239. The Untouchable: STA. INES of BULACAN, BULACAN

TOUCH HER NOT: The revered antique ivory Sta. Ines of Bulacan, Bulacan.

In a chapel in Bulacan, Bulacan can be found a small, ivory image of the young virgin-martyr, Sta. Ines (St. Agnes of Rome)—venerated by pious Bulakenyos and pilgrims from all over. But with the ardent devotion comes a warning—that the image must never be touched by menfolk in deference to her purity which she kept intact after being subjected to all sorts of torments and abuse. Even priests are no exceptions.

 The ancient ivory image was found by a fisherman from Pariahan who was out looking for a good catch in the sea. The sea was soon enveloped by a thick mist followed by claps of thunder, lightning and a heavy downpour. In the midst of this tempest, the fisherman saw a mysterious glow at the far end of his boat.

When he came nearer to inspect the light, the fisherman was surprised to see the image on a floating basin. He tied the basin to his boat and towed it for home. Upon sighting land, the fisherman attempted to lift the basin with the image and bring it ashore, but he could not even lift it. Other fishermen came to help him, but the basin would not budge. But when the women came to their succor, they handily and easily lifted the image safely to the shore.

 Considering the event as miraculous, the barrio people constructed a “visita” and put it under the patronage of Sta. Ines—a name that was on the book held by her left hand. Eventually, the saint’s name replaced “Pariahan” as the name of the barrio.

 Then and now, the feast of Sta. Ines every 21st of January is marked with days of prayer capped by a procession. In the course of the 9-day novena, the petite Sta. Ines image is dressed indifferent vestments every day.

Twice the image is processioned—in the morning and in the evening—borne on a decorated anda by women, who also heap tributes of songs and poems to their beloved patron in a tradition called “Luante”. 

 To remind uninformed men, signs bearing the warning “Paunawa: Bawal Humawak Ang Mga Lalaki” are placed strategically on the anda, lest misfortune comes—in the form of floods, storms, lightning strikes and other natural calamities.

 The antiquity of the Sta. Ines image can be seen in the fine lines on the ivory face. On her right hand, she holds an olive palm, a symbol of her martyrdom.

The other hand holds a book topped by a primitive lamb, which stands for purity. The story of the saint could be read at the “visita” where she is enshrined.

WATCH "STA. INES SA BULACAN RATED K" 

PART 1 VIDEO HERE:

"STA. INES SA BULACAN RATED K" PART 2

 Sources: 
“Gunita”, by Naning Santos. 
Alfonso, Ian Christopher B. at Rodrigo, Jose Antonio M. 2013, Bulakan: Pag-alaala sa biyaya ng nakaraan -- ikalawang tomo: sining, kalinangan, at mga natatanging anak ng Bulakan, Bulacan. Malolos, Bulacan, Center for Bulacan Studies, Bulacan State University.

187. STA. INES: From A Virgin Most Pure to a Virgin-Martyr

STA. INES, VIRGEN y MARTIR. Blessedness in Ivory.

There are only a handful of wooden Sta. Ines images in the Philippines, so what more of ivory? In my years of going to antique shops, ancestral houses and heritage sites, I have seen many “santas” rendered in ivory, even those considered minor or not as well-known.

In one shop, I once saw a beautiful ivory Sta. Lucia in a virina, complete with a pair of silver eyes on a dish. I also remember seeing an unusual Sta. Rita holding a crucifix and a skull, flanked by her young sons, all in ivory. Most recently, a large Sta. Filomena, with gold accessories and regally-embroidered vestment surfaced in the market.

With the exception of the processional ivory Sta. Ines in Bulacan, I still have yet to see one for sale, be it from a shop or from a private collector. I’ve always taken a keen personal interest in the virgin-martyr saint, as I come from Barrio Sta. Ines in Mabalacat, known today as the Pampanga exit of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

I like to believe that it’s also more than a coincidence that I was born on the feast of Sta. Ines—January 21—thus further underlining her significance to me. For years, in our small barrio, veneration revolved around a small Sta. Ines image owned by the Dela Cruzes, an old Mabalacat family whose ancestors founded the barangay in the 19th century. I’ve always been fixated on the ancient figure of the young santa, dressed in green with a palm leaf in one hand, and a primitive-looking lamb at her feet.

 When I developed an interest in santo collecting, I told myself that one day, I will have my own antique Sta. Ines in ivory. But after years of waiting in vain, I was ready to give up—until a friend gave me sage advice – “ïf you can’t find one, make one”.

