332. Santo Stories: STA. VERONICA of SAN MATEO, RIZAL

San Mateo, Rizal has perhaps, one of the most organized Lenten processions in the region, with a little over 20 santos participating, a mix of the old and new. The oldest image is believed to be that of the STA. VERONICA, the woman who wiped Jesus’s face with a towel that cause His likeness to be imprinted on the cloth.

 

STA. VERONICA, Holy Tuesday, 2016

The processional image was originally owned by couple Victoriano (Maestro Bito) and Andrea Santos. The image, which had been carved in Pangil, Laguna in the 1800s, and which had participated in the early processions there, was brought to San Mateo in the 1930s, as Bito’s  wife hailed from there. Their STA. VERONICA has since been a regular participant in the annual Lenten rituals in the historic town.

 

STA. VERONICA, April 2019

When the Santos couple passed away, the image of STA. VERONICA was left in the care of their daughter, Mrs. Rosita Santos-Manahan. When, in her old age, she found it difficult to tend to the image, she passed it on to her only child, Tessa Jasminez-Manahan, who, with her family, has been caring for the antique image ever since.

 

IN PROCESSION, 2019

The processional image shows the santa with a roundish, almost glum face. The sudarium that she holds unfolded with both hands, and which bears the painted impressions of the 3 Holy Faces, has been periodically changed.

 

TESSA JAZMINES, current caretaker, in glasses

All other original accessories, are still intact and complete, from her jewel-encrusted corona and paragua, brass appliques, right down to her beautiful, silver paneled carroza. Preparing her has become both a family and a community affair, a responsibility that daughter Tessa has come to love and embrace.

 

STA. VERONICA, 2012

SOURCES:

Tessa Jazmines FP Page

Debosyon at Kasaysayan: Ang Mahal na Araw sa Bayan ng San Mateo, Parokya ng Nuestra Señora de Aranzazu. Souvenir program, 2001.

298. ANTIPOLO, by Ileana Maramag

People make yearly pilgrimage to this Rizal town to pay homage to centuries-old Brown Madonna.

By Ileana Maramagpublished in The Sunday Times Magazine, 20 May 1962.

Still drawing a steady stream of pilgrims at this time of year is Antipolo, the small hilly town in Rizal province made famous as the shrine of the centuries-old brown Madonna as Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage.

Antipolo, however, is not what it used to be. In the olden days, old folks like to recall, the place was no more than an isolated hamlet that could only be reached by carretela or cascos, via one of the Pasig River’s tributaries that wends its way to several Rizal towns. Thus, pilgrimages to the Virgin of Antipolo in those days were more hazardous and involved no small amount of sacrifice.Often enough, the pilgrims had ti hike the slippery trails of the region or cross the difficult terrain in man-borne hammocks. Aisde from this, the pilgrimages were made more festive by the bright parasols, colorful balintawaks and camisas de chino worn by the pilgrims, Today, the practice has all but disappeared; Antipolo is easy to reach via paved highways and modern-day pilgrims make the Maytime trek in buses or drive down the 28 km. road to Antipolo in snazzy cars,

Source: Sunday Times Magazine, May 1962

From Manila, it takes no more than 45 minutes to reach the town proper, and once ed there, pilgrims converge at the modern church which is easily Antipolo’s biggest landmark. Once inside, one discovers that the age-old image of Our Lady of peace and Good Voyage is enshrined in a special niche atop the main altar.

Source: Sunday Times Magazine, May 1962

Annually, on May 1^st, by tradition, the Virgin is borne in solemn procession to an improvised altar atop Pinagmisahan Hill, where a mass is said to commemorate the first Mass celebrate by the early Spanish missionaries on the same hill. Devotees also mark the feast of Antipolo Virgin every first Tuesday of May.

Early historians report that the image was first brought to Manila from Mexico on June 29, 1626 by the then newly-appointed Governor General Juan Niño de Tabora to isnure the safe voyage of the galleons against pirates and typhoons.

No one can tell exactly how the Virgin became enshrined in the town of Antipolo. There are two versions. One reports the image was taken to the Rizal town by the Governor general and Archbishop and crowned as Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje. Another account says the statue disappeared and was found perched atop an antipolo tree, on the same spot where the Antipolo church now stands.

