Nuestra Señora de Visitacion de Piat

Nuestra Señora de Visitacion de Piat

Our Lady of the Visitation of Piat (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Visitacion de Piat) is a 16th-century Roman Catholic icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary enshrined in Piat, in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. it is the town's patroness and is one of the most venerated Marian images of Mary in the Philippines and is referred to as the "Mother of Cagayan".

The image, one of the oldest in the country, is credited with many miracles including the end of a drought that threatened famine in the Itawes homeland of the Cagayan Valley, where the shrine is located. Piat is dubbed the "Pilgrimage Center of Cagayan Valley" because of the thousands of devotees and tourists, some of which are the rich and powerful who shower the shrine with donations and gifts.

The image was originally named Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario (Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary) by the Dominicans. The Ibanag call her Yena Tam Ngamin ("Mother of Us All"), while to many other natives of Piat she is known as Apo Baket ("Venerable Matriarch"), an Ilocano title also used for several other images of the Virgin Mary enshrined in northern Luzon.

The Image

Details of the face

The image is also called the "Black Virgin Mary", as its skin colour is dark brown (muy morena)—which is cited as an appealing characteristic of the Blessed Virgin. A de tallado image made possibly by paper-mache is now richly dressed with fine yet simple clothing. The image is of a Mother and Child, holding the  Baby Jesus. Both Mother and Child are holding flowers or handkiercheifs and a rosary hanging on the neck of the Virgin.

The lady is enthroned at the Basilica Minore Nuestra Senora de Piat which was recognized as a shrine by the Vatican on June 22, 1999. It celebrates its feast every July 2 wherein the lady is drawn for a procession.

History

The History of the Image of Our Lady of Piat started in Macau from where it was brought to Manila in 1604. The origin of the image is possibly made by Indian artisans of Goa, India for the features of the image seems to blend Indian culture and the West.  Its first home was the convent of the Santo Domingo in Intramuros. From Manila she was taken to Nueva Segovia (now Lal-lo) to aid in the evangelization of the Itawes region, covering the towns of Tabang, Malaweg, Tuau (now Tuao) and Piat until it was brought to and stayed on Piat for five years. No description of the image is given by any of the historians, though it is often mentioned that is "of talla (sculpture)" made from paper-mache.

Vintage estampa of Nuestra Senora de Piat

Eventually the image was taken to Piat, and erected on a side altar. It was not long when the people felt special manifestations of divine favors through Our Lady. Their love and devotion to Our Lady had grown with the years, and attachment to her image bordered fantacism. This was clearly seen when Fr. Juan de Santa Ana sent the same image to Tuguegarao City in 1622 and ordered another one more beautiful from Manila to replace the image. In no time, the people rose up in public protest and asked to the point of insistence that the original image be returned to them. Knowing the peculiar character of the people, Fr. de Santa Ana finally gave in, and the image was brought back amid great rejoicing of the people. There arose, however, a dispute between the people of Piat and Tuao as to where the sanctuary should be constructed. Happily, solomonic solution was found, and it was agreed to have the sanctuary built between Piat and Tuao.

On December 26, 1923, the image of Our Lady was brought in a solemn procession from the parish church of Sto. Domingo to the new sanctuary. The following morning, a High Mass was sung and the sanctuary solemnly blessed with a great concourse of the faithful present. For the first time, the care of the sanctuary was given to the charge of Dra. Ines Maguillabbun. She introduced the pious custom of keeping a votive light burning day and night before the Lady's image, a custom which is kept to this date.

Many years later, the people suffered great losses due to the inundations of the Chico River. Their deeply rooted devotion to Our Lady prompted them to move her sanctuary near the riverbank in the hope that she would spare them from the scourges of the yearly inundations. As a result, the people built a more spacious church of more durable materials on a hill about a mile from the parish church of Sto. Domingo. The present sanctuary was built by Rev. Fr. Diego Pinero and later restored by Fr. Jose Gurumeta in 1875.


Miracles

In 1730, Captain Jose Ramos, a Spanish officer assigned in Lallo, fell seriously ill. All efforts by his physicians failed, so he went on a pilgrimage to Piat to seek Our Lady's help. He made the trip with great difficulty but, upon arriving in Piat, his illness became worse and the parish priest gave him the last sacrament. However, he did not lose hope and continued to pray to Our Lady of Piat; after a few days he slowly recovered; within a week, he got well enough and went to Lallo to resume his duties.
On June 2, 1738, a boat with passengers was on its way from Pamplona to Aparri. Near the port, a sudden gale blew and it was swept out to sea. With the strong winds, heavy rains and big waves, rescue seemed impossible. A passenger on a pilgrimage to Piat began to pray the holy rosary and exhorted his fellow passengers to join him. They all did; soon afterward, the rain stopped, the winds died down and the boat and its passengers made it safely to port.

Also attributed to the intercession of Our Lady of Piat is the miraculous recovery from serious illness of Dona Ines Maquilabbun, the first caretaker of the lady.

The end of persistent drought

The second miracle narrated by Aduarte who had a greater resonance. The Itawes region, an agricultural area, often experienced severe droughts. But the one of 1624 was much worse than others they had suffered. Not a single drop of water had fallen for months. The farmers had planted their seed several times in vain. No crop was forthcoming. Fathers Juan de Santa Ana and Andres de haro, vicars of Piat and Tuao respectively, were thinking of organizing some processions and rogations to implore from heaven the much wanted rain. But they were afraid that the new Christians might falter in their faith or lose their trust in the power of prayer if the much-wanted result were not achieved.

