284. TWO LADIES OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY

The Virgin of the Holy Rosary is one of the most popular figures depicted in Philippine religious statuaries. The most well-known is of course, the Virgen del Rosario of La Naval, housed at  the Sto. Domingo Church, whose October feast day is marked with pomp and pageantry. These Virgins of the Holy Rosary are two of the lesser-known images found in the Philippines, but which nevertheless, inspire the same fervent devotion by the faithful in the local churches where they are enshrined.

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY, Oroquieta, Misamis Occidental

About 1870, this image of Virgen del Rosario was brought to Misamis by one Fray Roque Azcona, and enshrined it in its chapel until the present church was built in 1881. In 1883, when it was planned to replace this image with a more ornate one, a great storm arose lasting for weeks, changing the minds of the people. During the Moro uprisings in 1894 and 1901, this image was the object of the Mohammedans’ fury. Her shrine was put to flames but before it could do any appreciable damage, heavy rains fell, averting the infidels’ designs. 

OUR LADY OF THE HOLY ROSARY of Misamis Occidental today.
Photo from: Archdiocese of Ozamis website, Parishes
https://ozamizparishes.wordpress.com

Our Lady is also remembered for saving the the townsfolk from an epidemic of cholera in 1881. After holding a procession in her honor, the plague suddenly ceased. Every year, on October 16, the people of Misamis observe sole,n novenas and holy Masses in honor of their Patroness who has shown Her desire to remain with them and has generously given Her heavenly aid, in their necessities.

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY, San Jose, Iloilo

This image of Our Lady of the Rosary was found in 1616 on the shores of Iloilo, not far from its fortress, while excavations were being made to prepare trenches for the defense of the City against an invading Dutch squadron under  the command of Admiral Spielberg, which attacked the island on 28 September 1616.

OUR LADY OF THE HOLY ROSARY of San Juan,
Iloilo. Photo from: Historic Old Philippines website.

The discovery of this image so inspired the defenders under the leadership of Don Diego de Quiñones that they hurled back the invaders in the battle that ensued. Today, after surviving more than three centuries, this image is venerated in the parish church of San Jose, in Iloilo.Simple but beautiful, it shows our Lady with the Child Jesus in one hand and holding out a long silver Rosary in the other. She is depicted standing on a pillar of cloud with angels attending at her feet.

 PHOTO SOURCES

Our Lady of the Rosary,Misamis Occidental:

https://ozamizparishes.wordpress.com/parishes/holy-rosary-parish-oroquieta-misamis-occidental/

Our Lady of the Rosary, Iloilo

http://historicphilippines.com/our-churches/historic-churches-ii/san-jose-de-placer-church-iloilo-city-iloilo/Historic Old Philippines,San Jose de Placer

Marian Congress celebration Souvenir Program, 1954

232. Santos of La Naval: STA. CATALINA DE SIENA

STA. CATALINA DE SIENA. Antique ivory image
used in the La Naval procession of Our Lady of the Most
Holy Rosary, Sto. Domingo Church, Q. C. Credits: Saga of 
La Naval, Triumph ofa People's Faith, Dominican 
Province of the Philippines, 2007.

St. Catherine of Siena, (b. 1347.d. 29 April 1380), youngest of 25 children, joined the Third Order of St. Dominic and received the stigmata. She encouraged Pope Gregory XI to abandon Avignon for Rome, ending 70 years’ exile of the papacy from the city. Canonized 1461, Declared Doctor of the Church in 1970. Patroness of Fire Prevention. 

About The Image: The image of Sta. Catalina is housed at the Beaterio de Sta. Catalina. At the base of the image is inscribed: Donacion de la M.R.M. / Catalina de la Resurrecion/ Jez/ +13 unio 1853. This means that the image was donated before Mother Catalina died in 1853. When the Japanese destroyed the building on 28 Dec. 1942, the image was evacuated under the leadership of Fr. Francisco Sadaba O.P. of Letran. The air raid sirens threw the bearers in panic, who left the image in the street while they scampered for refuge at the Jesuit religious house in Intramuros. Eventually, everybody reached the University of Santo Tomas campus. The image is dressed in Dominicn’s habit.

