By Christina Hermoso

The Roman Catholic Church remembers on Monday, December 9, the memory of San Juan Diego, the first indigenous American saint, to whom Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Philippines, appeared in Mexico in the year 1531.

Feast masses will be celebrated today at the Chapel of San Juan Diego in South Cembo, Makati City, in solemn observance of his feast day. Commemorative masses will also be offered in Silay City, Negros Occidental, in honor of its patron saint.

Popularly known as the protector and advocate of the indigenous peoples, San Juan is considered as Our Lady’s messenger “to bring the Gospel to the Americas.”

According to accounts, Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to him for the first time on Dec. 9, 1531 on Teppeyac Hill, (now Mexico City) in Mexico and requested that a church be built on the site of her apparition. On Dec. 12, 1531, her image miraculously appeared on St. Juan’s tilma (woven cloth), that convinced the bishop of the authenticity of the apparitions.

The Basilica of Guadalupe, which is visited by thousands of pilgrims every year, has since been erected on the site.

Saint John Paul II canonized San Juan on July 31, 2002 in Mexico. (Christina I. Hermoso)