They agreed to go ahead with the plan. The Fathers preached fervent sermons to the people, insisting on the need to "repent from their sins and receive the sacrament of reconciliation," so that their prayers for rain would be heard. The people did that with great devotion. They stayed the whole day in the Ermita, confessing their sins, while others sung the Salve and recited other prayers to Our Lady. The people themselves proposed to march in procession to the Ermita from their respective towns the following day. But even before the procession could get started, it began to rain so profusely first over Piat, and then over Tuao, and their "sementeras" that "it seemed that the cataracts of heaven have been broken." The procession was eventually held but was now a procession of thanksgiving to Our Lady of Piat for the favor received. It kept raining uninterruptedly for three days. That year there was an abundant crop.

A boy recovered from insanity

In one of several of the graces or miracles narrated by Fr. Benito Gomez in Abulug a boy fell from the roof of the convent. As a consequence of the impact, the boy became insane. When his mother, Doña Paula, heard about the misfortune, she lost no time in bringing the young man to Our Lady of Piat, where she offered some candles and alms for a Mass to be said for the boy. In no time, her son Benito, became healthy again and free from his madness.

Freed from the grip of a crocodile

A special miracle recounted by Fr. Rojano occurred on the Holy Week of 1739; a native from Piat was crossing the river that flows near the Ermita, when he was caught by a crocodile. Placed in this terrible trance he called on Our Lady of Piat to come to his rescue. At the same time that he made the invocation, the crocodile let loose of his prey, and the poor man, shaking violently, went to the Ermita to thank Our Lady. This incident was told to Fr. Rojano by Fr. Diego de la Torre, who added that there were many witnesses to this prodigy.

A serious flooding

This time it was a problem of too much water. The Itawes river overflowed to the point that the water reached the cliff where the Ermita was built and the surrounding area, flooding the area and reaching several feet in height. Surprisingly, not a single drop of water entered the church, as if there was an invisible, mysterious wall preventing the water from going in. When, eventually, the river went back to its normal course, the Ermita was so dried, clean and tidy that no one would say any rain had fallen and not flooding had occurred in the vicinity. All this happened to the great surprise of the caretaker or "ermitaño" who, afraid for his life, had climbed to the altar of Our Lady and, on his knees, prayed for his safety. He propagated the extraordinary event and many people went to see for themselves what the "ermitaño" was telling. They could verify that it was true when they could see the marks of the height reached by the water on the walls outside but could not detect a single spot or a sign of water inside the church.


A child cured from leprosy

One more, and the last miracle, in Fr. Rojano's account: A little son of Alferez Don Pedro Leon y Labuag, a resident of Lallo, was covered with a very repulsive leprosy so that he was not allowed to touch anybody for fear of contamination. The help of Our Lady of Piat was sought. With the customary invocations and prayers, the boy was completely cured to the amazement of all.

A cure from pleurisy

Arieta Legasto, 77 years old from New Manila, Quezon City reports that through Our Lady's intercession, she was cured of a terrible sickness. In 1993, she fell ill with pneumonia. She developed pleurisy and the doctors drained some 500 centimeters of fluid from her lungs; a biopsy of lung tissue taken from her proved positive from cancer. At this time, her good friend, Carmeling Crisologo, a devotee of Our Lady of Piat, visited her and gave her a novena to the Blessed Mother and a vial of blessed oil and began the novena.

During the third and fourth day of novena, she reports that she experienced a very strange feeling as if, she said, something heavy was moving from the top of her head down through her body, and then it left her. From then on, she gradually improved in health such that she felt well enough to go to the USA for medical treatment. Before she left, she had a check up; again no pleurisy but the doctors found a benign tumor. She reports that she still feels some pain; despite the discomfort, she considers the pains she suffers as a blessing, an offering to our Lord in atonement for her sins.

Recognition from the Vatican

The Canonical Coronation of
Our Lady of Piat

The image of Our Lady of Piat is one of the few Marian images in the Philippines that received much recognition from the Holy See.


As early as 1883, Pope Leo XIII, the Pope of the Holy Rosary, granted several indulgences to the faithful who under the usual conditions make a visit of pligrimage to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Piat.

A. Plenary indugence can be gained on July 02, feast of Our Lady of Piat.
B. Plenary indulgence on the occassion of a visit or pilgrimage on any other day.
C. 100 days indulgence to those who visit the sanctuary or any day.

On June 20, 1954, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Egidio Cardinal Vagnozzi in a ceremony bestowed the title “Queen of Heaven and Earth” on the image.

The Shrine Basilica

Basilica Minore de Nuestra Senora de Visitacion de Piat

The Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat is one of only 12 minor basilicas in the Philippines. It is distinguished as the home to the venerated Morena image of the Virgin Mary. The Basilica of Our Lady of Piat is in the town of Piat, which is 30 minutes away by land from Tuguegarao City, Cagayan Province or 41 kilometers northwest of Tuguegarao City.

