"Holy Virgin of the Pillar: increase our faith,strengthen our hope, revive our charity.Help those who suffer misfortune,those who suffer from loneliness, ignoranceor hunger or lack of work.Strengthen the weak in faith.Arouse in the young an availabilityfor a total surrender to God. Amen."

"Our Lady of the Pillar has a special place in the lives of many, not the least of which are those who bear her name. In Spain and in Latin America the name 'Pilar' is commonly given to girls at baptism. At one time in Spain almost everyone wore a medal of Nuestra Senora del Pilar. Our Lady of the Pillar is also immensely important in the history and mission of several religious congregations and movements, especially the Marianist Family founded by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade."

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.
University of Dayton
Source: "Our Lady of the Pillar"

OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR

Feast day: October 12

Traditional date of apparition: January 2, 40 A.D.

Shrine church: This is the first church built in Mary's honor. The present basilica church was built between 1681 and 1961. The previous church was destroyed by fire in 1434. The frescoes were done by Francisco Goya in the early nineteenth century.

Statue: The statue atop the pillar of stone is about one foot in height and depicts the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus, who is holding a dove in his hand. The original statue was destroyed in the 1434 fire. The present statue dates from the mid-fifteenth century. Mantos are skirt-shaped cloaks that drape the pillar on which the statue stands. The use of mantos began in the early sixteenth century, and currently number about 300.

Significant miracle: During the Civil War of the 1930s, two aerial bombs were dropped on the shrine church, but neither exploded. Those bombs now hang on the shrine wall.

Patroness titles: Patroness of Spain, Patroness of All Hispanic Peoples--by declaration of Pope John Paul II in 1984.

Source: University of Dayton, "Our Lady of the Pillar", Brother John M. Samaha S.M. accessed December 9, 2020

Pope Innocent III gave comprehensive approval of the St. James the Greater's vision of the Blessed Mother (bilocated) and entered the following recapitulation into the lessons of the Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar:

Of all the places that Spain offers for the veneration of the devout, the most illustrious is doubtless the sanctuary consecrated to God under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin, under the title of our Lady of the Pillar, at Saragossa. According to ancient and pious tradition, St. James the Greater, led by Providence into Spain, spent some time at Saragossa. He there received a signal favour from the Blessed Virgin. As he was praying with his disciples one night, upon the banks of the Ebro, as the same tradition informs us, the Mother of God, who still lived, appeared to him, and commanded him to erect an oratory in that place. The apostle delayed not to obey this injunction, and with the assistance of his disciples soon constructed a small chapel. In the course of time a larger church was built and dedicated, which, with the dedication of Saint Saviour's, is kept as a festival in the city and Diocese of Saragossa on the 4th of October.

Our Lady of the Pillar is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 40 while he was preaching in what is now Spain. Those who adhere to this belief consider this appearance to be the only recorded instance of Mary exhibiting the mystical phenomenon of bilocation.  Among Catholics, it is also considered the first Marian apparition, being unique due to having occurred while Mary was still living on Earth. 
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Pillar

Basilica Photo: Jiuguang Wang, CC BY-SA 3.0 ES , via Wikimedia Commons