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Grand Valley University, Irlanda BeltranFacebook/Grand Valley University, Instagram/Irlanda Beltran

UPDATE: Grand Valley State University has decided to relocate the blasphemous image. The Rosary rally in protest of the image will proceed this Saturday as scheduled. Further details HERE.

ALLENDALE, Michigan (LifeSiteNews) — A popular state-funded public university in Michigan has come under intense criticism from Christian students and lawmakers after installing a blasphemous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on campus that includes words like “faggot” and “homophobia” and obscene, pro-LGBT imagery, including two men kissing. 

“Christians are coming under attack,” GOP State Rep. Jamie Thompson said on Facebook this week.

Thompson was responding to an “art” exhibit at Grand Valley State University’s Kirkhof Center in Allendale, a small town located about 15 minutes west of Grand Rapids, the second largest city in the state.

Founded in 1960, Grand Valley is known for its medical and business schools. Roughly 24,000 students are enrolled at the university. According to The Midwesterner, it received $99.82 million in taxpayer dollars for the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Despite being located in an area that has historically voted Republican, Grand Valley, like countless other institutions of higher learning across the U.S., pushes many diversity and left-wing causes. The current controversy stems from the school’s purchasing of an alumna’s “art” display included in an exhibit last year showcasing “LatinX” artists.

Thompson criticized the display on social media after a Catholic student at Grand Valley sent her photos of it.

“He feels as though his religious beliefs are being stomped on and thrown in his face, I agree with him,” she said.

The images in question are digitally modified depictions of the Our Lady of Guadalupe apparition, which Catholics venerate as a sacred image. The “art” includes phrases in Spanish spread across images of Our Lady that when translated to English mean “homophobia is lethal,” “no more feminicide,” and “sexuality,” among other vulgar and pro-LGBT terms, such as “trans.” What appears to be a gender-confused person as well as a man in underwear and two men kissing can also be seen on Our Lady’s dress.

In one image, the words “My son is homosexual” and “I am proud of him” appear on Our Lady’s face.

“By using iconic images, like that of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Beltran pushes back against the systems of power that have traditionally repressed marginalized people in Mexico, while asking the viewer to realize the injustices around them,” a description of the display on Grand Valley’s website claims.

The apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe – the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God – occurred in Mexico in 1531. Before she appeared, pagan tribes in Latin America were offering human sacrifices to the sun often times by ripping people’s beating hearts out of their chests. In the centuries following her appearance, millions of persons in Latin America converted to the Catholic faith, thereby ending the barbaric practice.

The display is 96 inches by 40 inches and is the work of Irlanda Beltran. It is titled Petalos De Cambio, or “Petals of Change.” Grand Valley’s Graphic Design department bestowed an award on Beltran for her creation last June. The school bought the display from her for a reported $1,800 dollars.

Local GOP State Rep. Luke Meerman spoke to LifeSite on the phone last week to share his own reaction to the situation.

“I support free speech,” he said, but “I don’t think it belongs on a college campus … it should come down.”

Meerman told LifeSite that students he has been speaking with have been successful in meeting with administrators and that the school is in the process of including them in future decisions about displays on campus.

CatholicVote.org has reported that Grand Valley’s Catholic Campus Ministry office learned about the display last September, and that several Catholic students asked administrators for it to be removed. Ultimately, Christopher Knape, the assistant vice president for the school’s communication department, defended the installation as “protected speech” that provokes “discussion and critical thinking.”

“We understand art can result in differing interpretations, sometimes creating discomfort,” he told CatholicVote. “At GVSU, we welcome diverse — sometimes opposing — viewpoints as part of our commitment to the First Amendment.”

LifeSite is yet to learn of Grand Valley ever having displayed a similar piece of “art” depicting Jewish religious figures, six-pointed stars, or Muslim leaders like Mohammed.

Last week, LifeSite called St. Luke University Parish, which is under the Diocese of Grand Rapids and caters to Catholic students who attend Grand Valley. The parish is run by Fr. Rob Mulderink. LifeSite was sent to his voicemail after being told he was not around. LifeSite is yet to receive a call back.

LifeSite has learned that a group of Catholics are planning a Rosary protest in reparation for the display. The event will take place at 1 Campus Dr., Allendale, Michigan, 49401, on the public sidewalk on Saturday, February 8, beginning at 1 pm. Rally captain Meredith can be contacted for details at (616) 350-4123. More information can also be obtained from [email protected] or by calling (844) 830-3570.

The protesters will pray 15 decades of the Rosary and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary near the Cook Carlton Tower in the middle of campus.

For respectful comments only, contact Chris Knape at Grand Valley’s communications department [email protected] or (616) 331-2221. You can also reach the president’s office at [email protected] or (616) 331-2100.

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