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To: Antoninus; fatima
Here's some more information on the Virgin of Guadalupe (the Spanish one):

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was given by Pope Gregory the Great to Bishop Leander of Sevilla. The image was lost for 600 years and then rediscovered, not by high ranking ecclesiastics, but by a simple shepherd under the influence of Heaven.

The Spanish image of the Guadalupe is an ancient wood carving draped with beautiful brocade garments that give it a triangular shape that was very much favored at the time. She is very different from the painting of Tepeyac, not only because of her Iberian-Byzantine appearance, but because she has the Baby Jesus in her left arm, and a scepter in the right hand, with a great golden crown on her head. The Guadalupe of Caceres, to which legend attributes a 6th century origin, was found on the banks of the Rio Guadalupe (Hidden River, in Arabic) in the Villuercas Mountains, around 1326, after the expulsion of the Moors from that region.

Treasured by the Spanish people since its presentation in the year 580. during the terrifying times of the Muslim invasion, in the year 711, the image was hidden for safekeeping. A report states that it was hidden in a cave under the bell tower of the church; another claims that it was buried in an iron chest. In any case, what is certain is that it was hidden in the province of Caceres, along with the papers documenting its history. The persons who protected the image probably died during the conquest, for which reason the image was lost for centuries.

Christianity suffered for many years during the Moorish occupation, but devotion to the Mother of God was maintained in secret, to flourish again after the liberation. Great excitement was aroused when, in 1326, a shepherd named Gil Cordero claimed that while he was searching for a lost sheep, a radiant Lady emerged from the bushes. After showing him the site where he was to dig to uncover the treasure, she asked that a chapel be built for her.

219 posted on 03/03/2004 8:41:05 PM PST by livius
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To: livius
Do you know where the Spanish image is now?
221 posted on 03/03/2004 8:49:07 PM PST by Aliska
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To: livius
The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary was occasioned by the victory of the Christian fleet over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. It was forty years after the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego in Mexico. The very first replica image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was present in the cabin of the flagship of the Christian fleet under the leadership of Admiral Andrea Doria. The Turks had planned to use the greatest navy that the world had ever seen to conquer all of Christendom. The Christian naval fleet was out-shipped, out-gunned and out-manned by the powerful Turkish fleet under Admiral Ali Pasha and defeat looked imminent.

The Pope called for a Rosary Crusade. Christians prayed throughout Europe and Admiral Andrea Doria prayed before the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He prayed as the Christian and Turkish fleets approached each other. Suddenly, the winds changed and the Turkish fleet was thrown into disarray. Their ships were blown into each other. Two hundred and thirty Turkish ships were destroyed and 1500 of their Christian galley slaves were freed. This victory brought an end to Turkish sea power and its threat to the Christian world.

224 posted on 03/03/2004 8:56:21 PM PST by fatima
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To: fatima; livius; Antoninus
Thank you for the information on Our Lady of Guadalupe - both the Spanish image as well as the meaning in Nahuatl as "she who crushes the serpent's head". I have a granddaughter born on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and I must tell her of both of these things. They both have the ring of familiarity, but at the same time they have struck me as if I had never heard of them before. Perhaps Our Lady wants me to pay special attention -- well, really, when has she not wanted me to pay special attention. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us.
225 posted on 03/03/2004 9:04:58 PM PST by Siobhan (+Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet+)
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