Father Miguel Hidalgo famously adopted the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe as the banner for the insurrectionary movement that led to Mexican independence. Following independence, Guadalupe’s strong association with national identity led interpreters to emphasize that her appearance established a singular election of Mexico as her chosen nation. Guadalupan preachers addressed a variety of national concerns through allusions to biblical notions of covenant, avowing that Guadalupe had established a pact with the Mexican people in similar fashion to God’s covenants with Noah, David, and especially Moses and the people of Israel. Nineteenth-century Guadalupan preachers addressed the theme of covenant as Mexicans won their independence, struggled to establish a new nation, and mounted a successful campaign for papal authorization of an 1895 Guadalupe coronation. This chapter examines their theological claims, the growing devotion to Guadalupe as Mexico’s national symbol, and the unprecedented increase in devotion to Guadalupe among native peoples.
