Our Lady of Bachelors Grove
- Wendy Moxley Roe
- 7 hours ago
- 14 min read
In October 2012 during a weekly trip to Bachelors Grove Cemetery in Midlothian, Il, my friend Karl K and I walked to what we named the "spooky tree" for the very first time. It is a large old tree that used to sit right on the creek bank a short distance from the cemetery. That day as we waked we talked of a Virgin Mary statue that was said to have sat in the tree for many years but was now missing.
A few weeks later, November 11, Karl, my daughter Sam and I took this same hike to the tree. On our way back Karl was a little bit ahead of us when he suddenly stopped. As he looked to his left imbedded in the creek bank was the statue we had talked about that first day.
I brought the statue home for Sam to clean up but found myself intrigued by it. I did some research and learned the history of Our lady Guadalupe.
I cleaned, painted and restored the statue over the next week. When I finished is when the real story begins. An amazing chain of events that changed my life and started a path to healing and a very intense spiritual connection.
Part One
The Statue
On the beautiful warm Sunday morning of November 11, 2012, during a weekly trip to Bachelors Grove Cemetery, Karl K, my daughter Sam and I took a walk up the creek that runs along the west side of the cemetery. Two weeks before Karl and I had been there and hiked to what we have affectionately named the “spooky tree” for the first time. That day as we walked, we had talked about a statue that sat inside of the tree for many years but was now reported to be missing.
On the walk back the day with Sam, Karl was little ways ahead us when he stopped abruptly. When we got closer, we could see, to his left, embedded in the creek bank was the very statue we had been talking about! We took some pictures and then took the statue with us out to the cemetery.
Sam began to tell me of some of the significance of the colors and symbolism of certain parts of the statue. She is an artist and religious art was one of her interests at the time. Karl took the statue home that day but passed her over to me about a week later for Sam to clean up and write a piece about her.
Over the next week she sat on my counter and with each pass I became more and more intrigued. I finally decided to clean her up myself. I first washed all the mud and algae that had grown on her.
The statue was of the celebrated Roman Catholic version of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady Of Guadalupe. Once I read the origin story, I was fascinated along with the fact that every little detail on the statue has meaning, from the color of her hair down to the angel at her feet.
This particular statue was a bit different than most of the images I was seeing of the Guadalupe. The angels above her head were in very few of them. The ones that did have the angels were holding a crown above her head but nowhere in my searching could I find an explanation of their symbolism. These are not on the original Icon. My thoughts are that they are holding the crown for the Queen of Heaven.
The following explanations are brief summaries of the meanings associated with this specific statue. The original icon that was imprinted on the robe has many more significant details and there is a lot more to the story of why she appeared to Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill when she did.
Part Two
The Origin Story
While walking to Mexico City on the morning of December 9, 1531, a peasant, Juan Diego, saw on the side of the hill of Tepeyac a vision of a young teenage girl surrounded by light. She asked that a church be built in her honor on the spot where she stood. Juan recognized the lady as the Virgin Mary and went to the Spanish Archbishop to tell him of her request. The archbishop instructed Juan to return to Tepeyac hill and ask the lady for a sign to prove her identity. When Juan returned to the hill, the Virgin told him to go to the very top of hill and gather flowers he would find there. December was very late in the growing season for flowers to bloom but on the usually barren hilltop he found Castilian roses that are not native to Mexico. After gathering the flowers and returning to the lady, she arranged the roses inside of his tilma or robe. Juan then returned with the flowers to the archbishop on December 12th. When Juan opened the robe to show the priest, the flowers fell to the floor and in their place was the image of the virgin of Guadalupe miraculously imprinted on the inside of the fabric.
The construction of the church that the virgin requested, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, began in 1531 but was not completed until 1709. The original cloak was housed here from 1709 to 1974.
In 1921 a bomb planted in a vase inside the church exploded causing great damage to the building, but the cloak remained undamaged. Unknown at the time the church was erected on a former lake. This combined with the weakening of the structure from the explosion took its toll over the years and a new, more spacious basilica was built near the site between 1974 and 1976. The old basilica was closed for many years but was restored and recently opened to the public once again. Pilgrimages have been made to the shrine almost uninterruptedly since 1531 and is one of the most visited places in Mexico.
The cloak Juan Diego was wearing was made of rough maguey fibers, a type of rough material made from Agave plants that was commonly used to make rope or cording or very cheap clothing in those days. Given the year the miracle happened, 1531, and the material on which the sacred image was imprinted, it is said by experts to be practically impossible for any human hand to have painted the minute details of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Juan Diego’s robe. In addition, artists who were asked to investigate the image noted the supernatural character of the techniques and paint used. Thus, confirming that Our Lady of Guadalupe’s image was imprinted on Juan Diego’s tilma by something or someone not of this world. The original robe still resides in the Tepeyac Chapel right next to the Basilica of Our Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Part 3
The Symbolism
The sun rays behind the lady give her an aura of light. The light is also a sign of the power of God who has sacrificed and blessed the one who appears.
