310. Santo Stories: KAMBAL NA KRUS OF TONDO

On March 23, 1922, Crispino Lacandaso, a young carpenter, was chopping wood from a felled, hundred year-old sampalok (Tamarindus indica) tree on a vacant  lot at 1885 Juan Luna Street, Gagalangin, Manila. 

After much difficulty, the laborer managed to cleave the trunk in two. To his amazement, he saw a dark cross on a base, imprinted on both halves of the wood. The discovery of the twin crosses—Kambal na Krus—was considered a miracle, and instantly created a sensation among devout Catholics in the area.

The pieces of wood were subsequently encased in glass, and later, installed in a small chapel that was built as a shrine where devotees  could come to venerate the sacred twin crosses. One piece is a bit larger than the other, but both are adorned with burst of metal rays or rostrillos, and draped with embroidered cloth serving as capes of sorts. 

The trunks, which have darkened with age making the crosses less visible, flank a carved figure of crucified Christ. The chapel continues to be a center of pilgrimage and has been renovated many times, the last one as recent as 2013.

The Chapel's Discovery Day is on 23 March, but the actual celebration is held on the 3rd Sunday of March. During the fiesta, many people flock to the Chapel to venerate the crosses, showing gratitude for the past year's blessings. The Kambal na Krus Chapel is also a favorite visita iglesia pilgrimate site during Maundy Thursday.

SOURCES:

"KambalnaKrusChapelTondojf9663 06" by Ramon FVelasquez - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KambalnaKrusChapelTondojf9663_06.JPG#mediaviewer/File:KambalnaKrusChapelTondojf9663_06.JPG

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kambal_na_Krus_Chapel

225.Retro-Santo: SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA of the St. Anthony Shrine, Sampaloc

SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA. The center of veneration of many Filipinos in the church of Sampaloc is this image of St. Anthony, patron saint for the recovery of lost items. His devotion was promoted by Franciscan missionaries.

The St. Anthony Shrine in Sampaloc is one of two Franciscan churches in Manila dedicated to the devotion of St. Anthony of Padua, propagated by the Order. The first Franciscan missionaries to the Philippines embarked from the port of San Lucas in July 1576 and by the time the ship reached Manila on 24 June 1577, seven had died in the voyage leaving just 10 Franciscans to start their missions.

By 2 August, they had finished the construction of a convent where they were lodged. A second mission from Madrid left in 1577, which included San Pedro Bautista, who was martyred in Japan. The Franciscans are credited for founding the towns of Santa Ana De Sapa, Majayjay, Nagcarlan, Pililla, Lumbang, Tayabas, Naga, Morong, Lucban, Pila, Pangil, Iriga, among others.

In the 18th and mid 19th cenury, the Order expanded its labors in Leyte and Samar. Known as builders, Franciscans erected San Juan De Dios Hospital and founded the San Lazaro Leprosarium (1605), the Military Hospital (1578, destroyed in an 1863 earthquake), San Diego Leprosarium in Camarines (1586, the Monte de Piedad de Manila (1879)—and the aforementioned twin churches.

The St. Anthony Shrine on Bustillos St. houses a very old image of San Antonio de Padua who bears the Christ Child in his arms. This San Antonio used to be enshrined at the Iglesia de San Francisco, a monumental church constructed in 1739 in the walled city of Intramuros. It is the devotion to this saint that proved to be popular among Filipinos, and in time, the image became an important icon of veneration, drawing devotees from all over for the triduum masses and processions held from June 13 to 16.

The stately Franciscan Church, however, suffered the same fate as major churches during the 1945 Liberation of Manila , completely destroyed by bombs in the bloody siege. When people came back to sort through the ruins, they found the image of their revered San Antonio miraculously unscathed, under the rubble of the church.

The rescued statue was whisked away for safekeeping to the Franciscan church of Sta. Ana. Through the prodding of Fr, Mariano Montero, OFM, the image was transferred to the reconstructed convent and church of V.O.T. in Sampaloc, which became known as the Shrine of St. Anthony. San Antonio was mounted on the wall directly behind the main altar of the shrine.

The saint continues to attract large crowds anywhere from 5,000 devotees on ordinary days, to 8,000 during the 13 weekly Solemn Novenas prefacing the saint’s feast day.

52. RETRO-SANTO: Lourdes Grotto of Baguio

OUR LADY OF LOURDES. A popular tourist and pilgrim destination since the turn of the 20th century. The grotto, with the stone image of Our Lady continues to be one of Baguio's enduring landmarks. Ca. 1924.

One of Baguio’s long-standing landmark is the Lourdes Grotto at Quezon Hill in the western part of Baguio, overlooking the city. There, the painted stone image of Our Lady of Lourdes perches, reachable by 252 steps from the ground.

The popular shrine replicates the Lourdes grove where the Virgin Mary appeared to a young French woman, Bernadette Soubirous in Massabielle in the town of Lourdes, France. The devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes was approved in 1962 by the Pope and has since grown into a worldwide devotion.

The grotto was established in 1907 by the Jesuits and has since become a nationally well-known pilgrimage site, frequented by devotees and tourists, moreso during the Holy Week. Pilgrims usually negotiate the steep steps to reach the image of Our Lady, lighting candles at an altar before the image.

The grotto has undergone many facelifts through the years. Hanging milk glass lamps used to hang inside the grotto to light the image of Our Lady. This old picture, for instance, shows part of the painted inscription: 'Qué soï era immaculado councepcioũ,' a phonetic transcription of "I am the Immaculate Conception" which Our Lady declared to Bernadette in French Gascon Occitan language. Today, a metal arch frames it with the words "Tota Pulchra Es Maria" (Thou Art All Fair, Oh Mary.)