This pilgrimage site attracts a large number of devotees especially on July 1 and 2 when the feast of Nuestra Señora de Piat is celebrated.
One thing that is different about the Basilica of Our Lady of Piat was its entrance arch. It was at the back of the church and one has to go around from the entrance to see the church facade. The arch has the phrase, Basilica Minore Nuestra Senora De Piat (Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Piat). Our Lady of Piat Basilica sports a simple facade flanked with a tall belfry. It is on top of a hill in the midst of Cagayan River with the intention of avoiding floods brought about by the seasonal overflowing of the river. The church structure is mainly made of red bricks, which is common among churches in Cagayan Valley. It is a contrast to old churches made of limestone and coral stone in many parts of the Philippines.

The interiors is of curved ceiling made of wood with historical images and accounts at the top of the walls. On the altar lies the Blessed Virgin Mary covered with a glass. There are verandas inside the church which makes the shrine elegant. At the back of the church are staircases leading to a window exactly at the back of the Virgin Mary wherein devotees can touch the dress of Our Lady.
Surrounding the basilica, stood the Piat Basilica Museum, blessing sites for religious items, parish convent, and life-sized representations of the Stations of the Cross.

Bukal ng Buhay

In April 2005, the spring started to draw crowds of devotees tagged along by a woman who dreamed of the Miraculous Lady of Visitation of Piat, insisting in her dream, while she was working abroad 10 years earlier, to go personally to Piat to look for the hidden spring just near the sanctuary on the hill where this Miraculous Lady is enshrined.

Actual condition of the image

From that day on up to this day, this spring has become a crowd drawer even people from the medical fields. These devotees when would share stories on how they would get healed of their ailments, on how they would get over their surgical operation schedules after they drink and wash themselves with the miraculous water they draw from this Bukal ng Buhay. The bukal was featured on several television documentaries in the Philippines.

Sambali Festival

The Sambali Festival is held every July 1 and 2. The festivity is a religious and cultural revival to commemorate the Christianization of the Itawes region of Cagayan.Activities include novenas, beauty pageant, sports tournaments, Lakbay Yaman Industry Tours, street dancing and the famous cultural presentations by indigenous groups. Thousands of pilgrims and devotees are expected to flock to the Basilica to participate in the festivities and the activities lined up in the week-long event. The highlight of the festival is the fluvial procession venerating the holy image of the Our Lady of Piat which starts from Aparri at the mouth of the Cagayan River to Buntun Bridge in Tuguegarao City and proceeds through a motorcade to Piat. The procession which has become a tradition among the Cagayanons, started by Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan.

References:

History, Basilica of Piat Official Website, retrieved October 10, 2011
Manila Bulletin: Our Lady of Piat, retrieved October 10, 2011. Basilica of Our Lady of Piat, retrieved October 10, 2011.Feast of Our Lady of Piat, retrieved October 10, 2011
Philippine Daily Inquirer, retrieved October 10, 2011
Department of Tourism: The Sambali Festival http://www.tourism.gov.ph/sitepages/FestivitiesList.aspx?festivityCode=367&monthCode=06 retrieved December 9, 2011.
Manila Bulletin: Sambali Festival http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/manila-bulletin/mi_7968/is_2005_June_30/cagayan-region-celebrates-17th-sambali/ai_n34048011/ Retrieved December 9, 2011.

Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de Manaoag

Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de Manaoag

Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de Manaoag (English: Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag) or popularly known as Our Lady of Manaoag is a Filipino Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in Manaoag, Pangasinan, the Philippines.

The title's associated image, which dates from the 16th century and is supposedly miraculous is enshrined inside the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag. In Pangasiense, she called as "Apo Baket", a name of reverence as an act of respect to an elder woman. The shrine is a major pilgrimage site in the country, and is administered by the Dominican Order within the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.

Our Lady of Manaoag, who is invoked as patroness of the sick, the helpless and the needy, is celebrated on two feast days: the third Wednesday after Easter (Patronal Feast), and the first Sunday of October (as Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary).

Features of the image

The statue of Our Lady of Manaoag is a 17th-century ivory image of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus enshrined at the high altar of the Basilica. It was brought to the Philippines from Spain via the Manila galleon from Acapulco, Viceroyalty of New Mexico, in the early 17th century by Padre Juan de San Jacinto OP.

The image is a de tallado statue with a huge base so that the image can be vested with fine clothing and this is still being practiced for centuries. One of the most important accessory of the image is the lunette in both the foreheads of the Mother and Child to give its signature look. The image of Our Lady of Manaoag is fully secured within a bulletproof glass enclosure above the new high altar, which has additional wood carvings, an elevated pedestal, and four golden candelabras.

The image of Our Lady of Manaoag and her bejewelled crown are considered priceless. Several of her golden crowns and haloes are deposited at the shrine's museum, donated by both local and foreign devotees. An expensive collection of liturgical vestments that have been used by the image and the Dominican priests are also on display, as are an array of perfumes used to anoint the image. These are ex-votos given by devotees and pilgrims from around the world. Some of these can now be seen in the Manaoag Museum.

The Apparition of Our Lady of Manaoag

The Apparition 

Documents dating back to 1610 attest that a middle-aged farmer walking home heard a mysterious female voice. He looked around and saw on a cloud-veiled treetop an apparition of the Virgin Mary, holding a rosary in her right hand and the Child Jesus in her left arm, all amidst a heavenly glow. Mary told the farmer where she wanted her church to be built, and a chapel was built on the hilltop site of the apparition, forming the nucleus of the present town. This venerable tradition holds how the town of Manaoag got its name derived from the Pangasinense verb mantaoag, which means "to call" (from the root taoag, "call").

