Our Lady of the Pillar () is the name given to the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle

James the Greater James the Great (Koine Greek, Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Syriac language, Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Accordi ...

in AD 40 while he was preaching in what is now

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Those who adhere to this belief consider this appearance to be the only recorded instance of Mary exhibiting the mystical phenomenon of bilocation. Among

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, it is also considered the first

Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance of Mary, the mother of Jesus. While sometimes described as a type of vision, apparitions are generally regarded as external manifestations, whereas visions are more often understood as ...

, and unique because it happened while Mary was still living on Earth. This title is also associated with a wooden image commemorating the apparition, which is now enshrined at the

Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar () is a Catholic church in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon. It is dedicated to the Mary, mother of Jesus, Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Pillar, praised as "Mother of the His ...

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. Pope Callixtus III granted

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

s for visitors to the shrine in 1456.

Pope Innocent XIII Pope Innocent XIII (; ; 13 May 1655 – 7 March 1724), born as Michelangelo dei Conti, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 May 1721 to his death in March 1724. He remains the most recent pope to take the ...

in 1730 mandated her veneration throughout the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. On 20 May 1905, Pope Pius X granted the image a

canonical coronation A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...

. Our Lady of the Pillar is considered the Patroness of

and its capital

Hispanic people The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term. The term commonly applie ...

, the Hispanic world, and of the

Spanish Civil Guard The Civil Guard (; ) is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Minis ...

. Her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is 12 October, which coincides with the National Day of Spain.

History

Early tradition

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

tradition holds that, in the early days of Christianity, the Apostles of Jesus spread the Gospel throughout the known world, with

evangelizing in Roman Hispania (modern-day

). He confronted great difficulties in his missionary efforts and faced severe discouragement. In AD 40, while he was praying by the banks of the

Ebro The Ebro (Spanish and Basque ; , , ) is a river of the north and northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain. It rises in Cantabria and flows , almost entirely in an east-southeast direction. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea, forming a de ...

at Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), Mary bilocated from

, where she was living at the time, and appeared to James, accompanied by thousands of

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

s, to console and encourage him. Some of the earliest archaeological evidence of Marian devotion in

is found in Christian tombs dating from the Roman period, which appear to bear images representing the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. In the 4th century, the presence of votive images placed on columns or pillars is attested. The oldest written testimony of devotion to the Blessed Virgin in Zaragoza is usually identified as that of Pedro Librana in 1155.March, J.M. (1911)
"Nuestra Señora Del Pilar" from ''New Advent: The Catholic Encyclopedia''
New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 26 February 2013. There is evidence that the site attracted pilgrims from across the Iberian Peninsula during the 13th century, e.g. reflected in the work ''Milagros de Nuestra Señora'' by Gonzalo de Berceo, dated to the 1250s or early 1260s. The appellation ''Santa María del Pilar'' is attested for 1299. The claim that the first church had been the oldest in Hispania, built in AD 40 by

, is first recorded in 1318. A book by Michael O'Neil (2015) called ''Exploring the Miraculous'' indicates that there are various traditions about earliest approvals by the church of this Marian apparition. From his book: "For example, one of the great pilgrimage sites in Spain, Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, originating in a miracle and housing an ancient jasper Marian image on a column, did not always recognize Our Lady under this title. According to the legend relating to the apostle St. James the Greater and his travels in Spain, on January 2 in the year 40, he was disheartened with his lack of success in proclaiming the gospel in Caesaraugusta (present-day Zaragoza) by the river Ebro, when he saw Mary (still alive at the time) miraculously appear on a pillar, comforting him and calling him to return to Jerusalem. The first written mention of the Virgin of Zaragoza comes from a bishop in the middle of the twelfth century, and Zaragoza's co-cathedral's name did not originally include a reference to El Pilar, being called Santa Maria Mayor. In 1296, Pope Boniface VIII conferred an indulgence on pilgrims visiting this shrine but still without mention of Our Lady of the Pillar. One of the legal councils of Zaragoza first wrote about Our Lady under this title in 1299, promising safety and privileges to pilgrims who came to visit the shrine. In 1456, Pope Calixtus III issued a bull encouraging pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Pillar and confirming the name and the miraculous origin. So, despite the lack of early extant texts about the miracle story and the name of this devotion, the enduring tradition delivers the story to us today." In other interpretations, the tradition of the

