This Saturday, December 13, thousands of Catholics from around the world will connect online to discover in the indigenous man who carried the roses to the tilma the perfect model of Christian leadership for the 21st century.
When the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared at Tepeyac in 1531, she chose as her messenger a simple man, a widower, without power or titles: Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. Nearly five hundred years later, his figure shines once again in the midst of a fragmented society thirsty for hope.
This Saturday, December 13, the Academia Internacional de Líderes Católicos and the Red Internacional de Mujeres Líderes Católicas will hold the IV International Guadalupe Seminar under the theme “The Path of the Messenger: Saint Juan Diego, a Leadership for the 500 Years of the Guadalupan Event.” The meeting is part of the Intercontinental Guadalupan Novena announced in 2022 by Pope Francis, preparing the way for the great Jubilee of the Fifth Centenary in 2031.
“Saint Juan Diego was not a priest or a bishop, nor did he have social media with millions of followers. He was a humble layman who listened, obeyed, and set out on the journey. That is exactly the kind of leadership the Church and America need today,” explains Lara Bersano, Executive Director of the Academy. “We want thousands of today’s leaders to see themselves in his example: close to the people, faithful, and courageous in bringing Mary’s message even to the most skeptical bishops of our time.”
The seminar will focus on three key dimensions of “Juan Diego–style leadership”:
- the personal encounter with Christ through Mary
- humility as a transforming force
- and the mission of building bridges in a divided society
Among the speakers are international figures who have made service and the inculturation of the Gospel their hallmark, in a program that promises to be intense, practical, and deeply spiritual.
The event will be 100% virtual and free of charge, allowing Catholics from across the American continent and Europe to participate from their homes or parishes. The schedule has been designed to cover all time zones:
- 8:00 a.m. Mexico and Central America
- 9:00 a.m. Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and New York
- 10:00 a.m. Venezuela and Bolivia
- 11:00 a.m. Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil
- 3:00 p.m. Spain and Rome
Registration is open at: www.liderescatolicos.net/guadalupe4/
Five centuries later, the voice of the Morenita of Tepeyac continues to resound: “Am I not here, I who am your mother?” And, as then, she once again sends a simple layperson to remind us that the revolution of love does not require titles or power, only a heart willing to carry roses in the tilma and climb the mountain as many times as necessary.
This Saturday, the messenger speaks again. And this time, he will do so through thousands of leaders who, like him, are willing to change the world by beginning with their own lives.
Article published in Exaudi.. You can read it here:: https://exaudi.org/es/san-juan-diego-humilde-america-iv-seminario-internacional-guadalupe/