History

An old print of the Virgin of Manaoag

The Augustinians built the first Chapel of Santa Monica (the original name of Manaoag) in 1600, at the site of the present graveyard. It was served by the friars from the town of Lingayen, who were succeeded by the Dominicans in 1605 and served from the town of Mangaldan..

The first Dominican priest to work in the Manaoag mission was Juan de San Jacinto, O.P., who was the first curate of Mangaldan. It was only in 1608 that the Mangaldan mission was formally accepted by the provincial chapter of the Dominicans. In 1610, Tomás Jiménez, O.P. became the Manaoag mission's first resident priest.

Numerous threats from the Igorot tribes of the surrounding mountains led to the transfer of the entire community to the present site on a hill. The Dominicans started to build a large church on its present site in 1701 under the sponsorship of Gaspar de Gamboa and his wife, Agata Yangta, who were wealthy residents from Manila who moved to Lingayen. Later expansion of the church from 1882 was frustrated by an earthquake in 1892.

An estampa of Our Lady of Manaoag

During the tumult of the Philippine Revolution for independence from Spain, revolutionaries set fire to church, its treasures, ornaments, and records on 10 May 1898. The image narrowly escaped destruction; it was found abandoned at the back of the church. It was spirited away to Dagupan City, where it was kept from June to October 1898.

The Dominicans returned in 1901 upon the invitation of Rev. Mariano Pacis, the diocesan priest of Manaoag. Under the aegis of the Dominicans, the church that was started in 1882 was finally completed to a large extent in 1911-12. The central retablo, incorporating Baroque columns from the 18th-century altar, was completed by the famed Tampinco Atelier of Manila. The transepts were completed in 1931-32.

The Dominicans ceded all their Pangasinan missions to the diocesan clergy except Manaoag. Spiritual administration of the shrine in perpetuity was granted by the Holy See to the Order of Preachers in 1925.

Miracles

Some of the earliest miracles attributed to Our Lady of Manaoag, including the original apparition, are depicted in the murals in the church.

In the early days of the Spanish era, animist mountain tribes burnt down newly-Christianised villages. The town of Manaoag was among the settlements that were burnt by the raiders, sending the locals fleeing to the thatch-roofed church. The pillagers's leader climbed over the church compound's crude fence and shot flaming arrows at all parts of the church, but the building miraculously did not catch fire.

During the Second World War, enemy Japanese forces dropped several bombs within the church's vicinity. The structure was only moderately damaged. Four bombs were released above the church, with three landing on the plaza and the façade, destroying both. The last bomb fell into the sanctuary, but miraculously did not explode.

A mother went to Our Lady shrine with her dead child and asked the Virgin to bring her child back to life, then all of a sudden, the child came back to life and later serve to the Virgin’s shrine as an act of thanksgiving.

Canonical Coronation

The Canonical Coronation of Our Lady of Manaoag

A huge crowd attended the canonical coronation of the image on April 21, 1926 by then-Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Guglielmo Piani, S.D.B., as authorised by Pope Pius XI. This meant that the Catholic Church officially recognised and proclaimed that The Virgin Mary acclaimed as Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag had granted favors and blessings to or formidable intercessions for her devotees through the centuries.

The Shrine - Basilica

The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, located on top of a hill in the town, has been canonically affiliated with the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome since June 2011. The parish encompassing Manaoag and the surrounding towns is administered by the Order of Preachers under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.

Manaoag Basilica

Some of the miracles attributed to Our Lady of Manaoag are depicted in murals inside the church's transepts and nave.  Behind the church are the Parish Office, Museum of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag, Candle Gallery, Pilgrims’ Center and Rosary Garden. There is also an Information Center at the Priory at the left side of the church and souvenir shops at the front office of the church, beside the Veneration Room at the second floor behind the main sanctuary, and at the Candle Gallery in the space behind of the church.

The old convento is now the Our Lady of Manaoag College, founded as Holy Rosary Academy in 1946 by the last Spanish Dominican in Manaoag, Rev. Teodulo Cajigal, OP. Since 8 December 1972, the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag has been under the Philippine Dominican Province. It celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of the image's canonical coronation on 1 January 2000.

Canonical affiliation with Saint Mary Major

On 21 June 2011, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome and Pope Benedict XVI canonically approved the granting of a "Special Bond of Spiritual Affinity in Perpetuity" through which the pilgrims are assured of the same blessings and entitlement to a plenary indulgence equal to that received when visiting a papal basilica in Rome. This was confirmed by the prelate (now Archbishop) of the Lingayen-Dagupan, Socrates B. Villegas, in a circular dated June 13, 2011.[4] The Manaoag Shrine is the first to achieve this status followed by the Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay in Taal, Batangas in June 2012.

The official document and a shrine official, who was among the priests who went to Rome, confirmed that the plenary indulgence may be obtained on each visit to the shrine subject to three conditions for each occasion: going to confession immediately before or after the pilgrimage; receiving the Eucharist during the pilgrimage; and praying for the intentions of the Pope; each done in a spirit of detachment from the attraction of sin.

An old estampita of Our Lady of Manaoag

Elevation to basilica

On 22 July 2011, the Shrine of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag was elevated to a minor basilica in a ceremony attended by more than 100 archbishops and bishops, leaders of church and state, and numerous devotees. The Shrine was henceforth called the Basilica of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag, headed by a rector appointed by the Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan.[5] A special Mass was also held to affirm the "Special Bond of Spiritual Affinity in Perpetuity" between the Manaoag Shrine and the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.