The lady is standing on a new moon crescent. A symbol that depicts her Immaculate Conception, a Catholic dogma that the blessed Virgin Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin and is a symbol of perpetual virginity.
Under the moon are clouds that symbolize something divine or the elevation of the spirit. At the time it was also believed that the clouds marked the beginning of a new era.
Holding up the lady is an Angel. The Angel represents her royalty. The Meso-American Indians believed only Kings, Queens and other dignitaries should be carried on the shoulders of someone. The Angel is holding the lady up signifying that she is above the angels being the mother of God.
The mantle she wears is blue-green or turquoise. To the native people, this was the color of the gods and of royalty, as is the gold trend. Turquoise was also the color of the natural forces of life. In Christian art, blue is symbolic of eternity and immortality. The stars on her mantle show that she comes from heaven as the queen of heaven but with the eyes of a humble, loving mother. Research shows that the stars that appear on the lady’s mantle are exactly as the stars of the winter solstice appeared before dawn on the morning of December 12th, 1531, the day the roses fell out of Juan Diego’s cloak, creating the original icon.
Even her face, eyes, and hair are filled with religious symbolism. Her face is bowed down, looking at every one tenderly and filled with compassion. She looks to the side out of respect, reflecting the belief that direct eye contact was disrespectful. Her downcast eyes show humility, unlike gods who gaze forward. Loose brown hair marks her as a virgin maiden; married women wore braids.
Two parts of our statue were broken at the time we found her. The praying hands were missing, and you could see where something had broken off between the two angels above her head. The crown, cross and roses were all editions I made myself. The idea for adding these came from the many images of the Guadalupe I saw during my research. The roses to me represent the Castilian roses she gave to Juan Diego. The crown for a queen and the cross, self-explanatory and added by me to cover the space where her hands once were. On the back I painted a short excerpt from the Roman Catholic eternal rest prayer for souls in purgatory.
I thoroughly enjoyed the entire project. I came to love this lady that resided in our home for a few weeks in 2012. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. This lady came to our home to be cared for and loved. By filling her with the love and patience I put into returning her to her former beauty, I felt that her energy had been restored.
Although I was sad to be seeing her leave soon, we always intended to return her to the Grove so she could watch over and protect those who remain and have not yet passed on. Little did I know at the time that this was just the beginning of something much bigger for me.
Part 4
My Story
On Saturday December 8th I posted my story of finding the statue and all that had followed on FB. As I looked through the pictures I posted of the statue, I noticed the one I took of the bottom of the statue. I had written Karls initials with the date that he found the statue and my initials with what should have been the date I finished restoring her, 12-3-12. If you look at the pictures, I wrote 12/12/12 as the finish date! I did not realize that I had done this until a few days later! After realizing this comment on the picture saying how strange I thought it was that I had done this and I was unsure of why.
On my lunch break later that day I logged into Facebook and a friend commented that just a few days later there was a huge celebration at the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe church not ten minutes from my home in Park Ridge, IL. It was expected to draw 80 to 100,000 people in the two days and makes the news every year it is such a big deal. I was so surprised and flustered by the timing. This is happening in a few days? Just hours after posting this story? Wednesday was 12/12/12. This is the day that Juan Diego opened his cloak and the icon was imprinted on the fabric. It is also a huge Roman Catholic holiday. When I wrote the date on the statue, I had not written the story yet. I did not know any of this and was in sort of a daze. When I returned from lunch my coworker asked what was up with me. He could see I was a bit shaken.
When I finished telling him all that has transpired so far, he told me he had goosebumps! The church I spoke of was his childhood church! Yet another sign I was on some sort of path I needed to follow. I then knew that I needed to take the statue to the church.
I called Karl later that night and we made tentative plans to go Wednesday afternoon or evening to the church sometime. I explained to him that I had a very strong feeling that it had to be on the 12th. It was difficult to find any information about the celebration online or elsewhere so I went to the church Monday afternoon to see if I could find out more. This didn't work out so well either. The office was closed and I only found one person who spoke English enough to tell me that you must take a shuttle bus in from designated locations because you can't even get close to the place by car during the celebration. She also told me that the celebration runs continuously from Tuesday morning through to Wednesday night. I did find a flyer with a list of services and times, but it was all in Spanish! I did notice that almost every hour on the hour was a mass, even all through the night Tuesday. At some point on Tuesday the idea came to me that going at midnight might be better than trying to go after work hours Wednesday. I thought (wrongly) that it would be less crowded. More of a chance to possibly get to talk to a priest. This was my reasoning, but I knew in my heart that I was being led by something or someone else.
