Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, Patron of Spain - October 12th

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OCTOBER 12 - Our Lady of the Pillar, Patron of Spain

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger  (1841-1875)

Known to all Spaniards is the story of the ancient and pious tradition. The Apostle Santiago walked along the banks of the Ebro, announcing the good news to the brave and untamed Iberians. The indifference of his listeners had him saddened and he was already on the verge of fainting when the Virgin Mary appeared to him one night, announcing that his works would not be sterile and that the seed spilled by him and lovingly protected by her virginal hands would bear fruit. of blessing through the ages. Encouraged by this vision, the Apostle continued his evangelizing work, preserving indelible memory of that place that had been sanctified with the presence of the Mother of God and the Pillar on which its plants had perched.

There a temple was later built that is the current basilica of Pilar in Zaragoza, source of graces, scene of forgiveness and conversions, center of pilgrimages that come there from all over Spain, which considers the Virgen del Pilar as its heavenly patron, and to Pilar himself, as a symbol of his faith and the center of his religious fervor, always powerful and sincere. From that throne, in which Our Lady receives the homage of all Spaniards, she pours out her graces in all directions, watches over the preservation of the faith, and kindly prays for the flowering of the immense and lush tree of Hispanity. Oh Mother, our Mother of Pilar, who has freed Spain from so many dangers through the centuries and who signifies with miracles, like that of the young man from Calanda, to whom you restored the foot that was cut and buried.