The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arantzazu is a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

sanctuary located in

Oñati Oñati ( eu, Oñati, es, Oñate) is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the north of Spain. It has a population of approximately 10,500 and lies in a valley in the center of the Basqu ...

, Basque Country,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The shrine is a much appreciated place among

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

ns, with the Virgin of Arantzazu being the sanctuary's namesake and patron saint of the province along with

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, Society of Jesus, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spain, Spanish Catholic ...

. The place benefits from the highland silence and peaceful atmosphere of the

Aizkorri Aizkorri or Aitzgorri (, meaning in Basque 'bare stone', literally 'red stone') is a massif, the highest one of the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain) with 1,551 m AMSL at its highest point (peak Aitxuri, meaning 'white stone'). The massif ...

mountain range along with a good road infrastructure, so the place is frequently visited by devotees and regional and foreign tourists alike. It is located in the site where presumably the Virgin of Arantzazu appeared to the shepherd Rodrigo de Balanzategui in 1468. Legend has it, the figure of the Virgin was in a thorn-bush, and his exclamation "Arantzan zu?!" (Thou, among the thorns?!) gave rise to the name of the place. According to the linguistic explanation, the name stems from "arantza + zu", 'place abounding in hawthorn'. Arantzazu can be found as a female name in Spain in the forms of ''Arantza'' and ''Arantzazu'' (especially in

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

and

) along with ''Arancha'' (Spanish spelling) or ''Arantxa'' (Basque spelling), much in line with Spanish phonetics. The place is also a starting point for several mountains trails and circuits for hikers that provide access to the meadows of Urbia and on to the mountain range

, to the

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

Aloña and to the lands south and east of the shrine. All the trails are well signalled.

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

granted a

Canonical coronation A canonical coronation ( la, Coronatio Canonica) is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a bull, in which the pope bestows the right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureole to an image of Christ, Mary or Josep ...

to the image on 6 June 1886. A variant

replica A 1:1 replica is an exact copy of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without claiming to be identical. Al ...

bearing its same title was brought to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

in 1705, featuring a standing posture.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

granted a

to the Philippine image on 31 May 2017. The image is currently enshrined in the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Arantzazu in

San Mateo, Rizal San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo ( tgl, Bayan ng San Mateo), is a 1st class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popul ...

Etymology

The name of the sanctuary, the place, and the Virgin are all related to the legend of her appearance. The word ''arantzazu'' itself is made up of "''arantza''" which means "thorn"1 iz. thorn; spine; prickle 2 iz. (hed.) pain; suffering
/ref> and the suffix "''zu''" indicating "abundance",-zu: ''atz'' sufijo abundancial. Bimila hiztegia. Editorial: Elkar S. A. San Sebastián 1991. making the translation "abundance of thorns", making reference to the abundant thorny bushes that grow in the area.

Esteban de Garibay Esteban de Garibay y Zamalloa, sometimes rendered as Çamalloa, was a Basque historian and writer. Biography Garibay was born in the Basque town of Mondragon and initially trained to be a monk, although he left and was married later on. He stud ...

, in his ''Compendio historial de las Chrónicas y universal historia de todos los Reynos d'España'' (1571),Fundación San Millán de la Cogolla. Esteban de Garibay
/ref> states that the Virgin appeared to a young girl named María de Datuxtegui. In the same book, however, he gives another version, which is better known. Garibay says that he heard this story from the mouth of a witness who knew a shepherd named Rodrigo de Balanzategui. This man had said he found a small image of the Virgin with a child in her arms, hidden in a thorny bush, next to a cowbell. Upon seeing it, he exclaimed, ''Arantzan zu?!'', meaning "In the thorns, you?!". This legend again appears in the first history of the sanctuary written by Franciscan Gaspar de Gamarra, twenty years later in 1648: Historian Padre Lizarralde, who created the sanctuary's coat of arms, based its design on the legend, and drew a thorn bush, out of which a star blooms, and with its light it scares away the dragon, sending it into the abyss. The legend reads “Arantzan zu”.

The basilica

In 1950 the works for the new basilica were started, and the building was inaugurated five years later.

Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza (12 October 1918 – 18 July 2000) was a Spanish architect and influential practitioner of the modernist movement in Spain. Biography Born in Cáseda, Navarre, Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza went to school in Se ...

and

Luis Laorga Luis Laorga (1919 - 1990) was a Spanish architect. Luis Laorga was a key architect in the Spanish architecture of the second half of the twentieth century. His contributions are of great relevance, both for his built projects as well as for the way ...

were the leading architects, and other artists also took part in the work: * Lucio Muñoz, the altarpiece *

Jorge Oteiza Jorge Oteiza (October 21, 1908 – April 9, 2003), was a Basque Spanish sculptor, painter, designer and writer from the Basque Autonomous Community, renowned for being one of the main theorists on Basque modern art. Oteiza was born in Or ...

, the sculptures of the Apostles *

Eduardo Chillida Eduardo Chillida Juantegui, or Eduardo Txillida Juantegi in Basque (10 January 1924 – 19 August 2002), was a Spanish Basque sculptor notable for his monumental abstract works. Early life and career Born in San Sebastián (Donostia) to Ped ...

, the entrance gates *

Nestor Basterretxea Nestor Basterretxea Arzadun (6 May 1924 – 12 July 2014) was a Basque Spanish artist, born in Bermeo, Biscay, Basque Autonomous Community. In the 1950s and 1960s, he spearheaded along with other artists such as Jorge Oteiza, Remigio Mendiburu, o ...

, the paintings of the crypt *Xabier Álvarez de Eulate, the

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows The Franciscan convent has been a center for Basque culture even under Franco's repression. The main festivity in Arantzazu is on September 9.

References

Joxe Azurmendi Joxe Azurmendi Otaegi (born 19 March 1941) is a Basque writer, philosopher, essayist and poet. He has published numerous articles and books on ethics, politics, the philosophy of language, technique, Basque literature and philosophy in general ...

, Joseba Intxausti, Javier Garrido, Migel Alonso Del Val (2007): ''The Sanctuary of Arantzatzu'', Fontanellato: FMR,

External links

Arantzazu in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)
(in Spanish)
Sanctuary main page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanctuary Of Arantzazu Churches in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Shrines to the Virgin Mary Franciscan monasteries in Spain Basilica churches in Spain Roman Catholic shrines in Spain