can be traced to the 15th century: In either 1434 or 1435, a fire destroyed the alabaster altarpiece. The replacement altarpiece features bas-relief representations of the Marian apparition. The image of the Virgen del Pilar venerated today also dates to this period. It executed in the late Gothic style of Juan de la Huerta. Pope Calixtus III in a bull issued on 23 September 1456 declares a seven-year

for those who visit Our Lady of Saragossa. The text of the bull specifically mentions a pillar, for the first time suggesting the existence of an image known as ''Our Lady of the Pillar''. The feast day of 12 October was officially introduced by the Council of Zaragoza in 1640. According to the account by María de Ágreda (d. 1665) in her '' Mystical City of God'', Mary, mother of Jesus, was transported from Jerusalem to Hispania during the night, on a cloud carried by angels. During the journey, the angels also built a pillar of marble, and a miniature image of Mary with the Child Jesus.

Approval

The apparition of Our Lady of the Pillar was accepted as canonical by

in 1723. So many contradictions had arisen concerning the miraculous origin of the church that Spain appealed to Innocent XIII to settle the controversy. After careful investigation, the twelve cardinals, in whose hands the affair rested, adopted the following account, which was approved by the

Sacred Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a Congregation (Roman Curia), congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by ''Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it was divided into two separate congregations by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 196 ...

on 7 August 1723, and later inserted in the lessons of the office of the feast of our Lady of the Pillar, celebrated on 12 October: Pilar_Santa_Capilla_12

James returned to Jerusalem with some of his disciples where he became a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

, beheaded in AD 44 during the reign of

Herod Agrippa Herod Agrippa I ( Roman name: Marcus Julius Agrippa; ), also simply known as Herod Agrippa, Agrippa I, () or Agrippa the Great, was the last king of Judea. He was a grandson of Herod the Great and the father of Herod Agrippa II, the last known k ...

. His disciples allegedly returned his body to Spain. The year AD 40 is the earliest recognised Marian apparition in the Catholic Church, dating to a time when Mary, the mother of Jesus, was still alive.

Pope Clement XII Pope Clement XII (; ; 7 April 16526 February 1740), born Lorenzo Corsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1730 to his death in February 1740. Clement presided over the growth of a surplus in the papal ...

allowed the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar all over the

in 1730. Since the feast day (12 October) coincides with the discovery of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

(12 October 1492), Mary was later named as Patroness of the Hispanic World under this title.(2011-10-12)
"At the centre of Marian faith: Spain's National Holiday and the Feast of the Virgin of Pilar"
Custodia Terræ Sanctæ. Retrieved on 25 February 2013.

Image

Zaragoza

A fire in 1434 burned down the church that preceded the present basilica. The construction of the present Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Zaragoza was started in 1681 and ended in 1711. Virgen del Pilar sin manto

The wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is in the Late Gothic style. It stands tall, on a pillar of

jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

with a height of . The statue depicts Mary with the Child Jesus on her left arm, who has a

