Monsignor Eduardo Chavez

Msgr.-Eduardo-Cavez-Sanchez1

It was December 9, 1531, just decades after Columbus set foot in the New World and centuries before the borders of any nations were established. In the land which would later be known as Mexico, the Spanish army had defeated the Aztec Empire and established a colonial government, but the future of Christianity on the continent was in peril. There was mutual tension, distrust, and at times violent opposition between two very different cultures. As he was walking to Church, a humble Aztec named Juan Diego heard a Lady ask him, “Where are you going?”

From that moment on, his life would never be the same–and neither would that of his people, for within a few days, Our Lady of Guadalupe would leave her miraculous image on his cloak. As a result of that image, millions of Aztecs accepted the Catholic faith and were baptized.

Appearing as a mixed-race Aztec Queen, pregnant with a Divine Child, Mary appeared as the Mother of a Civilization of Love. She remains “the image of a perfectly inculturated gospel,” and asks us the same question as she asked St. Juan Diego, “Where are you going?”

Demonstrating that unity is not a product but a person, Msgr. Chavez will invite all to consider that there is indeed a place for us.

Msgr. Eduardo Chávez Sánchez is one of the world’s most renowned experts on the Guadalupe apparitions, St. Juan Diego, and the role of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the New Evangelization. Co-founder and rector of the Higher Institute for Guadalupan Studies, he is also a Canon of the Basilica of Guadalupe. Born in Mexico City, he studied philosophy and theology in the Institute for Ecclesiastical Studies at Mexico’s Conciliar Seminary. He was ordained on Aug. 15, 1981, in the Archdiocese of Mexico. He holds a diploma in philosophy from the Universidad del Valle de Atemajac in Guadalajara and, a doctorate in Church history from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

On May 17, 2001, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of Mexico, appointed him postulator for the cause of Saint Juan Diego, who was canonized on July 31, 2002. Msgr. Chávez was also general secretary for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Mexico. Msgr. Chávez has made many contributions to the study of the Guadalupan event, addressing major academic institutions internationally and publishing more than 28 books and articles. Together with Carl Anderson, in 2009 he wrote Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of a Civilization of Love.