The Blessed mother is believed to appear in different ways, different periods, and different places which leads into various attributes and titles of Our Lady all over the world. ARANZAZU: One of the significant apparition sites of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has been the focal point of extraordinary stories of healing and conversions within the 15th century.
The apparition took place on June 11, 1469 in the mountains of Aloña in Oñate, Spain. Back then, the northern part of Spain (Basque region) was experiencing severe drought for two years, which started in 1467 and ended in the middle of 1469. The said calamity was already prophesied by St. Vincent Ferrer beforehand. When the young shepherd visionary from Uribarri named Rodrigo de Balzetegui was coming down the mountain of Aloña, he saw a vision of a beautiful lady on top of a thorn tree, with an infant on her left arm. Afterwards, Rodrigo heard a sound of a bell. He searched where the sound came from until he finally saw a seated image of the Blessed mother on top of the thorn tree with a small quadrilateral bell hanging on it. The image holds the infant Jesus on her left arm and a rounded object on her right hand. In his amazement, he exclaimed: “Arantan zu!” a Basque word “Tu en el espino” in Spanish, which means “You are among the thorns”. Rodrigo prayed before the image of Our Lady and covered it with dry leaves. He quickly ran home to pronounce what he saw in the mountain of Aloña.
The next day, he came back to the mountain together with his parents. While on their way, they met some residents of Oñate, organizing a procession imploring for a rain. He encouraged the residents to join him in the mountain of Aloña, for he discovered the cure of their complaint. However, no one noticed nor believed him. They thought that he was just crazy. In the end, Rodrigo said: “Let the strong men accompany me. If I am just lying, they can throw me off a cliff.” Because of his strong words, the residents were convinced, and they eventually accompanied him to the mountain.
They saw the image and right then and there, believed. The rain finally occurred and the catastrophe finally ended through the intercession of the Virgin of Aranzazu. In return, the people of Oñate decided to build a chapel as a sign of gratitude. The devotion to Our Lady on Thorns (Aranzazu) spread throughout the country of Spain and other places within its jurisdiction. Countless miracles occurred through the intercession of the Virgin of Aranzazu. Several titles were also given to her such as Our Lady of the Apple, Our Lady of the Bells, Our Lady of Azkarta, Our Lady of Hawthorn. Hence, ‘ARANZAZU’ became the suitable choice of the Blessed Mother and her devotee. The Basilica of Aranzazu became a popular pilgrim destination in the northern part of Spain.
This year 2017, Aranzazu devotees throughout the world celebrate her 548th apparition anniversary. This is a constant reminder of the first miracle of Our Lady of Aranzazu and the origin of our devotion. Many of us avoid thorns, but our mother Mary and our Lord Jesus choose to reveal the love and mercy of God in such kind of place.
The drought is not only associated in natural calamities, but also in our spiritual life. We also experience spiritual dryness or desolation. Let us implore the Lady on Thorns in this stage of our life and implore her to shower us with the abundant grace of God. (Christian Robles)
Christian Jasper Robles
Senior Writer, Website Team - Media Ministry
Christian is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Communication at Colegio de San Juan de Letran. He is a member of the writer’s team of Aranzazu Media and Public Information Ministry. A singer, performer, writer, church servant, and a Marian devotee. Currently, he is the secretary of Association of Our Lady of Aranzazu- Cofradia and member of Avant-Garde Singers. Passionate about writing different local religious traditions and Mariology matters; Christian is strongly dedicated in promoting and propagating the devotion to Our Lady of Aranzazu.
