Our Lady of the Pillar

Our Lady of the Pillar
The image of Our Lady of the Pillar, as presently enshrined at the main basilica
Location	Zaragoza, Spain
Date	12 October 40 AD
Type	Marian Apparition
Holy See approval	Pope Callixtus III Pope Pius X
Shrine	Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Zaragoza, Spain
Patronage	Zaragoza, Spain, Melo, Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Imus, Cavite, Zamboanga City, Santa Cruz, Manila, Alaminos, Laguna, San Simon, Pampanga, Libmanan, Camarines Sur, Pilar and Morong in Bataan, Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro, Sibonga, Cebu
Attributes	The Blessed Virgin Mary carrying the Child Jesus atop a pillar, surrounded by two or more angels

Our Lady of the Pillar (Spanish: Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in connection with an ancient Spanish tradition that she appeared to the Apostle James the Greater as he was praying by the banks of the Ebro at Zaragoza. Mary is often depicted carrying the Christ Child on her arms resting above a pillar, sometimes carried by angelic cherubs.

The Virgin Mary is invoked under this title as the Patroness of Spain, of the Spanish Civil Guard and of the Hispanic world. The celebrated wooden image is enshrined at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza. The statue was granted a Canonical Coronation by Pope Saint Pius X on 20 May 1905.

Christian tombs at Saragossa, dating from Roman days, appear to bear images representing the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. The oldest written testimony of devotion to the Blessed Virgin in Saragossa is usually identified as that of Pedro Librana in 1155.

According to ancient Spanish tradition, on 12 October 40 AD, in the early days of Christianity, James the Greater, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, was preaching the Gospel in what was then the pagan land of Zaragoza, in the Roman province of Hispania. He was disheartened with his mission, having made only a few converts. While he was praying by the banks of the Ebro River with some of his disciples, Mary miraculously appeared before him atop a pillar accompanied by angels. Mary and Angels performed a variety of most unnatural activities and assured James that the people would eventually be converted and their faith would be as strong as the pillar she was standing on. She gave him the pillar as a symbol and a wooden image of herself. James was also instructed to build a chapel on the spot where she left the pillar.