Feasts

The primary feast of Our Lady of Manaoag is on the third Wednesday of Easter. The peaks of the pilgrimages are during the Lenten and Easter seasons, the month of May, and the month of October – the month of The Holy Rosary - where the universal feast day of Our Lady of The Holy Rosary is celebrated every first Sunday of October. There are processions after the afternoon Mass on these occasions.

Veneration and Fervent devotion

The archdiocese, in line with the Filipino custom of venerated an image by touching its body or clothing, constructed a staircase that rises to Veneration Room on the second floor behind the apse. The room has pews in front of the alcove behind the image's shrine. Supplicants kneel before the glass small window behind the image's base to pray and touch the hem of the image's mantle, often dropping written prayers into a nearby box.

Procession of the Original image of Our Lady of Manaoag

Thousands converge on Saturdays and Sundays to pray for their intentions, hear Mass, pray the rosary, offer flowers, light candles, buy religious articles, have religious articles or vehicles blessed, get holy water, and join in the daily and seasonal activities. The blessing of religious articles and vehicles is performed at the back of the church grounds after every Mass, while holy water is also dispensed there for free to those with containers.

The short dawn procession and rosary every first Saturday before the 5 a.m. Mass is well-attended by regular pilgrims mostly from Metro Manila and from Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon. These first Saturday rites are pursuant to the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays requested by the Virgin Mary in her third apparition at Fátima on 13 July 1917 for the preservation of world peace. Today thousands continue to flock her shrine to heed her call to her children to give glory to his Son who Redeemed the world.

Sources

Barcelona, Mary Anne. Edited by Consuelo B. Estepa, Ph.D. (2004). "Ynang Maria: A Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines". Anvil Publishing, Inc, Pasig City.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Our-Lady-of-Manaoag/120437460753?sk=info

"Our Lady's Welcome". Shrine of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag. Retrieved on 2014-01-03.

"History". Shrine of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag Official Website. Retrieved on 2014-01-05.

"CBCP: Vatican approves indulgences for Manaoag visitors". GMA News Network. Retrieved on 2014-01-05.

"Manaoag Shrine elevated to Basilica". Shrine of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag official Website. Retrieved on 2014-01-03.

"Pinoys in Guam join dedication rites of Our Lady of Manaoag statue". GMA News Online. Retrieved on 2014-01-05.

Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje - Our Lady of Antipolo

Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje - Our Lady of Antipolo

The miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (English: Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage), more popularly known as the Virgin of Antipolo is one of the most famous Marian images in the Philippines and its Shrine is the most visited in the country, especially during pilgrimage season. People flock her shrine to ask for her guidance and protection especially for travelers here and abroad.

Features of the Image

The image is made of wood carved in Mexico upon the request of Governor-General Juan Niño de Tabora for Tabora is a Marian devotee and he would like to have an image of Our Lady to accompany him in his voyage to the Philippines and to help him govern the country.The statue (a Black Madonna) is a form of the Immaculate Conception, and is enshrined at Antipolo Cathedral in the city of Antipolo in the province of Rizal.

The statue is one of the most celebrated images of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines, gaining devotees since the mid-19th century. From May to July each year, the image attracts millions of devotees from all over the country and abroad.

Arrival of the Virgin of Antipolo from Mexico

History

On March 25, 1626, Don Juan Niño de Tabora boarded the El Almirante galleon and left Mexico to go to the Philippines. He brought along the brown image of the Blessed Virgin. The “El Almirante” safely braved the dangers of the stormy seas and a fire aboard the ship for three months. It finally arrived in the ports of Manila on July 18, 1626. Governor Tabora credited the Blessed Virgin for the galleon's safe and successful journey and called for a celebration for the image's arrival.

A vintage estampa of the Virgin of Antipolo

A religious procession was held to transfer the image to the Manila Catholic Cathedral in Intramuros. It was believed that because the Blessed Virgin provided safe voyage for the galleon, she was named Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje. The Blessed Virgin assures that everyone will be safe in any voyage, any journey, any pilgrimage or trip for as long as the Way is Jesus, also the truth and the Life.

A royal decree from Isabella II of Spain on 19 May 1864 ordered that the curias of San Nicolas de Tolentino be turned over to the Jesuits in exchange for the curias of Antipolo, Taytay and Morong, which were given to the Augustinian Recollects, who thus came into possession of the image.

The Virgin's "trip" to the tipolo tree

An artistic depiction of  the Virgin
of Antipolo on top of Tipolo Tree

Upon Governor Tabora's death in 1632, the Blessed Virgin was turned over to the Jesuit fathers who were constructing a church in Antipolo. A church was to be built for the Blessed Virgin in the nearby barrio of Sta.Cruz although the Jesuit fathers found it hard to move it there from the Church of Antipolo. As if in protest of leaving the town, the image was always found on the tree trunk of Tipolo (breadfruit; Artocarpus incisa) which grew in the original site of the old church. Because of such, a pedestal was curved out of the trunks of that tree and the Blessed Virgin became locally known as the Virgin of Antipolo.

With this incident, the place called Antipolo to commemorate the miraclous event of the Virgin resting on the tipolo tree.

Chinese Revolt

When the Chinese community in Antipolo revolted, they burned the church as well as the image. However, the Blessed Virgin was recovered unblemished except for a slight streak on her right cheek. It was said that the image was stabbed by the Chinese non-believers but the image miraculously survived. The stab can still be seen to this day.

