On October 12, Pilar Fathers of the Society of the Missionaries of St Francis Xavier (Society of Pilar) celebrate the feast of their patroness, Our Lady of Pilar. The word ‘pilar’ in the Spanish language means pillar on which Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to James, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus at Zaragoza in Spain in the first century while she was still living in Jerusalem. Following the command of Jesus to the Apostles, ‘Go into the entire world and preach gospel to the whole creation’ (Mk. 16:15), James reached the territory of Spain, then the Roman province of Hispania. His preaching fell on deaf ears and he was heartsick at his unsuccessful mission of bringing Christianity to the region. At that juncture he remembered Blessed Virgin Mary.
According to ancient Spanish tradition, on October 12, 40 AD, the Virgin Mary appeared to James while he was praying at the bank of Ebro River in Zaragoza. The apostle, tired and defiant with a pressing desire to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all, entrusted his discouragement to prayer. It was in this context that a miracle happened before his eyes. Enveloped in a dazzling light, the Virgin Mary appeared in a bilocation. She encouraged him to preach the Gospel in that region and extended him her maternal help and care and also told him to consecrate a church in that place in her honour. After this apparition, his mission of preaching was successful and the Hispanic people accepted the faith in Jesus Christ. This is the first and the only apparition of Virgin Mary while she was still alive. While she appeared to James on a pillar of jasper, the angels held the pillar in their hands. They left that pillar at the place of the apparition as a symbol of protection and to mark the spot where she appeared.
In 40 AD, James built a chapel over there and placed the apparition pillar in it. The devotees of Our Lady of Pilar began revering this pillar. Later, the chapel was raised to the status of a church and came to be known as ‘Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar.’ In 1930, Pope Pius XI granted to this church the status of a basilica known as ‘Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar.’
Franciscan Capuchins brought this devotion to Our Lady of Pilar to Goa in the 17th century. In 1613, on a hillock in the vicinity of Goa Velha, they built a monastery and a church attached to the monastery which was dedicated to Our Lady of Pilar. Since then the hillock came to be known as Pilar.
Archbishop of Goa Dom Christóvão de Sá Lisboa laid the foundation stone on July 17, 1612. The construction was supervised by Fernao de Chromo and Amaro de Rocha. The Franciscan Capuchins found Pilar hillock conducive for prayer and meditation. The Church attracted the Catholics living below Pilar hillock to climb up and spend time in prayer and attend Mass. The statue of Our Lady of Pilar placed on the pedestal in the church was brought from Spain in 1952. After worshipping this statue in the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar at Zaragoza in Spain for three days, it was brought to Pilar and kept in an honourable place in the church.
Archbishop-Patriarch of Goa Dom Antonio Sebastião Valente gifted the monastery to the Society of Pilar which was founded by Fr Bento Martins in Agonda. After shifting the headquarters of the Society from Agonda to Pilar on February 4, 1890, the Society adopted Our Lady of Pilar as its patroness and thereafter, the Pilar Fathers began celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Pilar every year on October 12, solemnly with great ardour and devotion.
On the day of Vespers preceding the feast, a procession with the statue of Our Lady of Pilar is being organized from the Minor Seminary at Batim to the Mission Seminary on Pilar hillock followed by Vespers. On the way, the Catholic and Hindu families living below the Pilar hillock garland the statue of Our Lady of Pilar with flowers and some of them incense
it devoutly.