Another legend tells of how the Virgin of Antipolo acquired its dark color. The story goes that during the 1639 Chinese Rebellion (which include Rizal and  Laguna towns), the Chinese burned the statue but somehow the image miraculously remained unscathed. Instead, the carving turned black and has retained its dark hue through the centuries.

When the Japanese commandeered the old Antipolo church and used it as their garrison during the last war, devotees smuggled the image, buried it in a drum, and later transported it to the Quiapo Church where it was enshrined until after the Liberation.

241. ANGONO'S SAN CLEMENTE PUTOL

SAN CLEMENTE, patron of Angono fishermen. Also called
"San Clementeng Putol" because the half-bodied santo was meant to be placed
in a pulpit, thus requiring only the upper half of the body to be seen.

The ancient town of Angono, which had its beginnings in 1575,  is famous for its resident artists (Botong Francisco, the Blancos), colorful Gigantes Festival and caves with mysterious petroglyphs. But it is also known for its patron—San Clemente--whose unique, half-body image can be found enshrined in the church located at Poblacion Ibaba.

A legend has it that the image of the pope saint was fished out of Laguna de Bay by  fisherman Justino Villaluz a long time ago. His net caught something heavy as he was fishing for kanduli (catfish), and when he hauled it back to the boat, he was surprised to see a portion of a log caught in the net.

But greater was his awe when he saw, upon closer inspection, that the log was actually a carved bust of a man with a crown—the image of the papal saint of Rome, San Clemente. Because the lower half of the body was presumed missing, it earned the monicker San Clemente Putol (or San Clementeng Matanda). It was only later that Villaluz  learned that the figure was actually carved that way, representing the saint preaching while in a pulpit, which hid the lower part of his body.

From the home of the Villaluzes, the image of San Clemente was taken to the town’s first church on a hill in Biga, constructed in 1751, which had already been dedicated to San Isidro Labrador. A second church at Ibaba was finished in 1854, and it was here that San Clemente was enthroned, amidst protests from Biga townsfolk who laid claim to the image. Hacenderos pacified the displeased residents.

Eventually, a full-bodied replica was made of San Clemente, which is the image brought out for Angono’s colorful and raucous fiesta, held on the saint’s birthday, November 23 ( a second thanksgiving fiesta held every February has long been discontinued).  To differentiate the two San Clementes, the older, half-bodied version is also known today as San Clementeng Matanda.

The fiesta is capped with a procession of ‘gigantes’—giant, paper mache figural creations, representing popular characters—including San Clemente and his family. This Higantes Festival has become inextricably associated with Angono—along with San Clemente who seemingly chose the town himself to be the seat of his papal mission in the Philippines.

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE 2008 HIGANTES FESTIVAL 

OF ANGONO HERE:

The Life of San Clemente

 San Clemente (or St. Clement of Rome) was the Christian world’s 4^th pope. His time was marked with persecutions against Christians, resulting in his deportation to Crimea.There, he ministered among Christian slaves who were forced to work in barren salt mines.  Upon imploring God’s mercy for the slaves, pure, clean water inexplicably flowed from the stones—a miracle that converted many Crimeans.

As a result, Emperor Trajan had St. Clement arrested and put to death. An anchor was tied to his neck and thrown into the Crimean Sea. But angels appeared to retrieve the body of the martyr pope from the sea, which miraculously floated already in a marble tomb, along with his anchor. He died in c. 98.

Iconography and Emblems

The papal saint is represented arrayed in papal vestments, wearing a papal tiara, or more often, a mitre. Emblems and attributes include an anchor on his side, palm of martyrdom, papal staff, keys to heaven (symbols of his papacy).

San Clemente is the patron saint of marble workers, anchor smiths, blacksmiths and seamen. Angono has had a long fishing industry tradition, and at one point was dubbed as  “Imperio ng Kanduli” (Catfish Empire). There, San Clemente is recognized as the patron saint of Angono’s fishermen.

 SOURCES:

"Heritage Discoveries in Angono, Rizal", by Edgar Allan Sembrano, 21 Dec. 1015, Philippine Daily Inquirer

 Various Religious Beliefs and Practices in the Philippines, Vol. 1.