The image was transferred to Manila then to Cavite where it stayed for 14 years.It was brought on board the galleons of the Filipinas-Mexico trade route on round trips from Manila to Acapulco.

The Virgin of Antipolo and the Galleon Trade

Don Sebastian ordered the statue removed from its Cavite shrine in 1648, and its was shipped back to Mexico aboard the galleon San Luis. At the time, the image served as Patroness and Protectress of the Manila - Acapulco Galleon Trade.

The statue crossed the Pacific on Manila-Acapulco galleons six times from 1648 to 1748 aboard the: San Luis — (1648–1649) ,Encarnación — (1650), San Diego — (1651–1667), San Francisco Javier — (1659–1662) ,Nuestra Señora del Pilar — (1663) and San José — (1746–1748)

Saint Pedro Calungsod

Saint Pedro Calungsod and the Virgin of Antipolo

It is said that in one of the trips of the Galleon "San Diego" in  1667, Blessed Luis de San Vitores and Saint Pedro Calungsod went aboard to the ship along with other volunteer catechist and companion Jesuits for their evangelization work in Guam and made a stopover to Mexico to get the necessary funds and additional companions for their mission. Since the Virgin was also on board, it is believed that St. Pedro Calungsod and Blessed Diego venerated the Virgin to assist them in their missionary efforts.

Escape of the Virgin of Antipolo

Antipolo during World War II

In 1944, the Japanese Imperial Army invaded the town and turned it into a garrison, with the shrine being used as an arsenal. To save the image, the church's head sacristan, Procopio Ángeles, wrapped it in a thick, woollen blanket and placed it in an empty petrol drum, which he then buried in the kitchen.

Fighting between Imperial troops and the combined American and Filipino forces drove Ángeles and other devotees to move the image to Kulaiki Hill between Antipolo and Angono. From there, it was spirited away to Barangay Santolan in Pasig, and then to the main area of Pasig itself. The statue was then housed to the residence of Rosario Ocampo, one of the prominent ladies of Manila, in Quiapo, Manila, before it was enshrined inside Quiapo Church for the remainder of the Second World War.
On 15 October 1945, the statue was returned to its church in Antipolo, where it resides today.


Miracles

A cholera outbreak was spreading the Philippine Islands and several people died during the outbreak and Antipolo was not spared. The people were alarmed with the situation that they decided to seek the help of the Virgin of Antipolo to eradicate the plague. The people went in procession and held a mass on top of a hill. After the mass, the plague was gone and this became a practice to bring the Virgin to the hill in special times of  need.

The Hill is now called the Pinagmisahan Hills and today, on the first Tuesday of May, the image is brought to Pinagmisahan Hills to signal the beginning of the Pilgrimage season.

Our Lady of  Antipolo on her Canonical Coronation
in Luneta

In June 6, 1868, a young José Rizal and his mother Dona Teodora Alonzo went to the shrine in thanksgiving after the boy and his mother survived his delivery in 1861 as to fulfill the vow made by his mother to take the child to the Shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo should she and her child survive the ordeal of delivery which nearly caused his mother’s life.

Canonical Coronation

With much miracles that are attributed to the miraclous image of Our Lady of Antipolo, The statue was canonically crowned by the Archbishop of Manila, Rev. Michael J. O'Doherty, on 26 November 1926 in Luneta, Manila with much rejoicing.

Antipolo Cathdral

The Cathdral Shrine

The first missionaries in Antipolo were the Franciscans, who arrived in the vicinity in 1578. The Jesuits then followed and administered the church from 1591 until 1768, when the Jesuits were expelled from the Spanish colonies. The church was greatly damaged during the Chinese uprising of 1639, the 1645 Luzon earthquake, and the earthquakes of 1824 and 1883. Notable Filipino historians such as Pedro Chirino and Pedro Murillo Velarde ministered at the church.

The Diocese of Antipolo was created on 24 January 1983 and was canonically erected on 25 June 1983 at the "Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage" or the "Shrine Parish of the Immaculate Conception".

"Alay Lakad" from Quiapo Church to Antipolo is
held every April 30

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages to the image's shrine begin and peak in May, the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary. On 30th of  April—the eve of May Day— thousands of devotees from Metro Manila customarily spend the night travelling on foot to Antipolo, where they are greeted at the shrine with a dawn Mass. This custom is known as the "Alay Lakad" where the the starting point of the pilgrimage is the Basilica Minore of the Black Nazarene, popularly known as Quiapo Church in Quiapo, Manila.


Sources:

Aviado, Lutgarda. ; "Madonnas of the Philippines". Quezon City:Manlapaz Publishing Co. 1975
Barcelona, Mary Anne. Ynang Maria: A Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines. Edited by Consuelo B. Estepa, Ph.D. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2004.
 "Diocese of Antipolo". CBCP Online.
 "Our Lady of Antipolo (Birhen ng Antipolo)". Ministry to Filipinos, Diocese of Orlando.
 "Antipolo History". Antipolo City, the Pilgrimage City. Retrieved on 2013-03-02.
 "Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage". Antipolo, Pilgrimage City. Retrieved on 2013-02-22.
Jose Rizal University (2004). "In Calamba, Laguna". JoseRizal.ph. Retrieved 1 May 2015.

