On October 13, the Ofrenda de Frutos also set participation records, bringing together 3,500 participants, including 724 registered residents and 300 institutional and civil-society representatives. For the first time, the organizers opened participation to all citizens, resulting in an increase of one thousand people compared to the previous year. More than 115,000 people filled the streets to enjoy the procession. This event—combining tradition, identity, and social commitment—donated all the offerings to the city’s social programs, consolidating it as one of the most endearing and representative moments of the Fiestas del Pilar.
The night culminated with the splendor of the Rosario de Cristal, the oldest tradition of the Fiestas del Pilar. Since 1889, this artistic and devotional manifestation has illuminated Zaragoza’s old quarter with 258 lanterns and 15 polychrome-glass floats designed by architect Ricardo Magdalena, representing the Mysteries of the Rosary. In the 2025 edition, more than 55,000 people accompanied the procession from Plaza de San Pedro Nolasco, in an atmosphere of respect, emotion, and beauty.
The impact of the Fiestas del Pilar goes beyond the religious sphere to become a cultural, tourist, social, and economic phenomenon, projecting to the world the image of an Aragón with soul, hospitality, and deep roots. Beyond their spiritual dimension, the festivities provide an extraordinary boost to Zaragoza’s tourism and hospitality sectors and to the wider region, with hotel occupancy nearing full capacity and a notable surge in dining, retail, and cultural services.
Everything that takes place in Zaragoza during these October days aligns fully with the “Aragón con Alma” project, a Government of Aragón initiative aimed at revitalizing religious and spiritual tourism across the region. Presented in April 2025 by the Department of Environment and Tourism, the program identifies the territory’s great “Festivals with Soul,” among which the Pilar of Zaragoza stands out as its highest expression and international benchmark.
At its presentation, the Government of Aragón emphasized that Aragón con Alma unites spirituality, tradition, and sustainable development, showing that faith can also be an economic and cultural driver. This commitment is reinforced by Aragón’s integration as a Founding Member of the World Network of Religious Tourism (Red Mundial de Turismo Religioso), a distinction that recognizes the singular value of its spiritual heritage and the quality of its initiatives around faith-based tourism and cultural identity.
In line with this vision, Aragón joined the World Network of Religious Tourism a few months ago as an Autonomous Community member, through the “ARAGÓN CON ALMA” project. Since then, the Network and the Government of Aragón have worked hand in hand with dioceses, city councils, brotherhoods, confraternities, and the social fabric to value the elderly—living memory of traditions—and to strengthen an offering that combines spirituality, culture, and sustainable local development. This integration consolidates Aragón’s leadership in religious tourism and multiplies the project’s international outreach synergies.
Pilar Valdés, Director General of the World Network of Religious Tourism, noted that “Aragón’s incorporation into the World Network of Religious Tourism allows us to align efforts and make a leap in the promotion, professionalization, and accessibility of its festivals and spiritual routes.”
Thus, the 2025 Fiestas del Pilar not only cement Zaragoza as the world capital of Marian devotion but also place Aragón on the global map of religious tourism. Nearly two thousand years after the apparition of the Virgin Mary to the Apostle James upon a column—the Pillar—on the banks of the Ebro, the tradition remains alive and is renewed every October in a celebration that unites faith, tradition, emotion, and community. An event that demonstrates that Zaragoza is, today more than ever, the spiritual heart of Aragón and one of the most inspiring destinations in the world.
