Mexico City ? As feathered Aztec dancers and robed Catholic clergy moved through an incense-filled basilica, Pope John Paul II canonized the first Indian saint in the Americas on Wednesday, using the ceremony to urge Mexicans to help its large Indian population.

More than 1 million believers cheered and wept in the streets outside as the pope called Juan Diego a catalyst in the conversion of millions of Indians to Christianity.

Feathered Aztec dancers perform before Pope John Paul II during the canonization ceremony of Juan Diego, the first Indian saint in the Americas, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

Although some question whether the 16th-century Juan Diego actually existed, John Paul stressed his importance as a man who helped the worlds of Spain’s conquistadors and Mexico’s native peoples come together. But the pope made clear the indigenous 10 percent of the population have been let down by Mexican society.

“Mexico needs its indigenous peoples and these people need Mexico,” John Paul declared, setting an agenda for his church, which is battling inroads among Indians by evangelical Protestants.

Following up on remarks Tuesday in Guatemala, the pontiff appealed for better treatment for Indians in the Americas. He asked Mexicans to help create “greater justice and solidarity” for all, and to “support the indigenous peoples in their legitimate aspirations, respecting and defending the authentic values of each ethnic group.”

Juan Diego was an Indian born before Europeans arrived in the New World. According to church tradition, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego in 1531, leaving an olive-skinned image of herself on his cloak and helping drive the conversion of millions of Indians throughout the Americas.

The pope returns today to Rome.