313. HONORING SAN ISIDRO, by Bibsy M. Carballo, Sunday Times Magazine

By Bibsy M. Carballo    /    Photos: Romeo Vitug 

Photos of  San Isidro, courtesy of Jayson Maceo

The Sunday Times Magazine, 21 May 1972, pp. 26-27

Sincerity Flamboyance, Festivity.

Nowhere else in the world, perhaps, is as much tribte and homage given to the food god than in the coconut-producing towns of Quezon province,

Perhaps it had to do with the utter dependence of the crop on the whims of nature; perhaps it can be explained through the people’s love for ritual and spectacle. Whatever the reasons, the fifteenth of May each year is a special day dedicated to San Isidro, patron saint of the farmers.

In Sariaya, boys clamber up abamboo
pole to try to topple it.

For weeks before this day, all regular work stops and the entire towns busy themselves in preparing the buntings and delicacies that will hamg from wondows and bamboo poles around the town.

Although each town celebrates the feast in its own way with even urbanized Lucena paying lip service with a few street decorations, the towns of Lukban and Sariaya, are the perennial competitors in the art of celebrating San Isidro.

The street is a mad sceneof happy grabbing and elbowing.

Lukban, with its candy-colored kipings in fancy shapes, its fruits and baskets, its entire window facades in a riot of colors. Sariaya, with its bamboo poles festooned with goodies which are torn down as the venerable San isidro passes by in the procession in the early evening; less colorful, less party-pretty, bit more exuberant and spontaneous.

A satisfied grin on his face, Sariaya well-wisher
walks away with his prized possessions.

And, as always, in keeping with the tradition of prayers for food and a good harvest, no visitor is allowed to go home empty. Food is literally pushed down one’s throat; it is an insult to decline. Houses are opened up to entire strangers; and as the Alcalas of Sariaya have found out, no one has really been proven to be the loser by such a reckless gesture.

262. Santo Stories: SAN PATRICIO: Lola Taring’s Namesake Santo

PATRICIA'S SAN PATRICIO. Lola Taring’s namesake santo, as he appears today, a gift from a kind priest on her birthday. Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is rarely seen as a religious statue in the Philippines. On his March 17 feast day, people celebrate by wearing green, a color traditionally assigned to him.

In the picturesque town of Lucban, Quezon, Patricia Villa (b. 1914/d. 2008), was known in her younger days as a pioneer catechist who taught catechism in the town’s public schools for free.

But she is also known as the owner of an old wooden santo, remarkable in that, it is almost never seen in household altars for personal devotion.

 Lola Taring, as she is called by her “apos”, owned a 15 inch image of San Patricio de Irlanda (St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland) that she treasured and kept in her lifetime. How it came to be in her possession stems from a simple act of generosity from a visitor priest who once visited Lucban.

The daughter of Leocadio Villa and Feliza Venzuela, Taring practically grew
up in Lucban. As she was born on the feast day of San Patricio—17 March 1914-- she was named Patricia. Her parents made her aware of this coincidence, and Taring developed a devotion to her namesake saint.

Early on, Taring displayed extraordinary piety, and was known to attend the daily 6 a.m. mass without fail. She received her informal education from the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, a local religious congregation for women founded by the servant of God Alfredo Maria Obviar, the first residential bishop of our Diocese.

 On her 13th birthday in 1928, she had a special visitor in the person a certain Rev. Fr. Caparas, from Cabuyao. Fr. Caparas’ godmother happened to be Taring’s cousin, Remedios Deveza (who herself, owned a Virgen de los Remedios, featured in a past article on this blog).

The good father came with a special birthday surprise which he presented to the new teenager—a painted baticuling image of San Patricio, the celebrated bishop of Ireland, in his traditional green vestments, wearing a mitre and holding a brass staff. The santo is represented crushing a few snakes underfoot. The figure stands on a peaña on which is inscribed the date of presentation to you Taring. The image was said to have been bought in Manila.

For most her young life, Taring treasured the image of San Patricio, and druing the dark days of World War II, the santo was the only possession that she carried while Lucbanins fled the town that was about to be overrun by Japanese forces.

 Surviving the war, the image was restored by one of the shops of Maximo Vicente after the liberation in 1945. Unwittingly, the encarnador—who was not familiar with the Irish saint and its iconography—painted the vestments yellow.

 Taring lost both her parents early; she also never married, and although she had a house in Lucban, she stayed with the Rañola Family, whose daughter, Luz, was a close family friend and a kindred spirit, and who, like her, was also a soltera. The Rañola Family, by the way, owned the magnificent Santo Entierro in Lucban.

In her golden years, Lola Taring lived the rest of her life in Lucban, attending to church duties as a Lourdesian. She passed away at the ripe old age of 94 on 25 October 2008. The image of San Patricio was left in the care of a grand nephew, Jayson Maceo, who had lived with her and had been doted since he was a toddler.

In July 2016, the image of San Patricio was re-painted by artist Kiko Aguilar and regained his original green vestments, based on an estampita. The snakes at the foot of San Patricio are now missing. It is now under the care of the Maceo family, where it has been encased in a protective virina.

 Surely, Lola Taring is smiling down on her descendants who continue to cherish and love her namesake santo—the least they could do to honor her life and her memory.

