When the image of the Virgin appeared on the tilma of Juan Diego, it was the prophecy of an embrace: Mary's embrace of all the peoples of the peoples of the vast expanses of America — the peoples who already lived there, and those who were yet to come.
Mary's embrace showed what America — North and South —is called to be: a land where different peoples come together; a land prepared to accept human life at every stage, from the mother's womb to old age; a land which welcomes immigrants, and the poor and the marginalized, in every age. A land of generosity.
Pope Francis, General Audience, December 11, 2013
