The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arantzazu is a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

church located in

Oñati Oñati (, ) 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 Basque country. It lies abo ...

, Basque Country,

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 ...

. The church is a much-loved place among

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) 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 department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

ns, as the Virgin of Arantzazu is the shrine’s namesake and

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of the province, alongside

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...

. It is built on the site where the Virgin of Arantzazu reportedly appeared to the shepherd Rodrigo de Balanzategui in 1468. Legend has it the figure of the Virgin was in a thorn-bush, and the boy exclaimed "''Arantzan zu?!''" (Thou, among the thorns?!), giving rise to the name of the place. A linguistic explanation is the name stems from ''arantza'' + ''zu'' meaning “place abounding in hawthorn”.

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

granted 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 ...

to the image on 6 June 1886. Arantzazu is a female name in Spain in the forms ''Arantza'' and ''Arantzazu'' (especially in

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

and

), along with ''Arancha'' (Spanish spelling) or ''Arantxa'' (Basque spelling), in line with Spanish phonetics. 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 Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community (Spain) with 1,551 m Above mean sea level, AMSL at its hig ...

mountain range along with good road infrastructure, so it is frequently visited by pilgrims and tourists. It is also a starting point for well-signalled mountains trails and circuits for hikers that provide access to the meadows of Urbia and on to the Aizkorri, the

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

Aloña and the lands south and east of the shrine. A replica with the same title was brought to 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 ...

in 1705 during the Spanish colonial era, and is unique for showing the Virgin standing. On 31 May 2017,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

granted a

to the Philippine image, venerated at the National Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Aránzazu in

San Mateo, Rizal San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 273,306 ...

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

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

, 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), 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?!"."Sanctuary of Arantzazu", Turismo Euskadi
/ref> 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, work on the new basilica 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 were the leading architects, and other artists also took part in the work: *

Lucio Muñoz Lucio Muñoz (27 December 1929 – 24 May 1998) was a Spanish abstract painter and engraver. Biography Muñoz was the son of Lucio Muñoz, a shopkeeper, and Nicolasa Martínez. Born on 27 December 1929 in Madrid, he was the youngest of tw ...

, the altarpiece *

Jorge Oteiza Jorge Oteiza (October 21, 1908 – April 9, 2003), was a Basques, Basque Spain, Spanish sculpture, sculptor, painting, painter, designer and writing, writer from the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, renowned for being one of th ...

, the sculptures of the Apostles *

Eduardo Chillida Eduardo Chillida Juantegui (Basque: ''Eduardo Txillida Juantegi''; 10 January 1924 – 19 August 2002) was a Spanish Basque sculptor notable for his abstract works. Early life and career Born in San Sebastián (Donostia) to Pedro Chillida an ...

, the entrance gates * Nestor Basterretxea, the paintings of the crypt *Xabier Álvarez de Eulate, the

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows *

, doors The Franciscan convent has been a center for Basque culture, even under Franco's repression. The main festivity in Arantzazu is the Virgin’s

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 ...

on September 9.

Gallery

File:Exterior of Sanctuary of Arantzazu 03.jpg File:Exterior of Sanctuary of Arantzazu 01.jpg File:Exterior of Sanctuary of Arantzazu 05.jpg File:Exterior of Sanctuary of Arantzazu 03.jpg File:Interior of the Sanctuary of Arantzazu 05.jpg File:Interior of the Sanctuary of Arantzazu 01.jpg File:Interior of the Sanctuary of Arantzazu 02.jpg File:Interior of the Sanctuary of Arantzazu 04.jpg

References

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

, 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 Oñati Buildings and structures in Gipuzkoa