Virgen de Guadalupe timeline:

1523: Roman Catholic missionaries begin to arrive in Mexico and start religious conquest.

1531: Juan Diego is baptized by Fray Bernadino de Sahagún and his Franciscan brothers. In December of this year, Diego crosses the hill of Tepeyac (named after the Aztec earth goddess) to attend mass. He claims to see a blinding light and divine music. A dark woman appears to him, says she is the Virgin Mary and calls him “my son.” She tells him to build a church on that same hill. When the bishop seems reluctant, Diego takes roses from the hill and brings them to the bishop. A vision of the Virgen is emblazoned on his cloak for everyone to see.

1709: The original church is replaced by a larger structure.

1745: The Vatican officially recognizes the miracle of the Virgen.

1904: The second church is declared a basilica. It begins to sink into the soft sand surrounding it.

1921: An anarchist lays flowers next to the Virgen cloak. A bomb hidden in the flowers explodes and destroys the shrine around the image. The artifact itself is unharmed.

1974: Mexican poet Octavio Paz writes: “The Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments, have faith only in the Virgin of Guadalupe and the National Lottery."

1976: The third Basilica is built with a modern design.

1990’s: Juan Diego is canonized as a saint.

2002: Art restoration expert José Sol Rosales examines the cloak with a stereomicroscope and determines there are elements from sixteenth century painting materials. This contradicts the belief that the icon is not made of paint, but a miracle.