The 12th of the same month, before the dawn of day, Juan Diego set out for the Confessor, but on approaching the mountain near the place where he had seen and spoken to the Most Holy Virgin, foreseeing that she might blame him for his want of care in not having returned, and that she might detain him to carry the signs to the bishop, and considering moreover that the message he bore did not admit of delay, he pursued another path lower down the mountain, towards the eastern part of the hill, imagining that there he would not meet the Virgin. But this did not turn out as he supposed, for passing the spot whence a fountain was flowing, on turning to the brow of the hill, he saw the Holy Mother descending from the summit to meet him in the path! The Indian, surprised by the saintly apparition, was greatly alarmed; but the Holy Virgin, with an affable countenance, said to him: 'Whither goest thou, my son? What road is this thou hast taken?' Juan Diego was sadly confused, frightened, and abashed; but the amenity with which Our Lady met him renewed his courage; and prostrating himself at her feet, he said: 'Do not be offended, Beloved Virgin, at what I am about to say to you.' And, after saluting her to ascertain the state of her health, he began to exculpate himself by briefly narrating the unfortunate situation of his uncle, begging her to have a little forbearance with him, and that he would return some other day to obey her commands.
The Holy Mary heard him with incomparable benignity, and replied, 'Hear, my son, what I say. Do not allow yourself to be disturbed or afflicted by any thing; neither fear infirmity, affliction, nor grief. Am not I, your mother, here? Are you not under my shield and protection? Do you need more? Give yourself neither trouble nor concern on account of the illness of your uncle, who will not die of this present malady; and, moreover, rest satisfied that even at this very instant he is perfectly cured.'
The Indian, consoled and satisfied by the Virgin's assurance, was filled with divine confidence, and without caring for any thing else, he asked for the sign he was to take to the bishop. The Virgin told him to ascend the hill to the spot where she had previously conversed with him, and cutting the flowers he would find growing there, to collect them in his tilma or blanket and bring them to her.
The Indian obeyed unhesitatingly, although he knew that these rude wastes produced nothing but thorns even in the most flourishing springtide.
Arrived, however, at the summit, he found a bed of various budding flowers, odorous and yet wet with dew. He cut, collected and placed in his tilma as many of them as it would hold and bore them to the Most Holy Virgin, who awaited him at the foot of a tree, called by the Indians Cuautzahautl, (a species of palm of wild growth, bearing only white flowers similar to those of the white lily,) which grew in front of and near the source of the fountain. The Indian bowed humbly and exhibited the flowers which he had cut. The Virgin taking them in her blessed hands impressed them with a holy virtue and arranged them in the Indian's tilma, (which was, in fine, to be the repository of her sacred image,) and said to him, 'This is the sign which I wish you to take to the bishop, in order that he may build me a temple on this spot;' and she charged him, saying, 'show no one what you have until you arrive in his presence!'
With this she dismissed Juan;—and the Indian rejoicing in the sign, (for he knew that through it his embassy would have a happy issue,) he hastily took the path to Mexico.
Juan Diego arrived at the palace of the bishop with the credentials of his embassy, and informed various members of the family that he wished to speak with him. Nevertheless he could not obtain permission to enter, until, enraged at his importunity and perceiving his tilma full of something, they sought to ascertain what it contained; and although in obeying the mandate of the Most Holy Virgin, he resisted and hid from their sight these miraculous flowers, they did not desist from using violence to discover what he seemed so anxious to conceal. Seeing, however, that they were only flowers wet with dew, and admirable for their beauty and fragrance, they thrice attempted to seize some without being able to do so, for the powerful hand of the Virgin resisted their violence, affixing the blossoms in such a manner to the tilma that upon touching them they appeared painted or interwoven in the material of the garment itself. This portentous novelty caused them to hasten to the bishop with the information that Juan Diego was waiting to speak with him.
As soon as the prelate was informed of the circumstances, he ordered the Indian to enter instantly. As Juan displayed his tilma to show the blessed sign, the flowers fell, and the image of the Most Holy Virgin, which we venerate in the Sanctuary of Guadalupe, appeared miraculously painted upon the tilma or garment of the Indian! At this wonderful sight the astonished bishop and those about him prostrated themselves and adored it with the greatest veneration. They were struck with the beauty and freshness of the flowers flourishing in the midst of winter, but much more by the heavenly beauty of the image before them, from which they neither attempted nor were able to withdraw their eyes.
No less astonished was Juan Diego at seeing in his tilma the image of the one who had commanded him to bear the sign to the bishop, when he thought he was only bringing flowers.
The bishop arose, and with due reverence untied the knot that suspended that sacred cloth from the back of the Indian's neck. He took it to his Oratory, and, hanging it up with the greatest possible respect, gave thanks to God for so striking a miracle; and thus he became the treasurer and depository of the richest jewel in the crown of America.