Mexican devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe blends into national identity

MEXICO CITY (AP) — There’s a saying in Mexico: “Not all Mexicans are Catholic, but all are Guadalupan.”

The phrase conveys the deep connection between Our Lady of Guadalupe and the country’s identity. In the nation of 130 million people — the majority of whom identify as Catholic — this apparition of the Virgin Mary carries a symbolic force that often surpasses religious belief.

“After Mexico emerged as an independent nation, she came to embody not just religious devotion but a sense of national identity,” said Nydia Rodríguez, director of a museum dedicated to the Virgin at Mexico City’s Basilica. The sanctuary draws up to 12 million pilgrims during her feast day each Dec. 12.

Mexico’s official emblem is an eagle perched on a cactus while devouring a serpent. The Virgin’s likeness is often on display alongside it in government buildings, banners and portraits of political leaders.

“Mexico is a secular state, but in its history there has always been religion,” Rodríguez said. “Our pre-Hispanic ancestors and Spanish society were deeply religious and there’s a point where both traditions meet.”

Among the pieces on display at the museum is a 19th-century painting known as the “Virgin of Congress.” It stands at the center of the main hall, flanked by two golden eagles and framed by Mexican flags.

“This was a gift for the first Constitutional Congress,” Rodríguez said. “In a way, it legitimized those political leaders as if Our Lady of Guadalupe was backing up that Congress.”

The museum’s “Virgin of Congress” is no ordinary painting. It belongs to a group of artworks classified as “touched by the original,” a term used by Mexican scholars to describe a devotional copy of the original image.

According to the Catholic Church, that very first icon is considered a miracle. Its backstory describes the Virgin’s apparition on a cold December night in 1531.

Under that belief, an Indigenous man named Juan Diego saw Our Lady of Guadalupe near Tepeyac Hill, where the current Basilica stands. She is said to have asked for a temple to be built to honor her son, Jesus Christ, but the local bishop was skeptical.

Guided by her instruction, Juan Diego placed flowers in his cloak. And when he later opened it, a colorful image of the Virgin appeared.

That cloth hangs in the center of the Basilica. Pilgrims travel from across Mexico all year long to give thanks for the miracles they believe the Virgin has granted them.

Teresa Morales is among them. The 85-year-old made a recent visit to the shrine ahead of Dec. 12 to show gratitude for her good health.

She said she felt tormented by knee pain that barely allowed her to walk. But as she prayed to an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe that she keeps at home, her suffering stopped.

“The other day I came for confession and the priest told me to spread the word,” she said. “To tell everyone that her miracles are real.”

Our Lady of Guadalupe’s power to bring people together was key when Mexico's movement for independence began in 1810.

The fight against Spanish rule was led by a priest called Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Now considered the father of the nation, he rose up in arms one early morning in September carrying an image of the Virgin.

It was originally a painting that hung in a sanctuary in central Mexico. Aware of its symbolic force, Hidalgo tied it to a lance and used it as his banner.

“The priest was leading the people against the bad government,” said Salvador Rueda, historian and director of Mexico’s National Museum of History, where the iconic canvas is on display. “And why did everybody follow? Because Our Lady of Guadalupe represents us all.”

Multiple galleries within the museum convey how the Virgin has played a double function in recent centuries. Her presence in private lockets, a mural by modernist architect Juan O’Gorman and medals granted by Mexico’s first emperor to praise patriotic services show how it has been both a devotional image and a civic symbol.

According to Rueda, some visitors cross themselves when they spot the first painting at the exhibition. However, their reaction shifts as they approach Hidalgo’s banner. “One is followed by devotion,” he said. “The other is a flag.”

Further armies embraced the Virgin's image in their causes. While details differ, both the Cristeros and the Zapatistas depicted her in their flags during the early 20th century.

“What started as a devotion ended up becoming a public image,” Rueda said. “A reference to one’s identity not as Catholic, but as Mexican.”

While several experts have wondered whether the cloth at the Basilica is a painting rather than a miraculous object, Rueda said that historians should not care.

“Why would that matter?” he asked. “It’s real because it’s part of reality, of history. Because it shapes an entire world.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Pilgrims carry a framed image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Paso de Cortes, Mexico, on their way to Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, as millions prepare to flock to the capital for her Dec. 12 feast day. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)

Pilgrims rest next to framed image of the Virgin of Guadalupe outside the Basilica of Guadalupe, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, the day before her feast day. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)

Pilgrims arrive to Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, the day before her feast day. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)

Pilgrims arrive at Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, the day before her feast day. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)

Teresa Morales prays in the Old Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)

A pilgrim carries an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe past the Popocatepetl in Paso de Cortes on his way to Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Claudia Rosel)

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Parliament was dissolved Friday for new elections early next year as the country engaged in deadly fighting with Cambodia.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved the House of Representatives after getting approval from King Maha Vajiralongkorn, whose endorsement became effective Friday with its publication in the Royal Gazette.

