"Juan Diego, true and faithful man! We entrust to you our lay brothers and sisters so that, feeling the call to holiness, they may imbue every area of social life with the spirit of the Gospel. Bless families; sustain the efforts of parents to give their children a Christian upbringing."
- Pope John Paul II
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548)
A simple man, who achieved sainthood by embodying true gospel values, Juan Diego exemplifies our philosophy of developing students to reach their fullest potential. This weaver, farmer and laborer walked 15 miles at dawn each day to attend Mass. A man of virtue, humility and grace, he displayed a deep devotion to the Eucharist. His story is an integral part of the religious and cultural heritage of the Rio Grande Valley. The leadership team is proud to name the new high school after this good and gentle man of faith who was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002 - San Juan Diego.
Here is his story:
On December 9, 1531, as Juan Diego was making his daily pilgrimage to Mass, the Blessed Mother appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill at the outskirts of what is now Mexico City. She asked him to go to his Bishop and request, in her name, that a church be built there. But Juan Diego was not able to convince the Bishop that he had actually seen and spoken to the Virgin Mary and needed proof.
So, the next time the Blessed Mother appeared, Juan Diego told her of the Bishop's need for proof. She then instructed him to climb the hill and pick the flowers he would find in bloom there, although it was barren winter. When he climbed the hill, he gathered the flowers and carefully placed them in his cloak to take to Bishop as proof.
He carried the flowers into town. When he opened his cloak to show them to Bishop, the flowers tumbled out and, on his cloak, where the flowers had been stored, was an image of the Blessed Mother. This image became known as Our Lady of Guadalupe. Soon after, a church was built on the site where the Virgin Mary had appeared and thousands of indigenous people converted to Christianity.
