October 12, Virgen del Pilar of Zaragoza: what do we celebrate?

Patroness of the Hispanidad, of the city of Zaragoza and also of Mail and the Civil Guard. Thousands of pilgrims of all nationalities come to pray to the Virgin of Pilar in Zaragoza, where the Cathedral-Basilica is located.

Zaragoza, throughout the year, but especially during the festivities of the Pilar, is the city from where the national and universal union arises. Since Columbus opened the doors to the New World in 1492, Christian values have spread to the nations of America, Africa and Asia, now united by the solid pillar of a common past, a common language and a rich and diverse culture.

What is the history of the Virgen del Pilar?

As recorded in 13th century documents preserved in the cathedral of Saragossa, the story goes back to the period immediately following the Ascension.

In the year 40 AD, the Apostles had begun to fulfill the mission of preaching the Gospel. Each one seeking a part of the world.

The documents state that Santiago, "passing through Asturias, arrived with his new disciples through Galicia and Castile, to Aragon, the territory called Celtiberia, where the city of Zaragoza is located, on the banks of the Ebro.

The Apostle was seeing that that civilization was incredibly hard. It was very difficult to make the words of the Gospel reach those people, so James began to get discouraged when he saw that his efforts were not bearing fruit.

But on the night of January 2, 40 AD, Santiago, who was resting with his disciples by the river Ebro, in the Roman Caesaraugusta, which was the name given by Rome to the present Zaragoza, suddenly heard the voices of angels singing "Ave, Maria, gratia plena" and the Virgin appeared standing on a marble pillar".

The Blessed Virginasked the Apostle to build him a church there, with the altar around the pillar where he was standing, and promised that he would "This place will remain until the end of time so that the virtue of God may work wonders and marvels through my intercession with those who in their needs implore my patronage".

The Virgin disappeared and the pillar remained there. The Apostle James and the eight witnesses began to build a church on that site. But before it was finished, James ordained one of his disciples as a priest to serve it, consecrated it and gave it the title of Santa Maria del Pilar, before returning to Judea. This was the first church dedicated in honor of the Blessed Virgin.

Years later...

Pope Clement XII is aware of this devotion and establishes October 12 as the day on which the feast of the Virgin of the Pilar is celebrated.

On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus set his first foot in America and thus it became clear that there is a world beyond Hispania. For this reason, Our Lady of the Pillar is entrusted with the Hispanic world, because the evangelization of the new lands was placed under her mantle.

The devotion of the people is so deep among the Spaniards, and from such remote times, that the Holy See allowed the establishment of the Office of the Pillar in which the apparition of the Virgin is consigned as "an ancient and pious belief".

The city of Zaragoza and the basilica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, its patron saint

On the banks of the Ebro River in Zaragoza stands the Basilica del Pilar. Its construction began in Renaissance times, it goes through the Baroque period and ends, in the 18th century, with neoclassical solutions.

Inside the basilica is the Santa Capilla de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, a magnificent case that encloses the pillar where the Virgin of Pilar appeared to the Apostle Santiago and which visitors have venerated over the centuries. This pillar is covered in bronze and silver, and holds a statuette representing the Virgin of Pilar, with an imposing mantle and the child Jesus in her arms.

The image of the Virgin

The carving of the Virgin does not reach forty centimeters. Its lines are late Gothic, and from the way the tunic is buttoned, the belt with its buckle, the high waist and the shoes, it could be dated to the 15th century.

The figure of the Child holds a little bird in one hand and with the other hand he holds tightly to his Mother's mantle. It can be said that it does not follow the sculptural style of the Virgin, although it completes it.

The whole is based on the Pilar, the smooth column of jasper covered with carved silver that except for the 2nd, 12th and 20th of each month, the Virgin of the Pillar, is not covered with mantle.

Some curiosities:

On the current importance of the Basilica

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pilar in Zaragoza is the most visited monument in Spain in recent years pre-pandemic. The Basilica del Pilar is not only the main tourist attraction of Zaragoza and the icon of the city, but also the first Marian shrine in the world and an important pilgrimage destination, millions of people visit it annually.

It is a Basilica and also a Cathedral. Zaragoza was the first city in the world to have two cathedrals, the first, from the early twelfth century when the troops of Alfonso the Battler conquered the city, the second the Basilica del Pilar, since 1676 no less.

You can climb one of the four towers, for only 3 €. The elevator reaches 63 meters high and you can enjoy the best panoramic views of the city of Zaragoza from the viewpoint of one of the four towers of the Basilica of Pilar. You can also contemplate from there the majesty of the Ebro River and the Pyrenees. In addition, you can also access the highest part of the towers (which is about 80 meters high) after climbing a few steps.

