Holy
makeover!

Preparations for the Pope’s visit to Mexico to canonize Juan Diego have caused an uproar after the Church gave traditional portraits of the first-ever Indian saint a makeover, replacing his near-bare chin with a full beard and lightening his skin to a more acceptable European complexion.

Bearing the title “True portrait of God’s servant Juan Diego,” the image was selected by the Church despite sentiments of many that it is a blatant slight of Indian heritage.

“They are distorting history,” said one Mexican pilgrim. “If the Virgin wanted to choose a European, she would have done so.” It’s believed the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego in 1531, an event considered key to the conversion of natives to Roman Catholicism.

Despite protests, the new Juan Diego Lite is selling well at the souvenir stands. To appease the angry mobs, church representatives said their depiction needn’t be the only image of the saint people can accept. :
-Scott Saxon