The seventh of the nine-day novena masses that began on Oct. 6 will be held on Thursday, Oct. 12, at the Santa Cruz Parish (Our Lady of Pillar Parish Church) in Manila in observance of the Feast of Our Lady of Pillar.
Also known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament, the Miss Mayor (high mass) in honor of the feast will be celebrated on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 4:30 p.m. to be followed by a solemn procession.
Devotees are invited to light a votive candle for a cause to help support the more than 500 indigent families under the care of the parish. Dubbed as “Liwanag at Tulong ni Inang del Pillar” a glass candle worth Php500 will be able to help one family.
In Zamboanga City, where the image of Nuestra Senora La Virgen del Pillar has been venerated for almost four centuries, a holy mass will be offered at her shrine in Fort Pilar.
Special masses in honor of Our Lady of Pillar will also be offered in parishes placed under her patronage in Imus, Cavite; Tagbilaran City, Bohol; Las Pinas City; Morong, Bataan; and Pilar, Capiz.
At her major shrine, the Basilica of Our Lady of Pillar in Zaragoza, Spain, where miraculous healings had been reported for centuries, the “pillar” or column which was believed to be the one used by the Blessed Mother when she appeared in a vision to St. James the Greater in 44 A.D. has been a point of pilgrimage for many years.
According to accounts, St. James was making very little progress spreading the Gospel in Spain during the early days of the Church. The Blessed Mother, who was still living in Jerusalem at the time, bi-located and appeared to him in a vision atop a pillar carried by angels and encouraged him to continue his apostolate and evangelization work.
The pillar is believed to be the same one venerated in Spain today.