At around 6:00 PM I was in my kitchen when I heard what sounded like a mass of people yelling and singing. I walked to my front window that overlooks the street and sidewalk. A group of about 200 people were passing my house with flashlights and singing in Spanish. Another path sign. I immediately messaged Karl that I was going at midnight and please come with me. We left at about 11:15 not knowing really what we would find or what we were doing but as we approached the intersection about 3 miles away from the church, the traffic was gridlocked! We decided that our best bet would be to park and walk. Bundled up and with the statue securely tucked in my coat we walked the three miles in 30-degree weather to the massive celebration!
As we approached the church at around midnight, I was amazed by the amount of people there. Tens of Thousands! As far as I could see, crowds of people!
Tamale roadside stands, people dressed in costumes, some with beautiful Guadalupe painting strapped to their backs! At one point I even saw a statue inside a huge lighted decorated box that was so big it had to be carried on 4 men's shoulders! This is a serious celebration, and I was in total awe at the love and respect these people have for this lady who has come to mean so much to me. To properly retell the unfolding of events that happen next, I must give a little bit of a description of the church. It is a very large place with three large buildings. As you enter the drive the actual church sits directly in front with a courtyard between two connected buildings. The courtyard is the grotto shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The very large fountain with life-size statues depicting the scene of Our Lady and Juan Diego on the hill also includes an exact replica of the original tilma in the Basilica in Mexico City. This replica was the first to officially come out of Mexico to a foreign land. Reverend Jose Quintana, a distinguished priest serving at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City officially brought the replica to Maryville Academy in Des Plaines IL where we were that night. Unbelievably just a few miles down the road from where I lived! On the left of the church is an old school building with a gymnasium. To accommodate the event's large crowd, a chapel was set up in the gymnasium. A large parking lot sits in front of this building.
As Karl and I finally made it onto the church property I already began to have doubts. This is just me. I have suffered from terrible social anxiety since I was young. Standing in the parking lot in front of the gym Chapel Karl asked me what my plan was. I tried to feel my way around, but the doubt had already seeped in and was growing by the second. I decided that we needed to go to the grotto. Carl moved out of the way saying are you sure this isn't where we need to be? I then saw for the first time the Chapel set up inside the gym and hordes of people piling in. My response was no I think we need to go over here. We never even got close to the fountain. The people were packed in like sardines as a mariachi band played nearby. I knew I was wrong and began to weave back out of the people towards the parking lot once again. I was now completely lost and defeated. No idea what to do or why I came to this place in freezing cold dead of night? I'm crazy and what in the world am I doing here?
I finally decided to go into the Chapel to see if that would help. Packed from wall to wall with people I started to panic. Mind blank. Ready to give up I told him let's just go, I have no idea what I'm doing here, I'm so sorry I dragged you out for nothing. He stared to pace and I at first, I thought he was mad but then realized he was concentrating/thinking. He then walked to the end of the hallway, where he'd seen a nun earlier. He motioned for her to follow him. Quickly and with very few words he explained why we were there as I showed her the statue. He asked her if we could talk to a priest. She then took us immediately through the hundreds of people in the gymnasium who parted like the Red Sea for her to let us through. You could see amazement and curiosity on the faces as we passed. She walked us behind the stage to a backstage room where the priest, Father Miguel Martinez was standing.
I was bewildered as I told Father Miguel the story from beginning to end. I think in the pictures you can see the raw emotion I felt at the time. He was astonished by the story, surprise lighting his face at some of the details. When I was finished, he blessed not only the statue but me as well. He also told me what a beautiful job I had done restoring the statue and that I was welcome there anytime.
I was shaking and near tears during the whole thing it was such an emotional spiritual moment for me. I'm not sure I can capture in print the depth of what this night brought to my life.
She was returned to the Grove shortly after and placed in an undisclosed safe location. The last time I checked she was still there but it has been many years. I hope that she is still there bringing peace and solitude to this wondrous place that has brought the same to so many of us!
The Lady of Guadalupe has since become a guiding light for me. While not religious, that night made me more spiritually aware. For years after I visited and prayed there often, especially in times of depression or destress. I always felt better after.
One time at a very low point just before Christmas a friend who knew my story with the statue and that I was struggling, hung a beautiful Guadalupe tree ornament on my door that they had found that day! I immediately burst into tears and then felt such relief that I still to this day marvel at it.
Throughout the years, I have experienced many other spiritual events. Each year, I reflect on my journey and her impact on my life, lighting a candle and saying a prayer even from afar.
If you take nothing else from this story, please take with you the belief that nothing is impossible. Go out there, find your miracle and begin your own journey of learning and enlightenment. It will open so many doors to many beautiful and awesome things! You have but to take the first step. Follow your heart and most of all believe in yourself! If you truly believe the rest will come! I am living proof of this!
Love and light to you all and thanks for reading!
Hope you all have a loving, peaceful holiday season and a spectacular new year!
Wendy