Attributes: Crown of roses proffered by Christ, chosen over a crown of gold, heart in hand, rosary, book (referring to her work) and lily, symbol of virginity.

208. OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY, Santissimo Rosario Parish, U.S.T.

OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY, Santissimo Rosario Parish, U.S.T. ca. 1960. 

 The 1960 celebration of the Feast our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, from September 24 to October 2, was pacled with activities and marked with great pageantry, culminating in the grand procession of the images of Our Lady and St. Joseph in the late afternoon of Oct.2, Sunday. The Santissimo Rosario parish itself was erected on 2 May 1942, with its seat at the Students’ Chapel and Fathers’ Residence of the UST.

The first parish priest was the very rev. Fr. Emiliano Serrano O.P. U.S.T.’s close association with Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary began just before Santo Domingo Church was firebombed in December 1941, at the heaight of war. The miraculous image of our Lady was transferred under military escort to San Juan de Letran. But with Letran also under threat, the image was transferred to the U.S.T.’s Students’ Chapel where Our Lady stayed as a refugee, until her enshrinement at her magnificent church in Quezon City, built in 1954.

 A replacement image was installed in the chapel, made of wood and carved in the round. It depicts a standing Mary, with the Christ Child on her left arm, while holding a rosary with the fingers of her right hand. The smaller-than-lifesize crowned image stands on a cloudy base adorned with flowers. 

The devotion to Our Lady never waned even with her transfer, but in fact, became even stronger, as people flocked to U.S.T. to implore her maternal assistance particularly in October. The 1960 solemn festivities were marked with daily masses, novenas, flower offerings and vigils.

Block rosary units, established early in the parish area, practiced the “recitation of the rosary in the “Rosario de la Aurora”(dawn rosary) procession. This devotion took place at 4 a.m. on the first Saturdays of the month—from May to October. The faithful, carrying images our Lady and their candles, assembled at the U.S.T. gate and marched in procession around the campus, singing Ave Marias and praying the Rosary.

 Today, the grandeur that was the pre-war Santo Rosario fiesta lives on, as more devotees from all corners of the Philippines gather every October to personally reaffirm their faith in the unfailing protection of their patroness, Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

193. AN IVORY VIRGIN MYSTERY

WHO CAN SHE BE? An antique ivory-faced Virgin, with missing parts, surfaced in the market a few years ago. Her identification remains a mystery, but I suspect she represents "Our Lady of Light", and not "Our Lady of Consolation", as she was previously named by the seller.

 The identification of santos seem simple enough; one need only to look at his emblems and attributes to pin down his/her identity. A more diligent study is needed when the major attributes are missing—the attitude of the saint, his facial features, the pose of his hands, the color of the garment--can help in the identification process.

It is easy to assume that santos in a tableau (an assemblage of more than one holy figure) are easier to identify ( e.g. Crucifixion, Holy Trinity, Coronation of the Virgin), but not in the case of this ivory Marian tableau, whose identity continues to baffle me.

The dealer who showed this to me told me it was a Virgen del Carmen. At first glance, it did look like Our Lady of Mount Carmel—for it featured a small bearded ivory figure emerging from what looked like the fires of purgatorio (purgatory). The depiction of souls in purgatory are usually represented with half-bodies engulfed by flames and European paintings often include these souls (anima sola) with the image of the Virgen del Carmen.

But then, Virgen del Carmen is often represented in brown vestments, and is shown seated with a Nino—much unlike this standing Virgin in gold-embroidered clothes. Also, if this were a Virgen del Carmen, her right hand would have been in a grasping pose, to hold a scapular.

This observation then, led me to think that this was Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. I have seen figures of souls in the representations of the Virgen del Rosario, a known intercessor in saving souls from the flames of purgatory.

 However, when I further examined the figure of the man with outstretched hand at the base of the santo, I was surprised to see a pair of eyes on his back. A closer scrutiny clearly showed that the eyes were part of the features of a demon creature about to swallow up the hapless soul!! This unusual scene is depicted in the representation of Our Lady of Light or Ntra. Sra. De la Salavacion, simply here in the Philippines as Salvacion.

