Introduction

This introductory chapter for the book Theologies of Guadalupe: From the Era of Conquest to Pope Francis presents an overview of the origins, devotional evolution, and theologies of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It also provides an overview of the five chapters that comprise the book as well as its scholarly contribution to the current state of Guadalupan studies. The chapter summarizes two key developments from the colonial era to the first decades of the twenty-first century: theological analyses of Mexico’s most renowned religious tradition and an historical assessment of how the Guadalupe cult rose above all others in colonial New Spain and emerged from a local devotion to become a regional, national, and then international phenomenon. More broadly, the chapter outlines how theologies of Guadalupe present a critical inquiry in light of faith into the life of Mexico and its people from the preconquest era to the present.