71. THE ANGELS OF ANGELES

El Pueblo de los Ángeles (The Town of the Angels) owes its name to its patron saints, Los Santos Ángeles de los Custodios (Holy Guardian Angels), and the name of its founder, Don Ángel Pantaleón de Miranda, who, together with his wife Doña Rosalia de Jesus, created a new settlement out of Culiat, a forested area north of San Fernando, in 1796. On December 8, 1829, it finally became a separate municipality. The center of worship of Angeles is the Santo Rosario Church, completed in 1897. To pay homage to their patrons, several residents commissioned images to be carved, and they remain in existence today, surviving wars, natural calamities and the passage of time.

SAN ANGELO CUSTODIO

The image of the guardian angel was finished in 1830 and was passed on by the founders of Angeles to the succeeding heirs and descendants. It is currently under the care of Teresita Nepomuceno Wilkerson (handed down by father Juan Nepomuceno, founder of Holy Angel University), and is enshrined at the Holy Angel Chapel at the university grounds. A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person or group. The belief that God sends a spirit to watch every individual was common in Ancient Greek philosophy and the idea also appears in the Old Testament, although it is not specifically articulated. In Matthew 18:10, Jesus says of children: "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven". The 48 in. antique wooden image was recently restored in 2006.

SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL

Gabriel's name means 'God is my strength'. Gabriel is the Angel of child conception or the process of adopting a child, also the Angel of resurrection, mercy and peace and benefactor of " messengers". He is the patron of all who work in the field of communications. postal workers, and clergy. This image dates from 1916, with Jose Sanchez as the original owner. The heirs of Vicente Henson now take care of this almost-century old image.

SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL

Michael's name means 'He who is like God' or 'He who looks like God' He is the leader of the Archangels, he is the Angel of protection, justice & strength. The antique image shows San Miguel in his traditional representation--awe-inspiring with his silver wings, holding a sword and a scale to weigh the souls of men. He tramples the Devil underfoot. Also from 1916, the original owner was Roman Evangelista who bequeathed it to Francisco and Domingo Evangelista.

SAN RAFAEL ARCANGEL

Rafael's name means 'God heals' or 'God has healed' based upon the Hebrew word, Rapha, which means 'doctor' or 'healer' Rafael is a powerful healer of physical bodies, both for humans and animals. He is the Angel of Love, Joy and Laughter, the Patron Angel of all those in the field of Medicine.The fish is San Rafael’s primary attribute, in reference to his instructing his young traveling companion, Tobiah, to use the liver of a fish to cure the blindness of Tobit, Tobiah's father. This image was made in 1915, commissioned by Mariano V. Henson and passed down to Januaria and Manuela Lacson.