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

sitting on his left palm. Some reports state that an earlier wooden image was destroyed when the church burned down in 1434,John M. Samaha, �
Our Lady of the Pillar
” ''All About Mary''. International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton. consistent with an attribution of the current image to Juan de la Huerta (d. 1462) or his school. It appears that folk belief in some cases may be inclined to regard the Saragossa image as miraculous, sculptured by the angels as they transported Mary from Jerusalem to Saragossa (Zaragoza); this mystical tradition goes back to María de Ágreda (d. 1665), herself the object of frequent "mystical bilocation" (i.e. she reported that she was often "transported by the aid of the angels" ), who gave an account to this effect in her '' Mystical City of God''; however, unlike the tradition of the Marian apparition itself, the miraculous origin of the image is not part of the tradition recognized by the Holy See as canonical. Since the 16th century, the pillar is usually draped in a skirt-like cover called ''manto'' "mantle". As a whole, it is protected by a bronze case and then another case of silver.Javier Mendívil
"The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Saragossa, Spain"
(pasapues.es). Retrieved on 25 February 2013. The image was canonically crowned in 1905 during the reign of Pope Pius X. The crown was designed by the Marquis of Griñi, valued at 450,000 pesetas (c.

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

2.6 million as of 2017).

Other depictions

''Our Lady of the Pillar'' is a common motif of the

Madonna and Child In Christian art, a Madonna () is a religious depiction of the Blessed Virgin Mary in a singular form or sometimes accompanied by the Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word ...

in Spanish art; extant examples other than the Saragossa image date from the Renaissance period onward. Depictions become especially numerous following the introduction of the feast day throughout the Spanish Empire in 1730. File:Retablo de la capilla de la Virgen del Pilar, Catedral de Albarracín - 03.jpg, Statue of ''Our Lady of the Pillar'' by Cosme Damián Bas (c. 1570), part of the main altarpiece of Albarracín Cathedral File:Ayerbe m.r. Virgen del Pilar.jpg, Baroque-era statue of ''Our Lady of the Pillar'', by "Esteban Pérez de Anies", dated 1642 File:Venida de la Virgen del Pilar (Ximenez de Maza).jpg, Painting of ''Our Lady of the Pillar'', by Francisco Jiménez Maza (1655) File:Buenos Aires iglesia del Pilar imagen titular lou.jpg, Statue of ''Our Lady of the Pillar'', part of the main altarpiece of the Basílica Nuestra Señora del Pilar in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

(1732) File:Fort Pilar Shrine el Altar.JPG, The shrine of ''Our Lady of the Pillar'' in

Fort Pilar The Real Fuerte de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (''Royal Fort of Our Lady of the Pillar of Saragossa''), also Fort Pilar, is a 17th-century military defense fortress built by the History of the Philippines (1521–1898), Spanish colonial g ...

Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (; ; Subanen languages, Subanen: ''Bagbenwa Sembwangan''; Sama–Bajaw languages, Sama: ''Lungsud Samboangan''; ; ; ) is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city i ...

, Philippines (1734) File:Virgen del Pilar, Hospital de Pobres y Peregrinos (Tuy).jpg, Sculpture of ''Our Lady of the Pillar'' (1752) above the entrance to the ''Hospital de Pobres y Peregrinos'' in

Tui, Pontevedra Tui (; ) is a municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. It is located in the ''comarca'' of O Baixo Miño on the right bank of the Miño River, facing the Po ...

File:El apóstol Santiago y sus discípulos adorando a la Virgen del Pilar.jpg, St. James and his disciples venerating ''Our Lady of the Pillar'', painting by

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

(c. 1775–1780) File:Venida_de_la_Virgen_del_Pilar_(Pablo_Serrano).jpg, Zaragoza - the Pillar - Relief of the Virgin of Pablo Serrano Image:Monumento a Colón (Madrid) 03.jpg, Relief of ''Our Lady of the Pillar'' on the monument to

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

in Columbus Square (

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Spain), completed in 1885 File:SAAM-1996.91.8 1.jpg, La Virgen del pilar (Late 18th century), Puerto Rico

Feast day

The feast of Our Lady of the Pillar is celebrated on 12 October and she is the Patroness of the

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

peoples and the

. A grand nine-day festival known as ''

Fiestas del Pilar The Fiestas del Pilar are an annual festival celebrated in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon, in honour of the patron saint of the city, the ''Our Lady of the Pillar, Virgen del Pilar'' (Our Lady of the Pillar). The week long festival takes place e ...

