evangelizing and more missionary each day."