Luis Laso de la Vega (or Luis Lasso de la Vega) was a 17th-century

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

. He is known chiefly as the author of the ''

Huei tlamahuiçoltica ("''The Great Event''") is a tract in Nahuatl comprising 36 pages and was published in Mexico City, Mexico in 1649 by Luis Laso de la Vega, the vicar of the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac outside the same city. In the preface Luis La ...

'' ("The Great Happening"), an account published in 1649 and written in the

Nahuatl language Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in ...

, which contains a narrative describing the reported apparition of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

before Saint

Juan Diego Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, also known as Juan Diego (; 1474–1548), was a Chichimec peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of the Virgin Mary on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill of Tepeyac a ...

in 1531, some 117 years earlier. The account describes the appearance of the apparition now known as

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

to Juan Diego (an

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, whose original pre-conversion name is given as Cuauhtlatoatzin) at the hill of

Tepeyac Tepeyac or the Hill of Tepeyac, historically known by the names Tepeyacac and Tepeaquilla, is located inside Gustavo A. Madero, the northernmost ''delegación'' or borough of Mexico City. According to the Catholic tradition, it is the site where ...

Biography

Little is known about Laso de la Vega's life. He was a '' criollo'', a Mexican-born person of full

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ancestry. Historians have culled from church and academic records the information that he earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and registered for a course in canon law at the

University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

in 1623. He had the title of ''Licenciado'' (literally "Licensed"), generally meaning someone licensed to practice secular or

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. He was appointed

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of the sanctuary of Tepeyac (near

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

) in 1647 and rebuilt the first chapel there, which enclosed a freshwater

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

. He was promoted to the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

in 1657. His writings demonstrate a great zeal for the Catholic faith and expertise in the Nahuatl language.

Writings

Aside from narrating the apparition, the ''Huei tlamahuiçoltica'' also contained an account of miracles occurring in its wake and a prayer of devotion to the Virgin. Beside the ''Huei tlamahuiçoltica'', Laso de la Vega also wrote a glowing review of Miguel Sánchez's ''Imagen de la Virgen María, Madre de Dios de Guadalupe'' ("Image of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God of Guadalupe"), the first written account known of the Guadalupan apparition, published the year before Laso de la Vega's tract appeared. Of Sánchez he wrote, "I and all my predecessors have been like sleeping

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

s, possessing this second Eve in the paradise of their Mexican Guadalupe". Some authors have cited this passage as Laso de la Vega's admission of his debt to Sánchez for providing him a text on which to base his version of the apparition narrative. {{DEFAULTSORT:Laso De La Vega, Luis Mexican male writers Mexican people of Spanish descent Mexican Franciscans Roman Catholic writers Colonial Mexico

Luis Laso de la Vega Luis Laso de la Vega (or Luis Lasso de la Vega) was a 17th-century Mexican priest and lawyer. He is known chiefly as the author of the ''Huei tlamahuiçoltica'' ("The Great Happening"), an account published in 1649 and written in the Nahuatl lang ...

17th-century Mexican Roman Catholic priests Year of death unknown National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Year of birth unknown