Anutin had signaled the move with a Facebook post late Thursday saying: “I’d like to return power to the people.”

The election must be held 45 to 60 days after the royal endorsement, a period during which Anutin will head a caretaker government with limited powers that cannot approve a new budget.

The move comes at a tricky political moment, as Thailand is engaged in large-scale combat with Cambodia over long-disputed border claims. About two dozen people were reported killed in the fighting this week, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides.

Anutin has been prime minister for just three months, succeeding Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who served only a year in office before losing office over a scandal that erupted out of a previous round of border tensions.

Anutin won the September vote in Parliament with support from the main opposition People’s Party in exchange for a promise to dissolve Parliament within four months and organize a referendum on the drafting of a new constitution by an elected constituent assembly.

The party, which runs on progressive platforms, has long sought changes to the constitution, imposed during a military government, saying they want to make it more democratic.

The issue of constitutional change appeared to trigger the dissolution, after the People’s Party prepared to call a no-confidence vote Thursday. That threat came after lawmakers from Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party voted in favor of a bill to amend the constitution that the opposition party felt ran against the spirit of the agreement they had reached in September.

The People's Party holds the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives and is seen as the main challenger to Bhumjaithai. As news of the pending dissolution circulated late Thursday, its leaders said they hoped Anutin would still honor the agreement to arrange a constitutional referendum.

Anutin served in Paetongtarn’s former government but resigned from his positions and withdrew his party from her coalition government as she faced controversy over a phone call with Cambodia's Senate President Hun Sen in June.

Paetongtarn, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was suspended from office ahead of the July fighting, after being found guilty of ethics violations over the politically compromising call.

With Thailand now again engaged in heavy combat against Cambodia, Anutin has embraced an aggressive military posture to appeal to nationalistic public sentiment, and has said Thailand will keep fighting until its sovereignty and safety are guaranteed.

After the five days of border fighting in July, U.S. President Donald Trump pushed the two countries to agree on a ceasefire by threatening to withhold trade privileges from them.

Trump has vowed again to make peace between them after widespread fighting flared up again this week. If he employs the cudgel of high tariffs on Thai exports should Thailand fail to comply with his peacemaking effort comply, it could cause serious damage to its already sluggish economy.

Trump said twice this week that he expects to speak by phone with the Thai and Cambodian leaders, expressing confidence that he would persuade them to stop the fighting.

Anutin on Friday confirmed that he is scheduled to speak with Trump on Friday night, saying he would brief him on the latest situation along the border.

As of Thursday, about two dozen people had been reported killed in this week’s fighting, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides of the border. The Thai military estimates that 165 Cambodian soldiers have been killed, though no number has been officially announced by Phnom Penh.

“Anutin has capitalized on the renewed border tensions with Cambodia to portray himself as a leader willing to take a nationalist, hard-line stance in defending Thailand’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” commented Napon Jatusripitak, director of the Center for Politics and Geopolitics at Thailand Future, a Bangkok-based think tank.

“This emerging narrative has, at least for now, eclipsed criticisms of his handling of the floods in Southern Thailand and muted scrutiny over lingering questions of his potential involvement with scam networks,” said Napon, who is also a visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

Purawich Watanasukh, a political scientist as Bangkok’s Thammasat University said that the standing of Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party has slipped in recent weeks due to the southern flood crisis, which took more than 160 lives, and his government’s mishandling of major scam scandals, which tainted some officials and figures in the Thai business community.

“However, the recent clash between Thailand and Cambodia has provided Anutin with an opportunity to reframe himself as a defender of national sovereignty, potentially boosting his popularity, ” Purawich told The Associated Press in an email interview. “Dissolving the House at this moment allows Bhumjaithai to capitalize on this shifting sentiment.

Jintamas reported from Buriram, Thailand.

People warm themselves around a bonfire as they take refuge at Wat Chroy Neangoun's Buddhist pagoda in Siem Reap province, Cambodia Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia over territorial claims. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Displaced people arrive to take refuge at Wat Chroy Neangoun's Buddhist pagoda in Siem Reap province, Cambodia Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia over territorial claims. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, center, walks after attending an event at the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, right, gestures as he attends an event at the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul gestures as he attends an event at the government house in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

Thai residents cover in a shelter in Buriram province, Thailand, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

FILE - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, right, and Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, left, react during a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)