25. ‘MARY MAGDALENE’ WENT TO BINANGONAN IN 1920

By Gerry Lirio , Philippine Daily Inquirer , 2000

Mary Magdalene set foot in Binangonan, a sleepy town in Rizal province sometime in 1920. She was fo sale.

A young woman named Brigida Antazo-Ojeda and her trader husband Segundo Ojeda first saw Mary Magdalene on Evangelista St. near Quiapo one fine day. She was a towering 5’8” image of the woman from whom Jesus Christ cast out seven devils in Galilee.

Brigida and Segundo bought and brought Mary Magdalene home in Binangonan. They adopted her like the child they never had.

She was actually the second Mary Magdalene who came to the town. The first one was a smaller, owned by another couple in a nearby barangay. But for still unknown reason, the couple joined Iglesia Ni Cristo and abandoned her in a bodega, like any other old fashioned mannequin.

Another couple wanted to buy her but the Iglesia couple turned it down, saying what the Iglesia had rejected should not be given to somebody else. Nobody ever saw her again. She disappeared without a trace.

In contrast, Brigida’s Mary Magdalene was warmly welcomed at the Ojedas’ ancestral home. She was an instant attraction. The house had huge windows made of capiz and a wide balkonahe that allowed people to see her from the outside.

Earthquakes, typhoons and floods struck Binangonan one after another in the years that followed but Mary Magdalene never left the Ojedas. She stayed even when Japanese soldiers occupied Binangonan during the war.

Mary Magdalene stayed in the corner of the ancestral house even when a Japanese Army captain seized and used it as his command center, forcing the Ojeda couple and their relatives to evacuate.

But the Japanese captain didn’t touch Mary Magdalene, probably either out of fear or out of respect. Brigida would later tell this story to her nieces, among them Leticia P. Manuzon, now a 76 year old retired public school teacher.

Mary Magdalene stayed with the Ojedas, even after Segundo died before the liberation. In no time, she gained the respect of the residents who attributed to her certain miracles in their lives.

She would later join the annual Holy Wednesday, Good Friday processions and Easter Sunday “salubungan” in the town’s poblacion, representing the Galilean woman who washed Jesus Christ’s feet with her tears, dried them with her long hair, and covered them with perfume.

Dressing up Mary Magdalene for the processions that dramatize the life and passion of Jesus Christ is not easy, especially with her 5’8” frame. It is one elaborate production, Manuzon said.

Because she was once a woman of the world, Church leaders in Binangonan allow Manuzon’s family to dress Mary Magdalene to the nines.

“Ay naku”, said Manuzon’s cousin, 53-year old Ursula Libramonte-Ojascastro, another retired public school teacher. “Si Magdalena kasi pustoryosang babae. So we have to capture that”. A petticoat and a robe are a must, for instance.

She wears one bright dress with rhinestones and semi-precious stones for the Holy Wednesday procession and an elegant black dress for the funeral or the Good Friday procession.

Still she has to wear one set during ordinary days and another set when she is brought to remote barangays for the “Pabasa”. Unlike other women saints on parade, Mary Magdalene must hold a bottle of perfume on her right hand. Even if she was once a woman with a checkered past, she wears a sparkling crown.

When Brigida died of old age in 1960, she asked her nieces to cherish Mary Magdalene the way she did. In 1986, Brigida’s ancestral house gave way to a new one. By then, Brigida’s own nieces have their own families. Still, Mary Magdalene continued to occupy an esteemed place.

Mary Magdalene would later undergo some changes: her body and arms were repaired. Her face had to be waxed. Her hair color turned from burgundy to white. Roughly, she’s now 80 years old.

A few years back, a wealthy Chinese trader approached Manuzon and offered to buy Mary Magdalene for a huge sum. The offer was so tempting but it was flatly rejected. In fact, townsfolk would be the first to reject it. To them, Mary Magdalene is priceless.

She belongs now not only to the Ojedas but to all of the town’s devout Catholics, serving as an inspiration to repentant sinners.

A mother sending her little boy to school once made the sign of the cross when she got past Brigida’s ancestral house a few years back. She said a few prayers and urged her little boy to do the same: ”There is a saint in the house”.

Like the Galilean woman who changed her ways, Mary Magdalene is not for sale. Not at all.