Our Lady of Guadalupe Pop-Up Book

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the most important religious icon in the Americas. She is revered by Latinos in the United States who tattoo her image on their bodies, build altars to her in their homes and streets, and collect anything with her picture on it that they can get their hands on.

This beautiful and lavish pop-up book tells her story and that of Juan Diego, to whom she appeared on a hill in Tepeyac (the site of a former Aztec goddess's temple).

The story: The Virgin appears to Juan Diego and tells him that Tepeyac is the place where she would like her sacred house built, that she will love and help all who seek her there, and that he must relay this to the bishop. The bishop is not sure he believes Juan Diego, and asks him to return with a sign that this is true. But in the meantime Juan Diego's uncle falls gravely ill. On his way to find a priest for his uncle, Juan Diego runs past the hill, where the Virgin tells him that his uncle will be well again and to fill his cloak with flowers to show the bishop. When Juan Diego presents the flowers to the bishop, there is a beautiful image of the Virgin on the cloak. Eventually her church is built and the miraculous cloak is hung above the altar for millions of visitors to see.