To the right of the main altar in St Patrick’s Cathedral, in a privileged place, for several years there has been a painting of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on display, for the veneration of the devotees.
How the painting got there, who the protagonists of this feat were, and what events happened until the image of the Lady of Tepeyac reached the special place of veneration that it has today in New York is a story that deserves to be told and recorded in writing. It is my purpose, in these lines, to tell that story.
The painting is authored by an anonymous artist from the 18th Century. It is believed that he was a disciple of the great Mexican artist and teacher, Miguel Cabrera. It is a gift from the Archdiocese of Mexico to the Cathedral Seat of Catholics in New York City, obtained from the Enrique Romero Art Gallery in Mexico City, and brought here personally by the then Archbishop and Primate of Mexico, the most Eminent Cardinal Ernesto Corripio.
On the 8th of December of 1991, in the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, is the Marian date in which Cardinal Corripio presented to his brother, the then Cardinal of New York John O’Connor, in solemn liturgical celebration, the painting in mention of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Present at that liturgical act were the Consul General of Mexico, Mr. Manuel Alonso, and Mrs. Rosa María Quijano, who was the protagonist, driving force, and main donor that made this celebrated event possible.
The original painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe, printed in the tilma of the Indian Saint Juan Diego in an appearance occurred on the 12th of December of 1531, is permanently displayed in the new Basilica built in its honor and for its veneration in Mexico City.
The word “Guadalupe” means “river of light”. Today we can say that there are rivers of faithful devotees who come daily to honor the Mother of God and our Mother under the invocation of the Virgen Morena (the dark Virgin,) Mexican, Latin-American, American and Amerindian, in the beautiful colonial painting in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. For the visit of Pope John Paul II to New York, the aforementioned painting of the Guadalupana was transferred and hung over the main altar to preside over the visit of the Holy Father to the Cathedral, and for the praying of the Holy Rosary, which was guided by the universal Shepherd before the revered image.
But the prominent location that the painting has today -in the Cathedral context- is the place that was the tabernacle of the Cathedral, to the right of the main altar. It also has its story interwoven with signs, with wonders, in which it seems that -after a series of difficulties around the display of the painting in the Cathedral, given the inconsistency between the painting and the marble and stone that prevail in the construction of Saint Patrick’s- the Virgin herself found a prominent place where to be venerated and from where to accompany the lives of her children.
Mrs. Margarita Perusquia is the front-page protagonist in this story. As founder of the organization “Mensajeros de María de Guadalupe” she has dedicated herself with her institution to spread in New York and throughout the Americas the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Marian devotion that embodies what is Latin-American and that brings together the most valuable of our origins, our story, our faith, and our culture.
It was the request from Margarita Perusquia to the then Archbishop of New York, Terence Cardinal Cook, to allow her to erect an altar in the Cathedral where to venerate the Guadalupana, which originated this story that today inspires and attracts so many devotees, not only in New York, but also in the whole continent and beyond the seas.
The same request, with the best example of patience and Christian devotion, was made by Margarita on several occasions to Cardinals Cook and O’Connor. They, at the moment, sent her to speak with the successive rectors of the Cathedral, who, in turn, denied her request, as I previously stated, given the painting’s inconsistency with the materials, architecture, and art of the Cathedral church.
It was, as it was said, on the 8th of December of 1991, when the Mexican Cardinal Ernesto Corripio, celebrating the solemn Eucharist in the Cathedral, presented and donated the painting to Cardinal John O’Connor, who excitedly asked the crowd: “Where would you like this painting to be displayed: in his house, office or Cathedral?” The faithful people responded aloud: “Here, in the Cathedral.”
For a year and a half, the painting of Guadalupe wandered through inadequate corners of the Cathedral, but -soon- the regular crowd of pilgrims, the offerings, the candles, and the flowers pressured the authorities to find a better and more appropriate place for the veneration of the image of the Virgen Morena.
May these lines serve to leave a written record of this story, to praise and thank those who made this religious feat possible, and to congratulate all my Catholic Mexican and Latin-American brothers, who on the 12th of December joyfully celebrate the solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron Saint of Mexico and Primate of America.
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Mario J. Paredes, president of SOMOS Community Care, a network of 2,600 independent, mostly primary care doctors serving nearly one million of New York City’s most vulnerable Medicaid patients
Web: somosnyhealth.org