'' is celebrated in Saragossa (Zaragoza) every year in her honour. The modern ''Fiestas del Pilar'', as they developed since the 19th century, begin on the weekend preceding 12 October and they end on the Sunday after 12 October (i.e. they move between 5–13 and 11–19 October). They were declared as a "national holiday of touristic interest" (''Fiesta de Interés Turístico Nacional'') by the '' Ministerio de Comercio y Turismo'' in 1980. As 12 October coincides with the day of the year 1492 when

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

was first sighted on Columbus's First Voyage, the '' Fiesta de la Raza Española'', first proposed in 1913 by Faustino Rodríguez-San Pedro y Díaz-Argüelles to fall on the same date. In the United States, this was later called "

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas. He went ashore at ...

", as Columbus tends to be more associated with Italy and Italian-Americans, rather than the Spanish and Latin America in the U.S. The ''Fiesta de la Raza Española'' was declared the national holiday of Spain in a decree by

Antonio Maura Antonio Maura Montaner (2 May 1853 – 13 December 1925) was Prime Minister of Spain on five separate occasions. Early life Maura was born in Palma de Mallorca, Palma, on the island of Mallorca, he was the seventh child in a family of t ...

and king Alfonso XIII of 1918. The alternative name ''Día de la Hispanidad'' was proposed in the late 1920s by Ramiro de Maeztu, based on a suggestion by Zacarías de Vizcarra. After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, on 12 October 1939, the ''Día de la Raza'' was celebrated in Saragossa (Zaragoza), presided by

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

, with a special devotion to the ''Virgen del Pilar''. Chilean foreign vice-secretary Germán Vergara Donoso commented that the "profound significance of the celebration was the intimate inter-penetration of the homage to the Race and the devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar, i.e. the symbol of the ever more extensive union between America and Spain." The name of ''Día de la Hispanidad'' was introduced as the official name of the national holiday in a decree of 9 January 1958. During the transition to democracy, there was a proposal to shift the national day to 6 December, the day of adoption of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

, but in the end, in a decree of 1982, the day of 12 October was retained, under the name of ''Fiesta Nacional de España y Día de la Hispanidad''. In 1987, the name was reduced to just ''Día de la Fiesta Nacional de España''.

Veneration of Our Lady of the Pillar around the world

Pilar, short for Maria del Pilar, is a common Spanish given name, with

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

on the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar.

Caribbean

* Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Río Piedras Pueblo, Puerto Rico, United States * Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Pilar,

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar and St. Raphael in

Melo, Uruguay Melo () is the capital city of the Cerro Largo Department of north-eastern Uruguay. As of the census of 2023, it is the ninth most populated city of the country with a population of 56,013. Geography Location It is located at the center of the de ...

* Nuestra Señora del Pilar, Recoleta neighbourhood,

, Argentina * Nuestra Señora del Pilar,

Pilar, Buenos Aires Pilar is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is part of the Greater Buenos Aires urban conurbation and is the seat of the administrative division of Pilar Partido. It is located about 51 km northwest of downtown Buenos Aires. As of the ...

Province, Argentina * Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar,

São João del-Rei São João del-Rei is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. Founded in 1713 in homage to king John V of Portugal, the city is famed for its historic Portuguese colonial architecture. The current population is estimated at 90,225 i ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Philippines

In the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, ruled by Spain for over three hundred years, Our Lady of the Pillar is honored as the

patroness Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of a number of

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es and

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

; seven are named ''Pilar'' in her honor. There are towns named Pilar in the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

of Abra,

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

Bohol Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol (; ), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 minor surrounding islands. It is home to Bohola ...

Capiz Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

, Surigao del Norte and

Sorsogon Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon ( Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in the island of Luzon and ...

