Marie de Nazareth
To Jesus, through Mary
Anna Katharina Emmerick (1774-1824) was a German nun and mystic (stigmatized), beatified by Pope Saint John Paul II in 2004.
She had many visions, which, like all private revelations, are not meant to "complete the definitive Revelation of Christ, but to help us live it more fully at a certain time in history"[ 1]—therefore the faithful are not obliged to believe in them.
Her visions contain many elements borrowed from other authors (she nurtured her prayer life by listening to spiritual teachings) and many very accurate topographical details (which suggest that they have a supernatural origin).
The following vision confirms the ancient tradition that the Shrine of Our Lady of the Pilar in Spain originated in an apparition of the Virgin Mary to the apostle Saint James.
“I saw Saint James in danger because of the persecution against the faithful in Saragoza. I saw the Apostle praying at night with some disciples near the walls of the city. He was asking for enlightenment to know if he should stay in that region or go elsewhere. He directed his thoughts to Most Holy Mary and asked her to intercede with her Divine Son, who could not deny her anything.
“Suddenly, I saw a heavenly splendor come over the Apostle. Angels, singing harmoniously, carried down a column of light whose base they set on the place in which a church should be built.
“The column was tall and elegantly narrow, ending in the shape of an open lily which sent sparks of light in many directions. One of them went to Compostela.
“In the splendor of the lily I saw the Most Holy Mary, transparent and white like snow, with a delicacy and beauty greater than silk. She was standing as she used to pray. Her hands were joined, and a long veil on her head fell to her feet, which lightly touched the lily that shone with five rays of light. This vision of Our Lady was the origin of the devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar. (Virgen del Pilar).
“While the vision was taking place Saint James received a message interiorly that he should build a church on that site, and that the devotion to Our Lady would be established there, take root, and expand. The Holy Virgin told him that once the church was built, he should return to Jerusalem. Indeed, later, when the work was completed, the Apostle left it in charge of twelve disciples he had formed and left.”
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church 67
Anna Katharina Emmerick, Life and Passion of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, chapter 14