 “Salvacion”was one of the favorite Christian images of veneration introduced by the Jesuits, closely associated with their missionary work in Europe and in America. The inspiration for this image came from Palermo, Italy, where Jesuit Giovanni Antonio Genovese asked a nun to create the most effective visual representation for this devotion. The nun saw the image in her vision and had an artist paint it. The painting was housed in the Leon Cathedral in 1732.

 In the Salvacion tableau, a standing Virgin holding the Child Jesus would have her right, outstretched hand snatching a soul from the mouth of a demon—which would have been consistent with this figure, save for the pose of her right hand—the manikin hand could have been repositioned at some time.

 Opposite this—emerging from the cloudy base as seen in this tableau-- would have been the figure of a winged angel offering a basket of hearts, symbolizing saved souls. A pair of smaller angels would have hovered above the Virgin’s head, ready to crown her.

It would have been easy to verify this—there would have been holes or remnants of dowels and wires on the back of the Virgin that are tell-tale signs by which the angels were attached to the body of the Virgin . Unfortunately, this tableau was sold soon, so there is no way to examine the tableau and ascertain the image’s true identity.

 Our Lady of Light is invoked for protection against storms, plagues and other natural disasters. In modern times, she is the patron of electricians.

166. THE SANTOS OF LA NAVAL

The Virgin of the Most Holy Rosary, the most important Marian image in the Philippines commisioned by Gov. Gen. Luis Perez Dasmarinas, is closely associated with the Dominicans as it was to them that the image was entrusted after its completion in 1593. It was later enshrined at the Sto. Domingo Church.

As such, the venerable image is honored with annual processions participated in by carrozas bearing the likenesses of Dominican saints made with ivory head and hands. The age of the ivory images has not yet been ascertained, but most seemed to be from the 19th century. The first images to be made were those of Sto. Domingo and San Pio Quinto.

Santo Domingo Guzman, from a noble family in Caleruega, Spain was first a priest, then a Canon Regular in the Cathedral Chapter at Osma, He went on to found the the Order of Preachers ("Dominicans") , approved by Pope Honorius III in 1216. His iconography includes a dog with flaming torch in its mouth, based on her mother's dream. His name has become a pun for "domini canis" (God's dog) and "Dominicanus", or a Dominican priest. He is also represented with  star on his forehead, a vision seen by a godmother during his baptism. A staff and a rosary are also his attributes, as a legend states that the Virgin personally gave him a rosary. He died in 1221 and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1234.

San Pio Quinto was born in Bosco, Tortona, Piedmont, Italy, in 1504, and baptized as Michael Ghislieri. He joined the Dominicans and rose to become bishop, grand inquisitor, and cardinal. Elected pope in 1566, he zealously implemented the decrees of the Council of Trent. He had the rosary prayed throughout the battle against the Turks at Lepanto until these were defeated; he instituted the fiesta of our Lady of the Victories, later changed to the Rosary, on October 7. Died on May 1, 1572, at the Vatican, April 30. Beatified 1672, canonized 1712.

The image of San Vicente Ferrer is one of the original images to join the La Naval processions. It survived the war by being kept in a vault at the Sto. Domingo Church. Standing under 5 feet, its metal accessories--banner, book and aurelo, are of silver.  Valencia-born San Vicente Ferrer joined the Order of Preachers at age 17, and became known as an "Angel of Peace" during turbulent times in Europe. Hence, he is represented as a winged saint. He gained fame as a charismatic preacher, and was miraculously understood by many people of different nationalities who listened to his sermons despite speaking in his native language. Thousands of Jews and Moors in Spain were successfully converted this way. A trumpet is also an attribute, referring to his preaching of the coming of Judgment Day.

Other La Naval santos: San Lorenzo Ruiz, Beata Juana de Aza, Beata Margarita de Castelho, Santo Thomas Khuong, San Juan de Capillas, Santa Rosa de Lima, Santa Ines de Montepulciano, San Vicente de la paz, Santa Magdalena de Nagazaki, San Juan Macias, San Martin de Porres, Santa Rosa de Lima, Santa Catalina de Ricci,  San Juan de Colona, San Luis Beltran, San Antonio de Florencia, Santa Catalina de Siena, San Alberto Magno, Santa Ines de Montepulciano, San Raymundo de Penafort, San Jacinto de Polonia, San Pedro Martir, Santo Tomas de Aquino, Santa Margarita de Ungria and San Jose.