Every October 12, the Mother of God is celebrated under the invocation of the Virgin of Pilar.
According to an ancient tradition, the Apostle James came to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) to preach the Gospel; There, while he was praying, the Virgin Mary appeared to him, standing on top of a pillar or column, in Zaragoza. Saint Mary still lived “in mortal flesh,” which is why this apparition is often referred to as “the arrival of the Virgin.”
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That meeting is the origin of one of the most widespread and beautiful devotions in the Catholic Church: the invocation of Our Lady of Pilar, a symbol of Catholic Hispanicity.
Mary, pillar on which the Church stands
The story happened like this: around the year 40 of the Christian era, Saint James the Apostle, on a night of prayer – on January 2 – on the banks of the Ebro River, in Zaragoza, saw the Mother of Jesus appear before his eyes, on a column. She asked that a temple dedicated to her holy name be built in that same place, and that the pillar on which she was standing be placed next to the altar.
“This place will remain until the end of the world so that the virtue of God may work portents and wonders through my intercession with those who implore my help,” the Virgin Mary told Santiago.
After the appearance, the apostle and his disciples began the construction of the temple, inside which the column remains to this day. Then, the Spaniards and foreigners who visited the place began, little by little, to refer to the image of the Virgin Mary placed next to the altar as “Santa María del Pilar.” The building has been recognized as the first temple in history dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.
Today it is clear that the passing of the centuries testifies to how what was promised by the Mother of God to the Apostle James has been fulfilled: the Pillar remains standing, firm, until today. There has been no war, no invasion, no attack in the modern era – like the bombs dropped during the Spanish civil war – that could have altered the holy place.
America, under the protection of the Virgin of Pilar
The American continent, evangelized by Spanish missionaries since the 16th century, was established as such under the protection of the Mother of God; and today, in times when the evangelizing spirit must be renewed, it continues to develop its identity under the auspices and protection of the Virgin of Pilar.
She was the protector of the brave missionaries who came to American lands to announce Christ to those who did not know him. In that sense, due to its historical significance, the arrival of Christopher Columbus for the first time to the New Continent, on October 12, 1492, has been designated as the day of the Virgin of the Pilar of Zaragoza, since both Columbus’s trip and the evangelizing feat were placed at the feet of the Virgin of Pilar, asking for their custody and offering her their fruits.
It was no coincidence that, in 1984, ad portas of the celebration of the V Centenary of the Evangelization of America (1992), Pope Saint John Paul II recognized the Virgin of Pilar as “the Patron Saint of Hispanicity.”
Today, those who recognize themselves as Hispanic around the world feel grateful for the Marian gift and for receiving an identity that invites them again to announce Jesus in a world that cries out for the love of God.
Happy Virgin of Pilar Day! Through the Pilar faith came to us! Happy day of evangelizing Hispanicity!
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Central Editorial
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