Veritas et Lux

Our Lady of the Pillar, or Nuestra Señora del Pilar, was a Marian apparition in Zaragoza, Spain. The tradition surrounding Our Lady of the Pillar is one of the oldest Marian devotions in the Catholic Church. Around 40 AD, not long after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the apostles scattered and preached the Gospel, but they faced challenges.

One of the original apostles, St. James the Greater, was preaching in what is now Spain, but his efforts were met with little success. He was disheartened and struggled with his mission. While St. James was praying by the banks of the Ebro River in Zaragoza with some of his converts, the Virgin Mary appeared to him. This was unique because the Virgin Mary was still alive at the time living in Jerusalem.

Mary appeared on a pillar of marble accompanied by angels. She instructed St. James to build a church on the spot where she appeared. She assured him that his place would be a center of devotion and a source of strength for the Christian faith. St. James, along with his disciples, immediately began constructing a small chapel in honor of the Virgin Mary. This chapel is considered to be the first church dedicated to Mary.

After completing the chapel, St. James continued his missionary work in Spain for a while longer before returning to Jerusalem, where he was martyred.

Over the centuries, the original chapel was replaced by larger structures to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims that visited. The present Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar is a grand Baroque-style church that was built in 1681.

The image of Our Lady of the Pillar is a wooden statue of Mary holding the Child Jesus. Devotion to her is particularly strong in Spain, where she is considered the Patroness of Spain and of the Spanish Civil Guard.

Our Lady of the Pillar statue in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, Spain.