THE ORIGINAL LA PURISIMA. Found in a Fairview antique warehouse, this santa has ivory head and hands. It stood on a globe base and had a dispropotionately stunted body, which made it ideal for conversion into the child-saint, Agnes.

That opportunity presented itself when I found this small La Purisima Concepcion in a dealer’s warehouse, and which I acquired for a reasonable price. One look, and I knew the ivory headed-image with ivory hands was a perfect candidate for transformation into a Sta. Ines.

 It had a young-looking, soulful face on a body that was a bit short—more teenage than adult, just the right size of I were to make a young santa representing a 14 years old. The Virgin had a manikin body, so it was easy for me to pose her in the attitude of Sta. Ines—one arm pressed to her chest to hold the palm of martyrdom, the other, holding a lamb.

There were a few things that needed to be changed—the globe base with the snake had to go. That was the easy part. But the vestments needed to be overhauled totally.

 STATUE OF ST. AGNES, at St. Joseph's Shrine, St. Louis, Missouri USA. From the flickr page of Mr. Mark Scott.

I took the Purisima to my restorer, bringing with me pictures and estampitas (holy cards) of the saint, for wardrobe color reference.

ESTAMPITAS OF STA. INES, show a consistency in the color depiction of her dress, which guided the restorer in the creations of the santa's vestments.

Most of our visual references assigned her the colors pink and blue green, so my restorer and I decided to work on those shades. Her vestments will only have minimal gold embroidery on the hems, with much draping to be done to simulate the rich folds of St. Agnes statues done in the round.

 Months before, I had the good sense to buy tiny lambs and sheep of white clay, which originally formed part of an antique Nativity crèche. So, that solved what I thought was my biggest problem—tto find the saint’s animal attribute that also bears her name phonetically—Agnus, or lamb.

STA. INES AND HER EMBLEMS. The silver palm is actually a vintage silver brooch picked from a Mabini shop. The lamb is an antique creche animal figure.

The most difficult challenge turned out to be the search for a silver palm leaf—a symbol of the young saint’s martyrdom. I scoured ebay for a silver palm brooch, but came away empty-handed—either they were way too expensive or were not of the right shape and size.

But a week after the start of the transformation project, I dropped by at a Mabini antique shop and found an old but damaged silver brooch, that could pass off as a palm frond, as it had individual leaves. The size was also perfect!

After a month of waiting, my Sta. Ines was done. When delivered, she was wearing a new jusi wig, crowned with an antique silver gothic halo that I found separately, standing on an oval gilded base, specially commissioned for her.

With the addition of the silver “palm” leaf and the tiny lamb on one palm, the santa-formerly-known-as-La Purisima looked every inch a Sta. Ines.

STA. INES, in its glass virina. Personal Collection.

175. Retro-Santo: STA. INES OF THE RODRIGUEZ FAMILY, Bacolor

AGNES WITH AN AGNUS. The private image of Sta. Ines, owned by the Rodriguez Family of Sta. Ines, Bacolor, Pampanga, as she appeared in the early 1970s.

One of the most prominent families of Bacolor were the Rodriguezes, who were part of a much bigger Rodriguez clan that originated from Bataan and Mariveles. The Bacolor branch had as its progenitor, Don Olegario Rodriguez who settled his family in Barrio Sta. Ines.  A descendant, Dna. Gorgonia Rodriguez y Yabut (b. 19 Sept. 1886/ d. 14 Nov. 1960) came to live in the "Bale Sim" family mansion as its resident-in-charge in the early 20th century.

Into the large, art-filled Rodriguez Mansion, Dna. Oniang added the devotional image of Sta. Ines. Touring Europe in the 1920s, she and her entourage visited Spain, and had an image of the young virgin-martyr of Rome wrought there. The 4 foot plus image of Sta. Ines (St. Agnes) is iconographically depicted with her attributes—a palm of martyrdom on her right hand, and a lamb on her left, symbolizing her purity (also, the Latin word for a lamb is agnus, a play on her name).  The completed santa was brought home to Bacolor where it has now become a much treasured and revered family heirloom.

Though privately owned, the Rodriguezes allow Sta. Ines to be brought out during the saint's feast day,  21 January.