 (Many thanks to Mr. Jayson Maceo for providing the details of this story, as well as the photos to accompany the article)

249. The Seraphic Doctor: SAN BUENAVENTURA of Mauban, Quezon

SAINT OF GOOD FORTUNE. San Buenaventura

These photos were sent to me by a santo aficionado who chanced upon a group of devotees preparing this antique ivory santo for procession in a church and in a place that he could not even recall. He hastily snapped these pictures then only remembered being told that the santo’s name was San Buenaventura, a saint that is rarely heard of or even seen in the Philippines. It turned out that the place was in Mauban, Quezon, with San Buenaventura as the town's patron saint. 

San Buenaventura (St. Bonaventure), born in Tuscany in 1221, was a Franciscan cardinal, theologian and Doctor of the Church. He got his name when, as a sickly boy, he was cured of his illness through the prayers  of St. Francis of Assisi, who exclaimed “O Buona Ventura!” (Oh, good fortune!) upon seeing him recover.

Inspired by St. Francis, he became a Franciscan at age 22 and taught theology. He became a Minister General of the order in 1257 and in the course of his life, he was known for his spiritual writings that earned him the name “the Seraphic Doctor”.  He received the degree of Doctor, together with his friend St. Thomas Aquinas, in Paris.

Named as Cardinal by Pope Gregory X one year before his death, he was also appointed as Bishop of Albano.  He died while he was assisting at the Second Council of Lyons, on 15 July 1274.

ICONOGRAPHY:

 St. Bonaventure is often depicted in statues and drawings wearing a Cardinal's hat and the bishop's crosier (shepherd's staff), a miter, and sometimes a crucifix. In some, he wears a mezclado—his cardinal’s red pellegrina worn over his Franciscan habit. His other attributes include the Church, in reference to his being a Doctor, and a quill—for his writings. His feast day is July 15th.

The image is currently enshrined at the Parish of San Buenaventura in Mauban, Quezon. A similar church dedicated to San Buenaventura is located in Balangkayan, Eastern Samar. If any of you, dear readers, know more information about this particular San Buenaventura, please send me a message through this blog.

PICTURES COURTESY OF MR. BONIE MERCADO.

182. Images of the Boy Bishop: SAN LUIS OBISPO

IVORY IMAGE OF SAN LUIS OBISPO. An heirloom image of a family from Lucban, Quezon.

San Luis Obispo de Tolosa is known primarily as the patron saint of Lucban, Quezon and Baler, Aurora. Little is known of him in other places of the Philippines, but in the United States fore example, the mission house named after him (Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse), occupies a prominent place in California history, it being the fifth mission founded by San Junipero Serra in 1772.

SAN LUIS OBISPO. The oldest known San Luis image from Lucban, which used to occupy a niche in the facade of the old church.

St. Louis was born on 9 February 1274 to Charles of Anjou and Maria Arpad of Hungary  in Brignoles, Provence, and spent his childhood years in Nocera, Italy. While his father was at war, he was taken to Barcelona as a captive and studied under Franciscan friars for 7 years.

LUCBAN'S SAN LUIS. Another local image of the boy bishop from the church of Lucban.

When he became of age, he was named archbishop of Lyon despite his captivity; he assumed his father's secular titles upon his father's death, gaining his freedom in 1295.

SAN LUIS IN AN URNA. An antique tabletop image of San Luis Obispo, from a Lucban family.

Thereafter, he went to Rome and gave up all his royal inheritance in favor of another brother, Robert of Anjou. He took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and two years later, in 1297, Louis was consecrated Bishop of Toulouse. There, he earned a saintly reputation with his activities--feeding and serving the poor.

HEIRLOOM IMAGE OF SAN LUIS. Carved in the round, this private devotional image of San Luis is another Lucban family heirloom.

He died at age 23, exhausted from his labors, on 19 June 1297. His case was promoted by Pope Clement V in 1307, and he was canonized by John XXII on 7 April 1317.

SAN LUIS ENSHRINED IN A RETABLO. A 1960s image of San Luis carved by a Bicolano craftsman rests in a side altar of the Lucban church.

His cult became popular first in Medieval Hungary, but the Franciscans spread the devotion in Europe, observing his feast day in their calendar and taking his relics in 1423 to Valencia, where he was made patron saint.

SAN LUIS FOLK SANTO. An offering from one of Manila's antique shops. Personal Collection.

As expected, very few images of San Luis de Obispo can be found in the Philippines, mostly concentrated in Lucban.  Rarer still are home devotional santos of this young bishop-saint, a few of which are shown here.

SAN LUIS, POPULAR STYLE. A naive carving of San Luis Obispo, with very folksy qualities. Private Collection.

His iconography shows the boy bishop as a young, beardless religious, attired in a bishop's robe and holding a crozier and a book, often with a discarded crown by his feet.

(Many thanks to Mr. Jayson Maceo, for the use of his photos)

70. RETRO-SANTO: Mater Dolorosa of Dolores, Quezon

Enshrined in the main altar of the parish church of Dolores, Quezon, is this image of Our Lady. Of unknown origin, the 150 cm. high image depicts our Sorrowful Mother with seven swords piercing her heart and tears flowing down her sad countenance. The Virgin has her hands joined together, and wears a cloak of violet which is replaced with one of black on Good Friday.
Her feast is observed on the Friday preceding Palm Sunday with solemn rites and procession (Turumba) which is marked with peculiar acts like turning to the image and clapping the hands.

Her devotees visit here every Friday during the whole year, and in the Marian Year, all the parishes in the Diocese of Lucena made pilgrimage to her shrine during the Fridays of Lent.