NEW HAVEN, CONN. – A paperback edition of “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love” has been published by Penguin Random House with a new forward by Los Angeles Archbishop José Gómez.
The book, written by Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson and Msgr. Eduardo Chávez, an expert on the Marian apparitions witnessed by St. Juan Diego in 16th-century Mexico, was a New York Times bestseller in its original hardcover edition in 2009.
“Anderson and Chávez rightly understand that the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe is prophetic,” writes Archbishop Gómez. “And I share their belief that the Mother of God holds the ‘key’ for understanding these times.”
He notes that Our Lady of Guadalupe came dressed in the garments of the indigenous peoples, and she spoke to Juan Diego in his native language.
In this way, Archbishop Gómez argues, Our Lady of Guadalupe reminds us that the Church was established to be the vanguard of a new humanity that is not based on race or national origin.
“She is then a profound icon of the unity of humanity and the Church’s mission to create one family of God out of all the world’s nations and races, peoples and languages,” writes Archbishop Gómez. “In this, Guadalupe gives us a vision of the world as God wants it to be.”
Carl Anderson has been chief executive and chairman of the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors since 2000 and is the author of two New York Times bestsellers. Msgr. Chávez is the co-founder and dean of the Higher Institute for Guadalupan Studies in Mexico City.
The paperback edition costs $15 and is also available as an ebook.
The K of C was founded in 1882 by Venerable Father Michael McGivney, a parish priest, in New Haven, Connecticut. It has grown to include 1.9 million members worldwide. The Knights set a new all-time record for charitable donations in 2016, with more than $177.5 million in donations and more than 75 million hours of service valued at $1.8 billion.
Modern Juan Diegos
Msgr. Eduardo Chavez, postulator of the cause of canonization for Juan Diego, spoke about the evidence for Our Lady of Guadalupe’s appearance in 1531. He said that when Pope John Paul II canonized Juan Diego, he not only made this simple native of Mexico a saint. He also confirmed by his infallible authority the truth about the apparitions and the message of Guadalupe.
Msgr. Eduardo Chávez, postulator of the cause for canonization of St. Juan Diego, gives a presentation on the opening day of the 1st International Marian Congress devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
By holding the Marian Congress, and promoting devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Knights of Columbus are “the modern Juan Diegos for everybody in the world,” Msgr. Chavez said.
An expert on the symbolism contained on the tilma, which is kept on display in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Msgr. Chavez will give other addresses on the miraculous nature of the tilma image.
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