We have a couple of “firsts” to deal with here. Saint James the Greater was the first Apostle of Jesus Christ to have been martyred. Also, the church that James and his disciples built around pillar and the wooden statue was the first Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Further, the vision of the Blessed Virgin was the first Marian Apparition in history.
The apparition of Our Lady of the Pillar is also unique in another way. The Virgin Mary was still alive and living in either Ephesus or Jerusalem when the apparition happened. Because of this, it’s apparent that Mary showed an ability that many Christian saints have exhibited over the ages … She was able to bilocate. Yup, She was in two places at the same time.
The apparition of Our Lady of the Pillar has been accepted as sacred tradition since the dawn of Christianity.
