The Virgin of Guadalupe is famously migratory, traversing continents and crossing and recrossing oceans. Guadalupe's earliest cult originated in medieval Iberia, where Our Lady of Guadalupe from Extremadura, Spain, played a significant role in the reconquista and garnered royal backing. The Spanish Guadalupe accompanied the conquistadors as part of the spiritual arsenal used to Christianize the Americas, where new images of the Virgin acted as catalysts to implant her devotion within multiethnic constituencies.

This masterful study by Jeanette Favrot Peterson traces the...