Near the Basilica of Guadalupe, along the Metrobus line that passes close to Alejandro's home, there is an old church, in ruinous condition, which has always piqued my curiosity.
The front entrance is blocked, poles appear to be holding up the facade, and it doesn't look as if there is a roof. And yet, it is a functioning church. A sign on the front says that baptisms are held the second and fourth Saturdays of the month.
On Google Maps there are reviews and photos of the church. People say that the building is under restoration and that masses are already being held there. The photos posted of the interior show that the church does have a roof. I have not been able to find anything about its history, but from the baroque decoration on the facade, I would guess that it dates from the 18th century.
According to Google Maps, the name of the church is the Sanctuary of San Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. According to the story, Juan Diego was one of the first natives to be converted to Catholicism after the Spanish conquest. In 1531 it was to Juan Diego that the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared four times. He was canonized as a saint in 2002; the first indigenous saint in the Americas.
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| (image taken from the internet) |
There are those who debate the historicity of Juan Diego. They point out that there is no mention in contemporaneous written records of him or of the apparitions. Not even Juan de Zummáraga, the bishop whom Juan Diego repeatedly visited and who saw the miraculous image of the Virgin imprinted on Juan Diego´s cloak, ever wrote anything about it.
As Alejandro and I were driving by, I mentioned the church. He said that when he was a boy, the building was used as a movie theater. He remembers going there to see Disney movies, and that, in the niches where images of saints would have been, there were paintings of Disney characters.
I wish I could find out more about the history of this curious church.
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