Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zamboanga - The Powerful Queen of Mindanao
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| Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zamboanga |
But as the years passed by, the military fort was dramatically transformed into a spiritual fort - for it was in this fort that the Mother of God once again demonstrated her powerful protection of her children from the enemies and her devout children in turn honored her, Chrisitian or non-Christian in thanksgiving of the protection that granted to the people of Zamboanga, and in Minadanao.
The Image
The venerable image of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zamboanga is a bas relief image located on top most part of the facade of Fort Pilar. The image is that of the Madonna and Child standing on the Pillar based from the apparition/bilocation to Apostle St. James the Great in Zaragoza, Spain where she asked to build a shrine in her honor to ease his difficulty on Evangelizing the Spaniards during the Roman regime. St. James in turn followed her instructions and the Spaniards were converted.
The Virgin is seen holding her Son and arrayed in white and blue robes with gold trimmings. An imperial crown for the Mother and Son and the diagnostic Doce Estrellas are also seen in the wall image and there were two angels
The inscriptions of the imageBeneath the image, there is a inscription that can be seen and read as follows: "Reigning [King of] (sic) Spain, his Catholic Majesty Philip V Emperor of the American new world and Governing these Philippine Islands the most illustrious Ferdinand Bustilo and Rueda Field Marshall and Captain General. This Royal Fort of Our Blessed Lady of Pilar of Zaragoza was established and reconstructed which was accomplished by the IIlustrous General Goria Padilla and Escalante on April 8, 1719."
Another inscription was also written beneath the image and read as follows: "Governing this Penitentiary Juan Antonio de la Torre Bustamante this frontspiece was built in January 1734." The inscriptions that are found beneath the image shows us the origin of the relief image that was etched in facade of the Fort that this image will soon gather many devotees for centuries to come.
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| Fort Pilar at present |
In 1635, upon the requests of the Jesuit missionaries and Bishop Fray Pedro of Cebu, the Spanish governor of the Philippines Juan Cerezo de Salamanca (1633–1635) approved the building of a stone fort in defense against pirates and raiders of the sultans of Mindanao and Jolo. The cornerstone of the fort, originally called Real Fuerza de San José (Royal Fort of Saint Joseph), was laid by Padre Melchor de Vera, a Jesuit priest-engineer, on June 23, 1635, which also marks the founding of Zamboanga as a city, then known as Jambangan.
The construction of the early fort continued within the governorship of Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera (1635–1644), ex-governor of Panama. Because of insufficient manpower, laborers from Cavite, Cebu, Bohol, and Panay had to be imported to help the Spaniards and Mexicans in the construction of the fort. This period also marks the beginning of the Zamboangueño Chavacano as a pidgin that eventually developed into a full-fledged creole language for Zamboangueños.
Fort San José was attacked by the Dutch in 1646 and was later abandoned by the Spanish troops who went back to Manila in 1662 to help fight the Chinese pirate Koxinga who had earlier defeated the Dutch. In 1669, the fort was reconstructed by the Jesuit missionaries after pirates and raiders continued to destroy it. Years later in 1718–1719, the fort was rebuilt by the Spaniard engineer Juan Sicarra upon the orders of Spanish Governor General Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante y Rueda and was renamed as Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza (Royal Fort of Our Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza) in honor of the Patroness of Spain, Our Lady of the Pillar. During the War years, the Fort was destroyed and abandoned yet restoration was started in the early part of 1980 by the National Museum of the Philippines, which reconstructed three of the four structures inside the fort. Prior to the Restoration, Fort Pilar was recognized as a National Cultural Treasure on August 1, 1973 by Presidential Decree No. 260, The area were the wall image is seen evolved to an outdoor shrine where devotees flock their Protectress. Masses, devotions and votive offerings are seen
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| Details of the bas relief image |
When the relief of Our Lady of the Pillar was placed above the wall of the fort in 1734, many reported miraculous events took place. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to a soldier on December 6, 1734, at the gate of the city. The soldier tried to halt her entrance but later realized that it was the Blessed Virgin, he went down on his knees and ask for pardon. The Virgin disappeared and when he looked at the wall image, he realized that its the same woman that he saw.
On September 21, 1897 at 1:14 PM in the afternoon, a strong earthquake struck the western region of Mindanao. The Virgin Mary made an apparition, and according to the people who witnessed it, they saw the virgin standing mid-air over the Basilan Strait. She had her right hand raised to signal the onrushing waves to stop, saving the city from a tsunami.
Miracles of the Virgin
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| The processional image |
The unexpected victory over the English ships on January 21, 1798 won by a much inferior land forces was considered as a significant aid from the Patroness of the Fort. The revolt of the prisoners kept in the fort on September 15th 1872 that threatened a wholesale looting of the town was miraculously crushed by an unexplained turn of event.
The Blessed Mother not only protect the people from local and foreign invaders, she also granted her protection from other adverse situations from natural disasters and epidemics, particularly that of 1897. On September 21 of that same year, there were series of earthquakes that threatened the city yet it failed to cause mush damage to lives and properties because of her powerful intercession.
In the recent times, with the rise of terror groups, especially in the early 2000's, there were many attempts to destroy the heart of Christianity in Zamboanga, but their evil plans were always thwarted by the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin.
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| The Canonical Coronation of the wall image |
With the miracles that are continuously reported through her intercession, the image was granted the Canonical Coronation on her feast day, October 12, 1960 in front of thousands of devotees present for the event. The Coronation of the Protectress of Zamboanga makes her the only Marian image in venerated in Mindanao to receive such Papal honor as of this writing.
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| The Solemn procession |
The La Hermosa Festival or popularly known as Fiesta Pilar a month-long festival held each year in Zamboanga City to honor their miraculous Patroness held in every 12 October. The Zamboanga La Hermosa Festival embedded in Zamboanga’s rich history of devotion to the Nuestra Señora del Pilar that is supplemented by history of miracles attributed to her.
The festival features several activities such us street dance competition, the Regatta De Zamboanga were the famous Vintas of Zamboanga are racing to win a prize, Cosechas De Zamboanga, sports events, musical concerts, agriculture-trade fairs, fashion show, Chavacano song festival, Miss Zamboanga and other special events to be held every year. But the most important of all is the solemn procession in honor of the Virgin of the Pillar. A processional image of the Virgin is carried to the streets and prayers are whispered and hymns are sung in the midst of lighted candles all throughout the procession.
The love of the Zamboangeños to their Patroness is evident - both Christian and non Christian, The devotion to the Lady of the Pillar is forever intertwined to the history and the lives of the people of Zamboanga. The Blessed Mother once again demonstrated her powerful protection to a land of cultural and religious diversity and the unifying force of the people. May through her intercession, peace can finally come to the Promised Land of the Philippines, the peace that is very elusive and difficult to attain.
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