146. Santos Stories: STA. INES OF BRGY. STA. INES, MABALACAT CITY

STA. INES, Patron Saint of Barangay Sta. Ines, Mabalacat, Pampanga. Heirloom image of the Dela Cruz Family,

Sta. Ines is one of the more than 20 barangays of Mabalacat that is perhaps, the most popular among motorists passing the newest chartered city of Pampanga. It is here that one can get out of the North Luzon Expressway—via the Sta. Ines Exit—and into the old McArthur Highway. For many years, the Sta. Ines Exit was considered the end of the NLEX, and another alternative entrance to Clark Field.

Along the narrow exit stands the ancestral house of the Dela Cruz Family, in which an old image of the town patron is kept in an altar by the descendants. The Dela Cruzes figure prominently in the creation of this barrio, which was founded as early as 1842, according to the Historical Data Papers of Mabalacat, although an alternative year—1878—is more realistically ascribed as its foundation year.

 BARANGAY STA. INES, Maytinis 2012 Procession.

The original owner of the future Sta. Ines belonged to one Don Francisco Pamintuan, and the land was inherited by his son, Camilo. Mariano de la Cruz later bought the land and settled it. One of the early settlers of the barrio, Ines Basilio, gave the place its name. She, in turn, asked that the place be held under the titular patronage of the child-martyr, Sta. Ines or St. Agnes.

St. Agnes, from a noble Roman family,  was just 13 years old when she was martyred for her faith. Refusing to marry the son of the prefect Sempronius, she was beheaded and her blood flowed on the stadium floor. Sta. Ines became a patron saint for young girls and has become a symbol of chastity and purity, represented by the lamb that also has come to stand for her name (Agnus).

Mariano de la Cruz married Simeona de la Cruz (no relation) and their union resulted in the following  offsprings: Emiliano, Librada, Sebastian, Antonino, Pilar, Vicente and Rosario. For their young girls, the couple commissioned an unknown santero to make them a small image of their holy patron, carved in the round (talyado). The image of Sta. Ines, almost pumplish,  stands 2 and a half feet tall at most. It originally came with a carved lamb at her feet, but a replacement animal now accompanies her, which suspiciously looks like an old dog of San Roque.

Over time, to protect and preserve the original image, a duplicate statue was made, faithfully replicating the antique Sta. Ines.

 THE REPLICA IMAGE OF STA. INES. (From the Sta. Ines Chapel FB Group.)

On one hand, she used to hold a palm of martyrdom, but a fresh olive palm leaf plucked from some garden has now become her attribute. She is carved from soft wood, and wears her original gold-plated pukpok halo with very intricate relief patterns. The image has been painted many times—the vestments in green and yellow. It has finely carved features, apparent even through its thick layers of encarna.

Meant for the family’s private devotion, Sta. Ines once resided in an urna alongside another small but older heirloom santa—Sta. Maria Magdalena—which was cared for by one of the daughters, Rosario de la Cruz (Angeles), who donated it to the barangay of Sta. Maria Libutad. The Sta. Ines image was bequeathed to Pilar, who, upon her death, passed it on to her daughter Iraida de la Cruz. It was also Pilar’s way of showing her gratitude to a daughter who unselfishly cared for her spinster sister, Librada.

 APUNG INES, being processioned at the annual Maytinis of Mabalacat City.

The two santas go out on procession at different times of the year; Sta. Magdalena joins the Holy Week processions while Sta. Ines is borne on her own carroza during the December Maytinis festivites. She also comes out regularly on her feast day, January 21.

 INTERIOR OF STA. INES CHAPEL, where the image of Sta. Ines used to reside for many years. The chapel was a donation of the Policarpio Family. (Form the Sta. Ines Chapel Facebook Group)

When the Sta. Ines Chapel was constructed in the 70s funded by barrio folks led by the Policaprio Family on land donated by the Dela Cruzes, the precious family image was enshrined there. A new, larger Sta. Ines image was commissioned by the barangay in 2011, and the antique Sta. Ines reverted back to the heirs.

The current owners, siblings Socorro, Alda, Ernesto Jr. and Concesa de la Cruz, have returned the image to their ancestral house, to be used once more for their own personal family devotion. In the prayer room of the Dela Cruz home, now being beautifully restored by Concesa and her family, Apung Ines is permanently housed in her own urna, resting on a cotton-filled floor to simulate her heavenly abode.

Sta. Ines images are also venerated in such places as Bulacan, Bulacan; Camarin in Caloocan and in Sta. Ines, Bacolor, Pampanga.