How to venerate St. Juan Diego’s tilma in the U.S.
Only one archdiocese in the world is known to house a fragment of St. Juan Diego’s tilma, or cloak, that Our Lady of Guadalupe left imprinted with her miraculous image nearly 500 years ago: The Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
“Having this relic continues to be a great blessing for the family of God here in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,” Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles told Our Sunday Visitor in emailed reflections ahead of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day on Dec. 12.
He added: “We feel the presence and protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and we feel the warmth of her tender care for us, as she promised St. Juan Diego: ‘Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not in my shadow and under my protection? … Do you need anything more?’”