Theologies of Guadalupe

From the Era of Conquest to Pope Francis

Timothy Matovina

First book-length examination of theologies of Guadalupe from the colonial era to the present
Explores the evolution of Guadalupan devotion from a local to an international phenomenon
Reveals how Christian concepts imported from Europe interacted with Mexican culture

Theologies of Guadalupe

From the Era of Conquest to Pope Francis

Timothy Matovina

Description

Every Spanish-speaking country in Latin America and the Caribbean has its own national representation of the Virgin Mary who is credited with helping to spread Christianity. None of these is more prominent than the Virgin of Guadalupe, patroness of Mexico. According to tradition, the Virgin appeared to a man named Juan Diego on the Hill of Tepeyac, just outside Mexico City, four times in 1531. The local bishop doubted his claim until an image of the Virgin appeared on Juan Diego's cloak. That cloak is now among the most popular religious icons in the Americas, and the Virgin of Guadalupe is among the most widely known of Marian apparitions.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is also the only Marian apparition tradition in the Americas- and indeed in all of Roman Catholicism- that has since inspired a sustained series of published theological analyses. In Theologies of Guadalupe, Timothy Matovina explores the way theologians have understood Our Lady of Guadalupe and sought to assess and foster her impact on the lives of her devotees since the seventeenth century. He examines core theological topics in the Guadalupe tradition, developed in response to major events in Mexican history: conquest, attempts to Christianize native peoples, society-building, independence, and the demands for justice of marginalized groups. This book tells how, amidst the plentiful miraculous images of Christ, Mary, and the saints that dotted the sacred landscape of colonial New Spain, the Guadalupe cult rose above all others and was transformed from a local devotion into a regional, national, and then international phenomenon. Matovina traces the development of the theologies of Guadalupe from the colonial era to our own time, revealing how Christian ideas imported from Europe developed in dynamic interaction with the new contexts in which they took root.

Theologies of Guadalupe

From the Era of Conquest to Pope Francis

Timothy Matovina

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments

Introduction
Part I: Foundational Works
1. The New World in Salvation History: Miguel Sánchez's Imagen de la Virgen María (1648)
2. Evangelization: Luis Laso de la Vega's Huei tlamahuiçoltica (1649)
Part II: An Evolving Tradition
3. Divine Providence: Sermons in Colonial Society
4. Covenant: Guadalupe and the Mexican Nation
5. Transforming America: Contemporary Theologies of Guadalupe

Index

Theologies of Guadalupe

From the Era of Conquest to Pope Francis

Timothy Matovina

Author Information

Timothy Matovina is professor and chair of the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He works in the area of Theology and Culture, with specialization in U.S. Catholic and U.S. Latino/a theology and religion. His most recent book, Latino Catholicism: Transformation in America's Largest Church, won five book awards, including selection as a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2012.

Theologies of Guadalupe

From the Era of Conquest to Pope Francis

Timothy Matovina

Reviews and Awards

"Theologies of Guadalupe fills a critical lacuna in the literature on Our Lady of Guadalupe. A historical theologian steeped in Guadalupan studies, Matovina has researched and written extensively on the topic over the course of several decades. In this masterful work of scholarship, he has given us the fruits of those many years of research undertaken not only in multiple libraries and parish archives, but in the communities of Guadalupe's devotees themselves." -- Roberto S. Goizueta, Theological Studies

"This excellent book enhances Guadalupan studies and also contributes significantly to Latin American and Latino/a religious history. Guadalupe has long been an undeniable central figure in the Catholicism of the Americas; Matovina's work provides an admirable intellectual and theological history of her unfolding devotion." -- Brett Hendrickson, H-Net

"Here, with heart, is a lucid and balanced theological-historical assessment of the Guadalupan tradition in Mexico and beyond across five centuries. Fully informed by modern scholarship, printed treatises and sermons, and personal experience, the tradition is understood as an evolving theology of learned writers and everyday devotees. The literature about Guadalupe is vast, but this is the first book of its kind, and it is a work of lasting importance."--William B. Taylor, author of Theater of a Thousand Wonders: A History of Miraculous Images and Shrines in New Spain

"Matovina demonstrates that Guadalupe not only teaches about historical and contemporary Catholicism, she reveals the power of religious symbols. Theologies of Guadalupe examines theological reflections on Guadalupe across the centuries and the spread of her devotion throughout the Americas. This text explores these contextualized theologies in light of their history and social location. This is a significant contribution to Guadalupan studies, theology, and the history of Christianity in the Americas."--Michelle A. Gonzalez, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Miami

"Theologies of Guadalupe introduces the Mexican mother of God as we have not seen her before. Here, one of the leading scholars of Mexican-American Catholicism delves into the theological history of the Virgin of Guadalupe: from the colonial priests and missionaries who coaxed early devotion into existence to feminist critics in the twentieth century. Historically grounded and theologically astute, Matovina's study will challenge, illuminate, and engage religious and secular readers alike for decades to come."--Jennifer Scheper Hughes, author of Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lived Religion and Local Faith from the Conquest to the Present