The 9th of September is the central day of the Virgin of Aranzazu in Guipuzcoa, Spain. Find out all about this Marian devotion.
The story of the Virgin of Aranzazu
A shepherd named Rodrigo de Balzategui was tending to his herd of goats in the hills of Aloña, near the province of Oñate, when he was suddenly surprised to see a small image of the Virgin Mary with the Child on her lap and a large bell at her side in a greenish hawthorn tree.
In the midst of his shock, the little shepherd boy uttered the phrase “Aranza-zu” (which in Basque means “you among the thorns”). Rodrigo told his story in the mountains of Oñate until it reached the ears of several Spanish cities.
At the time, the town of Guipuzcoa was involved in a guerrilla war with the neighbouring town of Oñate. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that both provinces were experiencing a period of drought, and the two fought over water. This situation continued for two years until, at the breaking point, the Virgin of Aranzazu appeared to bring salvation.
The Virgin of Aranzazu gave a message of peace so that the conflicts in Oñate and Guipúzcoa would cease. Both towns obeyed and the devotion to the Virgin of Aranzazu was born. The words of the shepherd in this delicate situation were:
“Fathers and brothers, why do you tire yourselves with so many processions? You should know that beyond Gesalza you will find a Santica on a hawthorn tree. It has no chapel and no roof, and if you don’t go and visit it in procession, it won’t rain”.
A group of people from the warring villages went to the site of the apparition and confirmed what the young man had said, and when they got back to Oñate they sang songs of praise until the rain came down in torrents.
The rain meant peace for both villages, as well as the arrival of new hope to fight the drought and fertilise the fields. Later, the leaders of the war approached the foot of the Virgin of Aranzazu and said:
“These men, hard for war and soft for piety, willingly cast off the armour of vanity and self-love to humble themselves before the Mother”.
It was in this place that the Brotherhood of the Virgin of Aranzazu was founded by the inhabitants of Oñate and Mondragón, who helped to keep the creative power and love in their hearts.
In 1553, a fire destroyed the entire place where the Virgin of Aranzazu appeared to Rodrígo Balzategui; a second fire occurred in 1622, and a third in 1834. Despite these unfortunate events, the faith was not lost, as the temple was rebuilt on all three occasions, sparing no expense or effort. Its inhabitants affirmed:
“The most beautiful chapter in the history of Aranzazu is not that of its miracles or its devout crowds, but that of the faith of a people who, after the deplorable experience of the fateful fires, recovered quickly, forgot the disastrous fate of the sanctuary and, with their pious stubbornness, managed to overcome the destructive stubbornness of the fire”.
The Basque historian and chronicler Esteban Garibay, who worked for Felipe II, shows from the documents of Spanish history that, little by little, the remote and lonely place of Aloña was visited by many pilgrims and that both its fame and the miracles it granted spread considerably.
According to Garibay, the story of the Virgin of Aranzazu can be considered a legend because of the curiosity generated by the whole event of her apparition. Since there are several versions of the apparition of the Virgin of Aranzazu, the historian considers the story of Rodrigo Balzategui to be a fact, thanks to the authenticity of the testimonies of the old settlers of Oñate and Guipúzcoa.
The parish priest Juan de Luzuriaga was responsible for publishing the complete story of the Virgin of Aranzazu in Mexico in 1686, with a dedication and epigraph. In the text, the priest stresses that the Virgin of Aranzazu is a creation of God.
Miracles of the Virgin of Aranzazu
Our Lady of Aranzazu has protected the weakest from all dangers through her miracles. Her most famous miracles are the healing of people suffering from cancer, the return to land of shipwrecked people lost at sea, fires that did not burn strategic sites, the saving of crops from storms; some people have regained the mobility of their limbs or experienced total healing from fatal diseases. Because of these miracles, the fame of the Virgin of Aranzazu as the supreme protector spread rapidly throughout Spain and the rest of the continent.
Prayer to the Virgin of Aranzazu
The powerful prayer to the Virgin of Aranzazu can help in many everyday and urgent matters, such as finding a job, healing a sick person, seeking her protection and much more.