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila

Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila

The Image of Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila (colloquially known as Santo Rosario or Our Lady of La Naval de Manila), is dubbed as the La Gran Señora de Filipinas. As with the Battle of Lepanto of 1571, Filipinos credit her intercession for successfully repulsing Dutch invasion during the Battles of La Naval de Manila.

The image of Our Lady of La Naval, whose feast is celebrated every second Sunday of October, is a 16th-century ivory and wood statue enshrined at the Santo Domingo Church (formally, the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary) in Quezon City. The image, its regalia, and the Santo Domingo Church Complex have been designated National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines PH-16-0009-NCT by the government in 2009 as amongst the country's Cultural Properties.

Features of the Image

Measuring some 1.52 metres, the body is made of hardwood while the face and hands, as well as the entire Child Jesus in its arms, are made of genuine ivory. Since its creation, the statue -- considered the oldest dated ivory carving in the Philippines -- has always been decorated with elaborate garments and a crown. A medal was placed at the center of the base of the image, that medal is the National artist Medal of Nick Joaquin, a well reknowed Filipino writer and poet famous for his literary works for the Virgin of La Naval. The Quijano de Manila (as he is popularly called) expressed on his deathbed that his medal will be placed at the base of the image as his final offering. The medal can still be seen today.

The statue has merited several papal honours: Pope Pius X who granted it a canonical crown in 1907, Pope Paul VI who proclaimed her Patroness of Quezon City and Pope John Paul II who proclaimed her Patroness of the Philippine Navy. Pope Pius XII also sent her an Apostolic Letter on the occasion of the Tricentenary of La Naval de Manila while Pope Leo XIII issued an exhortation for people to come in pilgrimage to Santo Domingo Church and to pay respects to the Virgin which was then in Intramuros.

The Carving of the Image

History

In 1593, the new Spanish Governor-General Don Luis Pérez Dasmariñas, commissioned a statue of Our Lady of the Rosary for public veneration in memory of his recently deceased father. Under the direction of Captain turned priest Don Hernando de los Rios Coronel, the sculpture was made by an anonymous Chinese immigrant, who later converted to Christianity; this is the commonly cited reason for the statue's Asian features. The statue was later given to the Dominican friars, who installed it at the Santo Domingo Church.

Popular legend has it that while the Chinese carver was making the image, he heard a gentle female voice saying: " "¡No me des tan fuerte!" - "Do not chisel me too hard!, it hurts!" . This incident haunted the carver that when he was in Ilocos, he decided to be baptized and he willed that it will be done in front of the image he made. I a simple ceremony the infidel became a Catholic. The sculptor and the image were at last united in bonds that transcended mere earthly association.

Early Miracles

The miracle of the mother-o'-pearl

A Moro diver was doing his job to find precious pearls for trading and while he saw a great pearl in a giant clam, as he about to get the precious pearl, the mother-o'-pearl closed that his arm got stuck. The diver remembered about a preaching of a Dominican friar in Zamboanga about the Miraculous Image of the Santo Rosario in Intramuros and he later asked the Virgin to help him escape from a sudden death and he promised to offer the pearl to the Virgin, immediately, the mother-o-pearl broke into two and his arm was released  and got the precious pearl. The diver immediately went to Intramuros and with the permission of the friars, he gave the precious pearl to the image of the Virgin.

The Virgin reprimanding the thief

Not long after, a thief was lurking inside the church and wanted to rob the pearl of the Virgin, as he about to reach the image, the image spoke to him "¿Por qué me roba usted cuándo no le daño?" - Why dost thou rob me when I harm you not...?  The thief fell down and realized his sin, he repented and since then, the people now have high regard to the Lady's jewels.

Another miracle took place is the miracle of Francisco Lopez in 1613 who is known for his viscious deed, yet his saving grace was praying the Rosary. One day while he is on a voyage, the natives attacked the ship that left the Spaniards injured, some of them died. Francisco did not die yet he has wounds all over his body and bled profusely. Seeing his end is near him, he sincerely pleaded the Virgin to help him in his last hour. Then suddenly, the Virgin and the Child Jesus appeared to him, walking towards him and sustained him in his remaining hours. Then a ship came and his acquaintance, Gonzalo Salcedo saw him in his pitiful state and Lopez related his encounter with the Virgin and asked Salcedo for a priest for his last Sacraments. A Franciscan priest came and recieved his last sacraments and died in peace.

That same moment, the camarera, Doña Ana de Vera saw the the lower part of the dress of both the Virgin and Child were dirty with cake mud and wet. This alarmed her that she called the Padre Prior to report the incident. The conclusion to this mystery was later reached when an investigation took place and found out that the miracle of Francisco Lopez and the discovery of Doña Ana de Vera happened the same time. This miracle was probed in 1621.

A Mother went inside Sto. Domingo Church, then in Intramuros, with her dead 6 months old baby boy. She went to the feet of Our Lady and begged to bring his dead baby back to life. To the amazement of the mother, and the crowds inside the church, the baby was brought back to life to the rejoice of his mother. The miracle was duly recorded and perpetuated.

The Battles of La Naval

Poster for the Tricentennial Celebration of the
 Victories of La Naval

In 1646, naval forces of the Dutch Republic made several repeated attempts to conquer the Philippines in a bid to control trade in Asia. The combined Spanish and Filipino forces who fought were said to have requested the intercession of the Virgin through the statue prior to battle. They were urged to place themselves under the protection of Our Lady of the Rosary and to pray the rosary repeatedly. They went on to rebuff the continued attacks by the superior Dutch fleet, engaging in five major battles at sea and losing only fifteen members of the Spanish Navy.

