Our Lady of the Pillar

Our Lady of the Pillar is one of the most ancient Marian devotions in Christianity, traditionally dated to the year AD 40. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to the Apostle St. James the Greater in Zaragoza, Spain, while she was still living on earth in Jerusalem. She came to encourage him during a time of discouragement in his mission to evangelize the Iberian Peninsula, assuring him that his efforts would bear fruit.

During this apparition, Mary is said to have stood on a pillar of jasper and asked that a chapel be built in her honor on that very spot. She left the pillar behind as a tangible sign of her presence and promise. This makes Our Lady of the Pillar unique among Marian apparitions, as it is believed to be a bilocation, occurring before Mary’s Assumption into heaven.

Over the centuries, devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar grew steadily, and the small chapel eventually developed into the magnificent Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza. The pillar itself is still venerated today, housed beneath the statue of Mary, and millions of pilgrims visit the shrine each year to seek her intercession and give thanks.

For Catholics, Our Lady of the Pillar symbolizes Mary’s maternal support for the Church’s mission and her closeness to those who struggle in faith or service. She is honored as the patroness of Spain and the Hispanic world, reminding believers that Mary strengthens, sustains, and points the faithful toward perseverance in Christ, even in times of doubt or hardship.