Most Pure Mother of Aránzazu, who appeared beside the thorns to remove from our souls the heavy thorns that represent our sins, intercede before Your Most Excellent Son Jesus, so that He may forgive us and receive us into His divine bosom.
Our Lady of Aránzazu, we pray to you for the many worries that trouble us: Violence in the home, the attacks of modern culture on the family, the damage to the environment which is being deformed every day, the culture of frivolity and consumerism, the increase in the number of suicides and mental disorders, and so many other painful things that we see to this day.
Our Lady of Aranzazu has the power of the thorns, which allows us to uproot all our sins and learn to honour her with a pure and immaculate soul.
Great Queen of Thorns, who receives the fervour of your devotees, with great humility I send you the affections of my heart and I ask you that my heart may want what God wants of it and that I may want to want the will of God.
O sweet Aranzazu, you who are praised throughout the world, under your shield we find ourselves with joy, deliver us from all dangers, instill in us a great unshakable faith and an ardent love for God, so that together we may spread the dogmas of Jesus.
Finally, Our Lady of Aranzazu, I ask you to grant us the grace to remain faithful in the midst of trials, so that we may continue the task of evangelising all our neighbours whom the Lord places before us!
Holy Mary of Aranzazu,
Mighty Patroness of the Heavenly Plane.
Remove the thorns
from our lives;
Remove sin from our lives;
give us the joy of the grace
of Your Son.
This is how it should be.
Novena to Our Lady of Aranzazu
The novena to Our Lady of Aranzazu always takes place in the church of Our Lady of St Francis. Before beginning, as is the custom with many novenas, it is best to make the sign of the cross and the act of contrition.
Act of Contrition
Jesus Christ of my soul, gracious Father of all your faithful, if by my failings I am not worthy to be in your fatherly heart, I ask, O Lord, for forgiveness of my sins and for your kind hand, and I mourn with all my being for all the times I have failed you. Before I lost grace, I was your child for my fate; but today that which I lack of this good, because of my misfortune, I am not a shadow of what I was. When I was at peace with you, when I was innocent in heart and soul, you loved me with sweetness; but my sins are the reason why my soul is in darkness. Now, my God, I want to be restored to your forgiveness and friendship, and may my sorrow rekindle the flame of that first love. Set fire, my God, to my heart, that you may help me when I need it, that I may repent of my faults and succeed in becoming yours. This is my hope, through your divine mercy. Amen.
Prayer for every day
O Mother of the Divine Aranzazu, what consolation, what happiness, what well-being the good shepherd Rodrigo would have if he saw you on the thorny hill of Aloña! I, my Queen, although I have sinned, I recognise you as my mother and my salvation. Am I so wretched, so heartless, that I do not deserve to have you listen to my pleas? My faults, Queen of Aranzazu, fill me with shame and make me afraid to stand before you; but trusting that you are a pious mother and that you do not despise the penitence of your faithful children, I prostrate myself in your holy presence and ask you to look upon me with a mother’s tenderness.
You who appeared to the shepherd on a hawthorn tree, how would I adore You, how would I glorify You, what praise would I give You, what manifestation of love would I receive? I, Madam, although I am a sinner, I prostrate myself before Your sweet and merciful image, I praise You, I adore You, I shower You with my love, I give You my heart. I would like to have the happiness that Father Rodrigo had when he found you to love you, but Aranzazu, for the reason that I have failed many times, I hope that you will not despise me and take me away from your great heart and look at me with your kind eyes of a mother! I am a sinner, most prudent virgin, you are the Queen Mother of them all, and for this reason I hope from your mercy that you will not despise my pleas and that you will come to my aid. You are the most loving of all mothers. Mother of mercy, be merciful to this sinner who implores your bleeding mantle of protection: grant me sorrow for all my faults, for I promise you, firmly and constantly, to enjoy the same simplicity and innocence as the shepherd to whom you appeared, so that I may be happy to praise your Son in your glory forever. Amen.
The first day
On the first day of the novena to the Virgin of Aranzazu, the devotee tries to imitate her in order to win her motherly heart, so that she may forgive all the sins committed.
