La Bomba de Guadalupe: When Violence Not Pudo with Mother

November 13, 1921 - Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City

Un hombre llevó una bomba oculta bajo su abrigo hasta la Basílica de Guadalupe. La explosion destruyó todo… menos la imagen de la Virgen. Este es uno de los milagros más documentados de la historia de México.

What happened that day

On November 13, 1921, in the Mexican Revolution, a man of name Lucio Pérez He entered the Basilica of Guadalupe carrying a hidden bomb under his coat. His intention was to destroy the image of the Virgin, a symbol of the Catholic faith he hated.

Lucio Pérez approached the altar where Juan Diego's tylma was. He put the bomb at his feet and ran out. The explosion was devastating: the altar was destroyed, the columns were chipped, the stained glass was broken, the pavement was raised.

The miracle of the image intact

When the smoke dissipated and people dared to go back into the basilica, what they found left everyone without breath:

• La tilma de Juan Diego was perfectly intact, without a scratch
• La image of the Virgin I had no harm.
• El protective glass that covered the image was broken into a thousand pieces
• El altar marble was destroyed
• Las colomnas of the chapel were carved
• El Flooring marble was up

The witnesses

Thousands of people witnessed the attack and its consequences. The newspapers of the time, including El Universal y Excelsior, published detailed chronicles of the event. The photographs captured the destroyed altar and the image intact.

The witnesses included Catholics, atheists, journalists and soldiers. They all agreed that the image of the Virgin suffered no harm, even though the explosion had destroyed everything around her.

Scientific research

In the years following the attack, several scientists studied the image and remains of the explosion:

• The analysis of the glass fragments showed that the explosion had been strong enough to have destroyed the ixtle fabric
• Ballistics experts confirmed that the bomb was loaded enough to have destroyed the image
• The chemicals did not find any chemical in the tylma that could have protected the image
• The physicists calculated that the expansive wave should have torn the fabric

The reconstruction of the basilica

After the explosion, the basilica was restored. The altar was rebuilt, the stained glass was replaced, and a new protective glass was placed. But the image of the Virgin did not need any restoration.

The Church decided not to make public the news of the attack to prevent it from replicating. But the Mexican people found out and the news ran like gunpowder.

The meaning for the faithful

For Mexican Catholics, this event is further proof of the special protection that the Virgin of Guadalupe has on her image. If a bomb couldn't destroy it, nothing can.

Every November 13, the faithful go to the Basilica to remember this miracle and to thank the Virgin for protecting her image.

The image today

Today, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe remains exposed in the Basilica of the Tepeyac, exactly as it was almost 500 years ago. The scientists who have studied it say that the ixtle fabric should have deteriorated centuries ago, but the image is perfect.

Every year, more than 10 million people will see the image. And each one of them takes the same message: the Mother is here, and nothing can with her.