Every October 3, the novena to the Virgin of Pilar begins, the first Marian apparition of all time (around the year 40), which occurred in Zaragoza to Santiago Apóstol, the first evangelizer of Spain.
According to tradition, the Virgin Mary, who was still alive in mortal flesh, appeared in the city of Zaragoza, on top of a column or pillar, and asked Santiago to build a church in that place. The presence of the Mother of God – as on so many other subsequent occasions – gave a great boost at that time to the spread of the message of Christ, strengthening the apostle and those who accompanied him in his mission, and caused thousands to convert.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
As the centuries passed, devotion to the Virgen del Pilar was consolidated, and spread centuries later to America, a continent to which the Spanish and Portuguese arrived since the 15th century. Saint John Paul II, for this reason, in 1984, called the Virgin of Pilar “Patron Saint of Hispanity.”
This beautiful dedication can be entrusted with an apostolic project, the reevangelization – such a current task – of Spain and America, where faith arrived thanks to the maternal care of the Virgin; or, in general, any other intention, since it is the same thing that every Christian can do at any time: invoke the good offices of the Mother of God.
As the celebration of this Marian feast is approaching on October 12, here is a Novena to ask for her intercession:
Central Editorial
The Catholic Information Agency – ACI Prensa, is part of the news agencies of the ACI Group, one of the largest generators of Catholic news content in five languages and which has belonged since June 2014 to the EWTN Global Catholic Network family, the largest Catholic television network in the world, founded in 1981 by Mother Angelica in Irondale, Alabama (United States), and which reaches more than 85 million homes in 110 countries and 16 territories.