Zaragoza, Spain (Wednesday, 10-14-2015, Gaudium Press) At a press conference, the Minister of Culture of the City of Zaragoza, Spain, Fernando Rivares, accompanied by the mayor of the city, confirmed that the offering of flowers in honor of the Virgen del Pilar exceed the numbers of previous ones: “Today, almost half a million people have passed through the Plaza del Pilar and some 260.000 or 275.000 participated in the floral offering,” he said
 |
| Archbishop Vicente Jimenez Zamora at the floral offering in Zaragoza. Photo: Daniel Quintero |
It is estimated that 91 percent of the pilgrims who attended the festivities in honor of the patron saint of Spain come from different regions of Spain, while the remaining nine percent were international visitors.
The Archbishop of Zaragoza, His Excellency Vicente Jimenez Zamora, highlighted in his homily the important role of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pilar, which during this time of the year becomes “the ark of salvation and gate of heaven, with the perfume of the gratitude of the faithful…Today is a day to: celebrate her presence among us; to contemplate Mary as the Mother of Mercy in preparation of upcoming Jubilee called by Pope Francis and to acknowledge the Virgen del Pilar as the mother and the star of the New Evangelization.” The archbishop referred to the celebration of the 1975 years of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin, in her real flesh, to the Apostle James to encourage him in his apostolic work.
Source: Religión en Libertad and the Archdiocese of Zaragoza.