O Virgin of Aranzazu, O Queen, the most perfect divine creation, we come to you because we trust in your intercession, you who obtain the solution to our problems! As happened to Martín Ortiz and his wife, Francisca Martínez, in the province of Álava: having no hope of any remedy, they came to your generous help, and when they went to your temple on horseback, accompanied by others, to make a novena to you, you gave them back their sight: they returned home on foot, very grateful for your favour. If they were able to regain their sight without any optimism, grant that we may have it in our souls, so that, knowing our weaknesses, we may weep for them during the nine days of this blessed novena: which we hope to obtain from Your mercy, to make amends to Your Divine Son whom we have irritated by our repeated faults. Amen.
Second day
The Virgin of Aranzazu can come to us in times of need through her novena. She is in charge of lifting us up when we fall; she is in charge of protecting us when we are in danger. Just follow her daily novena.
O pure Virgin of Aranzazu, whom our Father chose to be another Saviour of the world! We, Our Lady, have lost the grace of God because of the repeated errors and sins we commit every day. Give us the hands to rise up again, as You did with Juan de Irrundo, a stonemason by profession, who was working in the main chapel and who, foreseeing the danger that threatened from the footboard that served as a platform, said: “It is not possible, Fathers, that we should fall to pieces in this work, unless the Blessed Virgin, in whose service we are employed, miraculously saves us”. No sooner had he uttered these words than the scaffolding collapsed with many bars aimed at his humanity, hitting the ground with the workers. But you, who as a mother is attentive to your children, rescued them from the clutches of death, and when they were dug out, they knelt down, raised their hands in thanksgiving that their lives had been saved, and returned to their work as if they had not suffered such a terrible blow.
We, O Virgin of Aranzazu, are buried under the dominion of our passions, favour us as a mother, raise us to the life of grace, and remaining in it, we will work to overcome the world, the devil and the flesh that oppress us. This is what we hope from our devotion, with the other graces we ask of you in this novena, if it pleases God. Amen.
Third day
The Virgin of Aranzazu saves the life of Cristóbal de Sanduce, who falls into a river at the height of the current. He managed to cling to a rock and escape unharmed. From then on, he joined the list of the Virgin’s devotees.
You are the Mother of your Son Jesus! You are the Sun of the great celestial plane! Star of the firmament that illuminates the path of virtue, in which shines the greatest stele of heaven, you have taken us out of the pit of darkness of our faults! O Virgin of Aranzazu, who favoured your most needy servants, as happened to Cristobal de Sarduce, who, crossing a river, tripped on his horse and was carried by the current to the end of the stream. Swaying in the wild current and calling out to You with the breath that his mortal desire to drown allowed him, he managed to hold on to a huge stone until he regained his strength and breath, and for this reason he became Your most fervent devotee, until he visited Your Sacred Sanctuary and immediately, in the darkness of the night, a very clear light came to him which guided him to the shore and he jumped ashore. We, Our Lady, are shipwrecked in the current of our passions; protect us, who already invoke you with the title of Most Holy Mother of Aránzazu, and guide us on the straight path of fulfilling the law of your Son and the other graces we ask of you in this novena, if it pleases God. Amen.
Day four
Isabel Bimpel had been an invalid for two years, with no hope of ever walking again. Her devotion to the Virgin of Aranzazu led her to visit her Shrine to make a petition to you, so much so that she regained the movement of her legs.
Unbreakable wall of the City of God, where the fire that burns is the fire of love with which your ardent love favours souls. This is how You did it with Doña Isabel Bimpel, who was paralysed, without the hope of scientists and doctors; she went to Your Sacred Sanctuary, carried by four men, to ask You to heal her. She entered Your Sacred Temple, tried to get up from her chair, and with the tender gaze of Your Heart, You made her stand up and take a few steps without any pain. Overjoyed at her miraculously restored health, she raised her cry of thanksgiving to God and to You for such a singular benefit. I see that all my life I have walked in the wrong way without taking a step in the service of God. I ask You, Lady, to give me Your hand to walk the path of perfection, imitating Your steps. Then, like Elizabeth, I will deserve to raise the cry of praise to Your Son, and by serving You as I should in this life, I will deserve to praise You in glory. Amen.
