Pre-apparition
Ruiz married Reyes Ruiz, a man who had been a devotee of the Virgin of Guadalupe since the age of seven. The two had six children, four of whom graduated from institutes of higher education. One of their sons, Armando Ruiz, became a representative in the Arizona House of Representatives and later in the Arizona State Senate. After her children had all grown, Ruiz decided to return to school and focus on her career. She earned a Bachelor's degree in education from Ottawa University in Phoenix, and enrolled in a Master's of Education program at Northern Arizona University. In the early 1970s, she was hired to work for the Murphy School District in Phoenix and worked her way up the bureaucratic ladder to become superintendent of the district's bilingual programs.
When her mother later began suffering as a result of the radiation therapy, Ruiz drove daily from her Phoenix workplace to the hospital in Lordsburg. She developed the same symptoms as her mother, whose death made Ruiz feel that she was going to die also. While she didn't die, she did realized how dependent she had been on her mother. She became determined to succeed in her career and started attending assertiveness-training courses offered at the hospital. The courses helped her to increase her self-esteem, set goals, separate herself from her mother, and feel like she was in control of her life. According to Ruiz, this sense of control was illusory: "I didn't realize that it was God who was in control, I actually thought I was the one in control, can you believe it?!"
Meanwhile, her husband Reyes, who had long been involved in many Catholic activities, including the encuentro movement of Spanish-speaking Catholics in the United States, the Catholic farmworkers rights campaigns, and prison ministries, forged ties with Father Jack Spaulding of St. Maria Goretti Church in Scottsdale and his group of nine young Marian visionaries. In 1988, he accompanied Father Spaulding to Medugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the Virgin Mary appeared to six youths beginning in 1981. While in Medugorje, Reyes prayed that his wife would help lead the family down a more spiritual path.
Despite her religious upbringing, Ruiz describes herself at the time as a skeptic and a "Sunday morning Catholic". A successful, sophisticated woman, Ruiz was embarrassed by Reyes' religiosity and was jealous of his affection for the dark-skinned Virgin. While her husband was gone, Ruiz almost took down the icon of the Virgin of Guadalupe (painted by Reyes) that hung in their home. She decided to leave it up, however, and the next day as she walked past the painting, she heard it wish her a good morning. She dismissed the greeting as a figment of her imagination or a signal of mental instability. The next week, the painting greeted her again, and Ruiz felt a sensation that the voice was coming from the Virgin Mary. Following the two auditory experiences, Ruiz began waking up early with a strong desire to attend six o'clock mass. By the time Reyes returned, he found his wife much more open to his spirituality, and when he asked for her help to spiritually revitalize the family, she agreed.
Shortly thereafter, Ruiz had two dreams of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Ruiz later interpreted these dreams as preparation for her first vision.
Read more about this topic: Estela Ruiz