. As in Spain, her

is celebrated every 12 October. * In

, the Virgin of the Pillar has been venerated for almost four centuries as the patroness of the city and in the Archdiocese of Zamboanga. The

bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

of her atop the eastern gate of the 17th-century Spanish military

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

dedicated to the Virgin,

(Full name: Royal Fort of our Virgin Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza, ''El Fuerte Real de Nuestra Señora Virgen del Pilar de Zaragoza''), is now a

Marian shrine. The city also has a street named after her – Pilar Street. * In

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

, a shrine in honor of ''Nuestra Señora del Pilar'' in Magsaysay Park was built through the collaborative efforts of Circulo Zamboangueño de Davao, a local group of transposed from Zamboanga City. * ''Our Lady of the Pillar'' is also the patroness of Santa Cruz parish church in the district of the same name, in the city of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. The

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

brought the patroness when they administered the church during the Spanish era. Her

is also celebrated every 12 October in the district. However, the church has its Marian procession in the 3rd week of October. The image was canonically crowned on 7 December 2017. * ''Our Lady of the Pillar'' is the patroness of

Imus Imus (), officially the City of Imus (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and ''de jure'' Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 cens ...

, Cavite and the Diocese of Imus enshrined at the Imus Cathedral in Cavite. The city celebrates its fiesta every October with the ''Karakol'', a ritual dance-procession performed in fiestas around the province of

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

. The image was canonically crowned on 3 December 2012. * Our Lady of the Pillar is also the patroness, with 12 October as the feast day, in the following places: **City of Cauayan, Isabela. **Town of Morong, Bataan. **Don Rufino Alonzo Sr. Street

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ; Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Cotabato''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, inde ...

Maguindanao. **Town of Baleno, Masbate. **Town of Pilar, Bataan. **Town of Pilar, Bohol. **Town of Pilar, Capiz **Town of Pilar, Sorsogon. **Town of San Simon, Pampanga. **Town of Sibonga, Cebu. ** Town of Alaminos, Laguna. **Town of Mamburao,

Occidental Mindoro Occidental Mindoro (), officially the Province of Occidental Mindoro ( or ''Lalawigan ng Occidental Mindoro''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The province occupies the western half of the island of Mindoro. I ...

. **Town & Diocese of Libmanan,

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur (; ), officially the Province of Camarines Sur (Central Bikol language, Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Habagatan na Camarines''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its ca ...

** Brgy. Kalubkob, Silang, Cavite ** Brgy. Guinsay,

Danao, Cebu Danao, officially the City of Danao (; ), is a component city in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 156,321 people. Danao is within the Metro Cebu area. Etymology According to the most po ...

** Brgy. New Guinlo, Taytay, Palawan ** Brgy. Del Pilar, Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija ** Brgy. Lumbangan, Nasugbu, Batangas ** Brgy. Indangan, Makilala, Cotabato ** Brgy. Maao, Bago, Negros Occidental

References

* De Plancy, J. Collin (1852), "Legends of the Blessed Virgin", London
261–267
*Lasagabáster Arratíbel, Daniel (1999), ''Historia de la Santa Capilla de Nuestra Señora del Pilar'', Zaragoza (Reyes de Aragón, 5), . *Nogués y Secall, Mariano (1862). '' Historia crítica y apologética de la Virgen nuestra señora del Pilar de Zaragoza y de su templo y tabernáculo desde el siglo I hasta nuestros días'', Madrid, Alejandro Gómez Fuentenebro. *O'Neill, Michael ''Exploring the Miraculous'' (2015) Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. Huntington, Indiana 46750, (Inventory No. T1585)

External links

Archdiocese of Zaragoza Official Website (in Spanish)International Marian Research Institute
at the University of Dayton. The institute, a leading center for research and scholarship on the Blessed Virgin Mary, has a vast presence in cyberspace.
Marian Library
at the University of Dayton. The Marian Library is the world's largest repository of books, periodicals, artwork, and artifacts on Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. {{Madonna styles

Our Lady of the Pillar Our Lady of the Pillar () is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 40, AD 40 while he was pre ...

Pillar Pillar Pillar History of Catholicism in Spain Catholic holy days Statues of the Madonna and Child Marian devotions