With five battles to face against the Dutch, the Filipino and Spanish forces led by Commander Lorenzo de Orella y Ugalde won despite being shorthanded: they had only two merchant galleons: The "Encarnacion" and the "Santo Rosario" against 18 Dutch warships.

After the Dutch retreat, in fulfillment of their vow, the survivors walked barefoot to the shrine in gratitude to the Virgin.Later, on 9 April 1662, the cathedral chapter of the Archdiocese of Manila declared the naval victory a miraculous event owed to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, declaring:
"Granted by the Sovereign Lord through the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin and devotion to her Rosary, that the miracles be celebrated, preached and held in festivities and to be recounted amongst the miracles wrought by the Lady of the Rosary for the greater devotion of the faithful to Our Most Blessed Virgin Mary and Her Holy Rosary.”

Since then, the tradition of walking barefoot to her shrine later evolved to the iconic Grand Procession of the Santo Rosario that gathers thousands to millions of devoteed every year.

The Canonical Coronation

A rare photo of the Canonical Coronation of
Our Lady of La Naval on October 5, 1907 in Intramuros, Manila

Pope Pius X authorized granting the statue a canonical crown in 1906, which was bestowed by the Apostolic Delegate to the Philippines, The Most Rev. Ambrose Agius, O.S.B.. The canonical coronation of the Santo Rosario is the first in Philippine Church history and in Asia.
For the canonical coronation of the image, some 310,000 individuals lead by the professors of the University of Santo Tomas, donated their heirloom jewels, precious gems, gold and silver to the for the Canonical Coronation of October 1907. These form part of the image's large collection of elaborate jewels some of which date to the 1700s.

In 2007, she celebrated the Centenary of the Canonical Coronation with much rejoicing and pomp as the people relived the memory of the said event, especially during its re-enactment.

The Virgin of La Naval on her procession at
the University of Santo Tomas

World War II and its transfer to Quezon City 

During the Japanese bombardment in 1942, fearing that the statue would be destroyed, church authorities hid the statue at the University of Santo Tomas until 1946, the 300th anniversary of the battles. During these times, the novenas and processions continued despite the tragic times of the war.

The statue was transferred in October 1954 to a new shrine built to house it inside the new Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City–the sixth Santo Domingo Church since its erection in the late sixteenth century. For this journey, devotees constructed a Carroza Triunfal (a boat-shaped carriage) to carry the image to its new home, which was declared her National Shrine by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. In October 1973, La Naval was formally declared the patroness of Quezon City, at that time the national capital.


La Naval in Philippine Modern History

St. John Paul II and the Virgin of La Naval in 1981

The funeral service of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was held in the image's shrine after his assassination in August 1983. Other notable funerals held in the shrine include renowned Filipino actor Fernando Poe Jr. in 2004 and Doña María Ejercito, the mother of former President Joseph Estrada in 2009.

During the People Power Revolution of February 1986, a vicaria of the statue was brought in procession to the Malacañan Palace by the Dominican friars, in a peaceful protest of the state of martial law instituted by President Ferdinand Marcos. The replica was also brought to the eastern gate of Camp Crame, the police headquarters where the rebel forces headed by Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel V. Ramos were confined during the uprising. Many Filipino Catholics attribute the revolution's peaceful victory to the miraculous intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Virgin of La Naval during her visit in UST

During the Visit of St. John Paul II to the Philippines in 1981, at the presence of the crowd and the orignal image of the Virgin of La Naval, she was proclaimed as the Queen and Protectress of the Philippines and the whole of Asia.

In December 2011, the Eternal Word Television Network featured the image as the "Grandest Marian Icon in the Philippines" on an episode of the programme "Mary: Mother of the Philippines". That same year, after many years, she returned to the University of Santo Tomas for the celebration its 400th Anniversary with much delight of the Thomasian community for she is the Patroness of the Royal and Pontifical University that became her temporary home during the Japanese invasion.

"Procesion de las Procesiones"

At present, devotees continue to flock Sto. Domingo Church to ask for the help of Our Lady and millions attend her Grand Procession every 2nd Sunday of October. The La Naval Procession is dubbed as the "Procesion de las Procesiones" (English: The Procesion of all Procesions) for it gradeur, pomp and solemnity. The format of the procession dated back to the Spanish period and it is still being followed up to the present, particularly the procession of the original image that is still being processed for centuries.

The Image of the Virgin is flanked with 27 Dominican Saints led by the first Filipino Saint, St. Lorenzo Ruiz who said to have served and venerated the Image as a member of the Confratenity of the Holy Rosary before his martyrdom in Japan.

Santo Domingo Church and the Virgin of La Naval as National Cultural Treasure

The Present Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City

The Santo Domingo Church, also known as National Shrine of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila (Spanish: Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila), is the largest church in Metro Manila and one of the biggest churches in Asia. It is a massive church complex that includes the mother house of the Filipino Dominicans, which is the center of Dominican activities in the archipelago and the Filipino Dominicans who have been sent to other parts of the world.
 The image, its church and convent, along with the other objects stored in the complex were declared a "National Cultural Treasure" by the National Museum of the Philippines on 4 October 2012. This declaration is in accordance with Republic Act 10066 ("National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009") announced officially by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and by the National Museum.