THE HAPPINESS OF MEXICO

First published in Mexico in 1675, The Happiness of Mexico is one of the earliest and most authoritative historical works devoted entirely to the miraculous apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Written by the learned Mexican priest Luis Becerra Tanco, a contemporary of the first generations after the events of Tepeyac, this book stands at the intersection of faith, history, theology, and indigenous testimony.

Far from being a simple devotional account, this work presents a rigorous examination of the origin of the Guadalupan Image:
- the material nature and extraordinary preservation of the tilma,
- the absence of known pigments or artistic technique,
- the theological meaning of the apparition within salvation history,
- and the role of Guadalupe in the spiritual birth of Christian Mexico.

Becerra Tanco draws upon early indigenous oral tradition, ecclesiastical testimony, linguistic analysis of Nahuatl sources, and philosophical reasoning to defend the miraculous character of the Image. His work offers rare insight into how the Guadalupan event was understood within a century of its occurrence, before later interpretations and controversies arose.

This English edition presents a carefully revised translation from the original Colonial Spanish, preserving the theological precision, historical depth, and spiritual tone of the seventeenth-century text while making it accessible to modern readers. The edition includes contextual elements that help situate the work within Catholic tradition and early Mexican history.

The Happiness of Mexico is essential reading for:
- Catholics devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Readers interested in Marian apparitions
- Scholars of Church history and New Spain
- Those seeking a serious, faith-informed historical source

This book bears witness to a conviction that has endured for nearly five centuries: that the Virgin of Guadalupe stands at the heart of Mexico's spiritual identity and remains a living sign of God's action in history.