David G. Bromley

Mexicans Revere Virgin Amid Church Row
By Elizabeth Fullerton

MEXICO CITY, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Millions of pilgrims, many dragging themselves on bleeding knees, flocked to celebrate the annual feast day of Mexico's most cherished Christian symbol, the Virgin of Guadalupe, as a church spat simmered over a bid to canonise an Indian peasant.

At the centre of the fracas is the former abbot of the Basilica of Guadalupe, the shrine in the north of Mexico City housing the Virgin Mary's image which 10 million pilgrims are expected to visit this weekend.

Indian peasant Juan Diego is believed by most Mexican Catholics to have sighted the Virgin of Guadalupe, a dark-skinned version of Mary, in 1531. The event is integral to Mexican faith and culture.

Former abbot Guillermo Schulenburg, 83, provoked an uproar recently by writing to the Vatican protesting sainthood for Juan Diego, saying the legend of his miracle may have been fabricated.

But adoring pilgrims, many of whom had travelled all night on foot or bicycle to visit the shrine, paid no heed to the doubting priest as they queued up to pay hommage to the Virgin, known here as “the mother of all Mexicans.”

“Schulenburg is spreading wicked lies. We know the Virgin appeared to Juan Diego up there,” said a middle-aged pilgrim pointing to the hill above the modern cone-shaped Basilica. “There are parchments that prove it all,” he added.

Mariachis sang, indigenous Indians danced, decked in feather headdresses and shaking maracas, and school groups cheered the Virgin outside in the packed plaza of the Basilica, where stalls sold every conceivable type of Virgin merchandise.

“I come every year to renew my faith,” said one dancer, wearing a gold tunic with pink feathers, embroidered with ancient Indian gods on one side and the Virgin's picture on the other.

Manuel, an athlete, had run in relay with a team from the northern state of Zacatecas, some 250 miles (400 km) away, to pay his respects to the Virgin. ``I've come to thank the Virgin for curing my brother of epilepsy three years ago,'' he said.

According to popular legend, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego and asked him to build her a temple in her honour on the site that is now the Basilica. Her image is believed to have been miraculously imprinted on the cactus-fibre poncho of Juan Diego, which hangs above the Basilica's altar.

Pilgrims bearing huge pictures of the Virgin and flower arrangements are herded past her image in a very modern manner, on an airport-style moving walkway.

Schulenburg first voiced his doubts about the truth of the legend of Juan Diego in 1996 and resigned in the scandal that ensued, after 33 years running the Basilica.

Pope John Paul II beatified Juan Diego in May 1990, a precursor to sainthood.

Some scholars argue the legend was a cynical ploy by the Spanish conquerors to win over the indigenous population by wedding their religious symbols to Catholic ones.

But such scepticism was nowhere to be found at the Basilica during the feast day.

``It's been indescribable,'' said Marion, a retired schoolteacher from Ohio who came to Mexico specially for the occasion. ``I always wanted to come for this but it was more wonderful than I expected. It moves you to tears,'' she said.

Traffic came to a halt as pilgrims clogged the streets round the Basilica. Many pilgrims crawl the last stretch to the shrine on their knees as a testament of their faith.

A Red Cross worker said more than 400 people were treated on Saturday night for fainting, blisters and bloody knees.

“People were dropping like flies. I thought at one point we were going to have a stampede, emotions were running so high,” she said.

14:49 12-12-99