Fifth day
The Virgin of Aranzazu once again helps those in need. This time it was a woman who climbed a tree and fell into a sawed-off area, leaving a stake in her body. She went to the Shrine with her physical pains until the wood was removed.
O Mary, you who are the light of the world, clear torch of the heavens, mirror without blemish, in which the angelic spirits behold your perfection with joy! Relief from our sins, help for our needs! A beautiful woman was observed climbing a tree to pick some fruit, when she fell with a crash on a saw until she felt the loud crack. In her moment of despair, she went to your great Shrine, until with her prayers they managed to remove the encrusted stake, in the same moment she felt totally free and healed, leaving only the signs of the wound as a sign and everlasting sign of such a marvellous miracle, the woman left the Shrine with the stake in her hand, asking you for graces. I, Lady, have fallen into the snares of sin, and if You, as Mother, do not favour me and protect me, as your devoted virgin, I will not be healed of the evils that surround me. Help me to get out of this pitiful state so that I may walk on straight paths to the sanctuary of glory. Amen.
Sixth day
This sixth station tells the story of a blind woman called Clara, who lost her sight by applying unsuccessful home remedies to her eyes. Once in the Shrine, she claimed to have seen the most prudent hand of the Virgin Mary.
O Mary, you who are a moon full of clarity, whose greatness comes from the strength of the Divine Sun! You are the true light for all the blind. As it happened to a woman called Clara. She lost her eyesight by applying remedies to herself that had no foundation, and she turned to you, Virgin of Aranzazu, to make the holy novena to you. Those who heard her say that her sight had been restored believed her, but doubting that it was the hand of the Most Pure Virgin that this woman said she was looking at, they placed another hand in front of her. She replied that it was not Mary’s, and thus she always confirmed that she had clearly seen the form of the mighty hand of her benefactor and Queen. Fulfilling her promise, she went to see you, accompanied by her husband, and told you of the benefit she had received from the hand. I find myself wandering blindly from stumbling block to stumbling block, stumbling over my mistakes. Give me your hand so that I may see what is just and right and strive only for the perfection of my state, so that I may praise my God forever in His glory. Amen.
Seventh day
A man was saved by falling from a tree and saying, “Virgin of Aranzazu. By your infinite grace he went to the Shrine to thank you for the favour you had granted him.
O Divine Mary, you are the salvation of all your servants who are in need. As in the case of the farmer Michael, who slipped and fell while riding on a tree. As he fell, he invoked you as the Virgin of Aranzazu. His body was severely injured until he was helped by your religious children, and he thanked you for this unique favour. I, O Lady, not once but many times, in order to satisfy my appetites, have fallen into a torrent of iniquity. Favour me, therefore, I invoke You with the sweetest name of the Virgin of Aranzazu, trusting in Your maternal love, to be favoured and protected until, having come out of the abyss of my faults, I will sing Your praises without ceasing in glory. Amen.
Eighth day
A child was saved from a stone disease thanks to the intervention of the Virgin of Aranzazu. She does not forget her faithful, be they men, women or even newborn children.
O Mother of God, you are the living altar where God intercedes for souls who have done good deeds to make peace with man. She was destined by God Himself for the relief, help and consolation of the sick. It was observed that a child suffering from stone disease turned to you in front of the desperate image of his parents because there was no other cure for him. With your holy novena he was cured in front of all those present in the shrine. If he was able to recover his physical health, I, Madam, have asked for the health of my soul during these days that I have made your novena: heal me, Madam, and do not allow me to fall into the slightest fault that displeases you. I hope for this from your mercy. Amen.
Ninth day
The novena culminates with the devotees praying for the healing of their souls and the forgiveness of sins, as well as to lead sailors through calm waters. The importance of the Sanctuary is highlighted by the visit of thousands of pilgrims in thanksgiving.
O Virgin of Aranzazu, honourable Mother, from whose sovereign breasts the troubled are nourished with divine consolations; beautiful Sun from whose warmth no misery can hide, turn those merciful eyes to your faithful and afflicted devotees who invoke you in the wreckage of so many calamities. You look kindly upon the Catholic navigators, freeing them from shipwrecks at every step. This is how eighteen sailors experienced it when their ship was shipwrecked in a great storm, and all stripped naked to throw themselves into the water, they trusted more in the waves than in the ship for help. They took a vow, foreseeing this last chance, that if they came out of the harbour alive, they would all come on pilgrimage to you to offer you such alms as they were able to afford.
