Fiesta Pilar (Zamboanga Hermosa Festival) in Zamboanga City Date in the current year: October 12, 2024

Our Lady of the Pillar is one of the many titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic tradition. According to ancient tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to the apostle James the Great on the bank of the Ebro River while he was preaching the Gospel in what is now Spain in 40 AD. She appeared to him atop a pillar, and that pillar is now conserved and venerated in the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza, Spain.

Our Lady of the Pillar is venerated in many former Spanish colonies around the globe, including the Philippines. She is the patroness of several Philippine cities and towns, including Zamboanga City, where a fort was dedicated to her in the 18th century.

The Spaniards first established a fort in what is now Zamboanga City in 1635. The fort was originally dedicated to Saint Joseph and named the Royal Fort of Saint Joseph (Real Fuerte de San José). The laying down of the fort’s cornerstone on June 23, 1635 marked the founding of Zamboanga as a city.

The fort was destroyed several times, first by the Dutch and then by pirates and raiders. As a result, the official Spanish forces abandoned the area for several decades, but the Jesuit missionaries stayed on. In the early 18th century, the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines ordered to rebuild the fort. It was named the Royal Fort of Our Lady of the Pillar of Zaragoza (Real Fuerte de Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza).

In 1734, the Spaniards set a relief of Our Lady of the Pillar atop the fort’s eastern wall, making it an outdoor shrine with an altar. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to a Spanish soldier at the city gate that same year, and then again in 1897, saving the city from a tsunami caused by two strong earthquakes that struck Mindanao.

Today, Fort Pilar is an outdoor shrine dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the patroness of Zamboanga City. The feast day of Our Lady of the Pillar, October 12, is a special non-working holiday in the city. It is part of an annual religious and cultural festival known as the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival or Fiesta Pilar. One of the most anticipated events in the region, it celebrates the city’s long history and rich culture.

The Hermosa Festival is a month-long celebration that begins in late September or early October. The following weeks are filled with various events and activities such as sports competitions and tournament, parades, pageants, street dance competitions, music festivals, drag races, a regatta, agricultural fairs, art exhibitions, cultural fiestas, fashion shows, solemn masses, contests, and more.

October 12 is the main day of the festival and an official holiday in Zamboanga City. Its main highlights are the Grand Procession and a Pontifical Mess at the Shrine of Nuestra Señora La Virgen del Pilar in Fort Pilar.