From the history of the basilica of the Virgen del Pilar

In August 1936 the Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar was bombed. During the Spanish Civil War by a Republican airplane, there were 4 bombs, one fell on the Ebro, another on the Plaza del Pilar and two inside the temple without any of them exploding or causing serious damage. Two of these bombs are exposed in the pillars of the temple and the hole, in the shape of a cross, left by the one that fell in the square was filled with marble.

On the artistic and cultural value of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.

Goya painted the dome of the basilica of the Virgen del Pilar in only 44 days.

The first Spanish film in history was shot at the Pilar in 1898.

The Basilica del Pilar is the only Christian building in the world with Taoist symbology. These are the symbols similar to those used in traditional Chinese medicine that adorn some parts of the temple and that feed the theory of Taoist influence in El Pilar. The Jesuit monks returned to Zaragoza after a period as missionaries in China and this may be their explanation.

"In those years, I entrusted my prayer to a simple image of the Virgin of Pilar, so that the Lord would grant me to understand what my soul was already feeling. Domina! -I used to say to her in Latin terms, not precisely classical, but embellished by affection.-I am not a woman, ut sit: Madam, let it be of me what God wants me to be.

St. Josemaría.

Our Lady of the Pillar in the life of St. Josemaria

In the childhood of St. Joseph Mary the Virgin of the Pillar has been a great companion and support. His parents, Aragonese by birth, instilled his devotion in him since he was a child. And this devotion accompanied him until the end of his life.

In the last years of his life, he was accompanied by a small image of the Virgin of Pilar that he kissed every morning when he woke up; and in his workroom, he kept another life-size representation of the Virgin of Pilar.

During the years he spent in Zaragoza, both in the seminary and studying law, his visits to the Virgin were daily. "As I had good friendships with several of the clergymen who looked after the basilica, one day I was able to stay in the church after the doors were closed. I made my way to the Virgin, with the complicity of one of those good priests now deceased. I climbed the few stairs that the children know so well and, approaching, I kissed the image of Our Mother. I knew that this was not the custom, that kissing the mantle was allowed exclusively to the children and the authorities (...)

(...)However, I was and I am sure that my Mother of the Pillar was happy that I skipped for once the established customs in her cathedral. I continue to treat her with filial love. With the same faith with which I invoked her in those times, around the 1920s, when the Lord made me guess what he expected of me: with that same faith I invoke her now (...). Under her protection, I remain always happy and secure". That prayer before Our Lady of the Pillar, asking her to see and be what God wanted for him, prepared the foundation of Opus Dei.

Domina, ut sit! Madam, let it be that... which you want

St. Josemaría celebrated his first solemn Mass in the chapel of El Pilar in Saragossa. When he moved to Madrid and then to Rome, he continued to visit Our Lady whenever he could. The last time was on April 7, 1970.

On June 23, 1992, after the recently celebrated beatification of the Founder of Opus Dei, the then prelate of the Work, Don Álvaro del Portillo, offered a mantle to Our Lady of the Pillar.

On the occasion of this feast, we offer a prayer to ask for her intercession: Blessed Virgin of the Pillar, pray for the Pope and the bishops, for priests and for all Christians, that we may be worthy to attain the promises of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

At the feet of the Virgin

"Now we understand the profound meaning of the Pillar. It is not, nor has it ever been, an occasion for sterile sentimentalism: it establishes a firm foundation on which a real and solid norm of Christian conduct is based. At the Pillar, as at Fatima and Lourdes, at Einsiedeln and Loreto, at the Villa de Guadalupe, and in those thousands of places that Christian piety has built and continues to build for Mary, the children of God are educated in the faith.

History takes us back to the apostolic beginnings, when evangelization, the proclamation of the Good News, began. We are still in that era. For the greatness and eternity of our Lord, two thousand years are nothing. James, Paul, John and Andrew and the other apostles walk with us. Peter sits in Rome, with the watchful duty of confirming all in the obedience of faith. Closing our eyes, we relive the scene recounted to us, as in a recent letter, by St. Luke: all the disciples, animated by the same spirit, persevered together in prayer, with Mary, the mother of Jesus," says St. Josemaría.

Our Lady of the Pillar is a sign of strength in faith, love and hope. With Mary, in the cenacle, we receive the Holy Spirit. He will not abandon his Church. Our Lady will multiply the number of Christians on earth, convinced that it is worthwhile to give one's life for the Love of God.

With the collaboration of: OpusDei.org