The Nican Mopohua is the most important historical source about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe in Mexico in December of 1531. The stories of this event and the apparently miraculous image of the Virgin aided in the subsequent conversion of nine million Native Mexicans during the 1530s. The spirit of the Virgin of Guadalupe and her image supported the cause of Mexican independence from Spain in the nineteenth century. The Virgin continues to profoundly influence the lived experience of Christian faith among millions of ordinary people across Mexico and the United States in the twenty- first century. The original image from 1531 still exists and draws twenty million visitors per year to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, making this the third most visited religious pilgrimage site in the world, after the Buddhist Sensoji- Temple in Tokyo and the Hindu Kashi Vishwanath Temple in India.