In 1956, a near-miracle happened in East Los Angeles.
On September 3rd, in the home Louis Acosta, the glass protecting a framed print of Our Lady of Guadalupe accidentally broke. After Louis and his pregnant wife Celia cleaned up the broken glass, they separated the print from its paper backing, which was white — at first. “Inside of 20 minutes it had turned dark brown and the image of the Virgin had appeared,” Louis said.
Word of the image quickly spread around the predominantly Mexican-American community. (Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico.) Over the next week, hundreds of people flocked to the Acosta house, day and night — “some carrying candles and money offerings” — to pray before the image. Newspapers reported on September 7th that an estimated “2,000 persons had crowded the home in the past two days” and that sheriff’s deputies had been called for help.
Art experts and a local priest soon agreed that there was a natural explanation for the image’s appearance, and so it was not a miracle.
Still, the event was inspirational enough to be commemorated in a name. Celia gave birth to a baby boy on the September 8th, and the Acostas decided to name him Guadalupe, in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Sources:
- “‘Holy Image’ Causes Stir; Traced To Natural Causes.” Spokesman-Review 8 Sept. 1956: 2.
- “Virgin Mary Apparition in L A. Alleged.” Times [San Mateo, CA] 7 Sept. 1956: 5.