You so gladly accepted the promise that, appearing with three lights, you turned the gloom of the night into clarity; and you cheered and consoled the sailors with your presence, and, tempering the storm of the sea, its waves were calm, peaceful and intimidated, and, going ashore free, they all went, publishing your wonders, to offer you their vows and fulfil their promise. We, Our Lady, who in this valley of tears suffer storms stronger than the sailors, need your protection.
It was in Biscay that you appeared to comfort sailors, as you often favoured them in their dangers and storms. The sick, the blind and the crippled have been able to recover their health through your protection, as your wonders testify. Your Sanctuary is full of devotees grateful for your favours fulfilled, In this temple of San Francisco we venerate your image. It is a portrait of the one venerated in Vizcaya; we turn to you, confident that everywhere you are the Mother of sinners.
Hear us, then, Our Lady; accept our supplications, which we already invoke you with the same title as those who happily venerate you in your Sanctuary. We cry out to you, Most Holy Virgin of Aranzazu, protect us, extinguish the fire produced by the struggles, free us from the fire of heresies, make all the fields fruitful, purify the infected air, and grant us all that we have asked of you during these nine days, if it is for the glory of God and the good of our souls. Amen.
Festival of the Virgin of Aranzazu
Every year on the 9th of September, the Aranzazu Fiestas Committee organises a programme full of dances, ginkanas and typical food in the town of Oñate. The solemn mass takes place on the 9th of September in the sanctuary of Aranzazu, in the presence of the most important lay clergy of Spain, as well as public and private clergy. The youngest members of the family can enjoy the mechanical games, while the faithful watch the burning of gunpowder near the basilica.
Festival of the Virgin of Aranzazu
Virgen de Aranzazu in Huila
In Huila, and more specifically in the town of Gallardo, the Virgen de Aranzazu is celebrated every year on 9 September, as is the case in Guipúzcoa. It was the citizen Georgina María Duarte who made her wish known to the parish priest Anselmo España, who, together with other people, built her chapel in the same place.
In 1933, Father Bruno Suárez arranged for one of the main images of the Virgin of Aranzazu to be brought from Spain to complete the chapel. Nowadays, the pilgrimages take place from the 3rd of August to the 9th of September.
The Virgin of Aranzazu in Madrid
In honour of the Virgin of Aranzazu, patron saint of all the people of Guipuzcoa, it was decided to give her name to one of the main streets of Madrid, which borders the streets of San Modesto, Pedro Rico and Francisco Sancha. Here you will find various inns and hostels where pilgrims can enjoy their stay
pilgrims can enjoy their stay in the city.
Novena to the Virgin of Aranzazu in Colombia
The novena to Our Lady of Aranzazu arrived belatedly in Colombia in 1933, together with the image of the Virgin that was to adorn the Sanctuary, by the grace of Anselmo España. The modality of the novena is the same as the basic novena: the sign of the cross, the preparatory prayer and the daily prayer. The novena contains the testimonies of people who have been cured of their illnesses by going to the Sanctuary of Aranzazu, along with the request to approach the bosom of the Virgin and be freed from sin.
The novena begins on the 3rd of August and ends on the 9th of September.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHgkYBLmER0
Prayer to Our Lady of Aranzazu, Colombia
O Holy Virgin of Aranzazu, through Your apparition in this thorn tree, help us by Your power to uproot our sins.
Our sins. Protect your followers in Gallardo and Huila and wait for us in your motherly heart. Grant that we may know how to please you through our actions and attain the happiness of being recognised as your children, children of Aranzazu. So be it.
Day of the Virgin of Aranzazu
The 9th of September is the central day of the Virgin of Aranzazu in Guipuzcoa and in the cities that celebrate her in Colombia. This day was established because of her appearance in 1469 to the shepherd Rodrigo Balzategui, who was working on the lands of Aloña in Oñate, through a hawthorn tree (which is why she was famous for uprooting sins through it). When he saw her, he exclaimed: “Aranza Zu!
