77. Assembling Divinities: SAN JOSE AND NIÑO JESUS

An antique dealer in Padre Faura sent me this cellphone photo of two ivory-faced santos for my consideration. I was drawn, of course, to the San Jose, which, despite being just a mask and without hands and base (it had been put on an old polychromed base) showed some promise to me. The clincher, of course, was the price, which was more than reasonable—surprising for a shop that is known to have pricey stuffs.

I was already happy with my San Jose find, intending to have it restored. On my way out, I casually asked him to be on the look-out for a small ivory Niño. To my delight, he brought out another santo fragment—a small ivory Niño head that was set on a new, grotesquely chubby wooden body.

Immediately, I had an idea—what if I can have this San Jose assembled with a Christ Child instead? I checked the proportions and the two ivory faces were a match! For just a few thousands more, I went out of the shop with both a San Jose and a Niño Jesus!

To Dr. Raffy Lopez, I did go next, of course, the santo restorer who had been helping me fix my broken santos for years now. I brought with him an unpainted antique base which I had kept in my baul, and Raffy immediately sent this to one of his contractors for painting and gilding.

When he set the San Jose and the Niño on the repaired base—the two looked comfortable up there! The San Jose body quickly underwent restoration—new ivory hands were carved and set on wire armature arms. The Niño’s body was whittled down to its proper size. Meanwhile, work began on the vestments. We decided on an olive green color for the robe and a light brown colored cape for San Jose. The design drew inspiration from gothic lines.

As always, wigs and metalworks (halo, potencias and flowered staff) were ordered from the workshop of Dodong Azares. Just a few weeks later, the assembly was complete and the amazing results are shown on this page.

My San Jose and Niño Jesus are now encased in a hurricane glass shade (locally called “coca cola virina”) that I found separately in another shop, with a replaced base and topper.

I am glad I bought these santos, and even happier that I had them restored and preserved, and they are proofs that everything—and that includes even damaged, cheap, and seemingly ugly santos--have divine possibilities.

76. PHILIPPINE RETABLOS

Images of saints were not only captured by Philippine artisans in 3-dimensional carved figures, but were also replicated in bas-reliefs on wood panels. Called “retablos”, these wooden works, often beautifully polychromed and showing multiple characters, Biblical events or episodes from a saint’s life were often hanged on church walls, although smaller ones were made for private devotion. Retablos represent some of the earliest examples of religious woodworks done in the islands during the colonial period.

ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS

From the church of Candaba, Pampanga, this 17th century retablo form part of a series of Nativity scenes rendered in polychromed molave wood. Luis Araneta Collection.

ADORATION OF THE MAGI

This retablo, evidently done by the same craftsman, is done with a more polished effort. The colors are more exciting and vivid and the similarity in the expression of the characters are peculiarities of images from Pampanga. Luis Araneta Collection.

SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR

St. Isidore, a popular saint figure in the Philippines, is invoked for good harvest by local farmers. This piece, from Bicol, is made from polychromed painted wood and dates from 1792. Richard and Sandra Lopez Collection.

GOD, ALMIGHTY FATHER

A quaint depiction of the all-knowing, all-seeing and patient God the Father surrounded by allegorical figures, including a white angels and a black devil weighing the souls of the dead. We see a just man giving alms and a sinner beating a victim with a club. Early 20th c., Paulino and Hetty Que Collection.

10TH STATION OF THE CROSS

This particular station, “Jesus Is Stripped Of His Garments”, is no longer included in the new Stations of the Cross approved by Pope Benedict in 2007. Polychromed wood, 17th c., Narva Church, Camarines Sur. Paulino and Hetty Que Collection.

SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS

St. Francisco of Assisi, founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) is shown offering salvation to humanity by dangling his girdle of rope to people including religious figures wallowing in a fiery lake. Carved from a single slab of wood, it dates from 18th c. and comes from Ligao Church, Albay.

75. ALL-SAINTS: From the Workshop of Dr. Raffy Lopez

A sampling of completed santos from the workshop ofDr. Raffy Lopez, the Philippines' leading ecclesiastical artist and vestment maker. Dr. Lopez restores old ivories as well as antique wooden statuaries. He can also create new ones, ivories being his specialties--from tabletop sizes to processional images.

SAN PIO QUINTO (Pope Pius V)
St. Pope Pius V, (or Michele Ghislieri)was Pope from 1566 to 1572 . He is notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church. Feast Day: April 30

SAN PEDRO APOSTOL
A restored antique piece, St. Peter is shown with his attribute--a rooster--in reference to the Biblical account where the cock crowed thrice after Peter's betrayal of Christ. Feast Day: June 29

STA. MARTA
An ivory image made after the likeness of the Santa Marta image of Pateros, which shows the saint holding a palm leaf and standing on top of a crocodile, instead of a dragon. Feast Day: July 29

STA. CATALINA DE ALEJANDRIA
St. Catherine of Alexandria wields her attribute--the sword--which she used to cut the head of Emperor Maxentius, shown underfoot. Her other emblem, the spiked wheel, or now known as the Catherine wheel, is by her side, the instrument of her martyrdom. Feast Day: November 25

STA. JUANA DE CUZA
This not-so-known saint, St. Joanna of Chuza, was a woman of affluence who gave financial support to Jesus Christ and was also present when His empty tomb was discovered. She was the wife of Chuza, the steward of Herod Antipas. This is a wooden processional saint. Feast Day: May 24

SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS
St. Francis of Assisi, holding a cross, one of his attributes.He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. Feast Day: October 4.

SAN CLEOFAS
St. Cleophas, is the father of St. James the Less, husband of St. Mary Cleophas, and brother of St. Joseph. Feast day: Sept. 25

SAN JUAN EVANGELISTA
An exquisite santo representing St. John the Evangelist--with ivory head, hands and feet. The young apostle was present at Calvary, providing comfort to the sorrowful Virgin Mary. Feast Day: Dec. 27

SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA
A restored ivory likeness of St. Anthony of Padua in his traditional brown habit, holding the Christ Child, and some stems of lilies, to signify his purity. He is one of the Doctors of the Church. Feast Day: June 13

74. RETRO-SANTO: Ntra. Sñra. Virgen de la Regla

In the parish of Opon (now Lapu-Lapu City) , Cebu resides the venerated image of the Virgin bearing the title, Ntra. Sñra Virgen de la Regla (Our Lady of the Rule). This devotion started with St. Augustine, who hand-carved a statue of Mary that was brought to Spain upon the destruction of the city of Hippo. Here, the image wrought miracles and was reputed to have prevented the pillage of the country by the Moors.

The location of the image was lost, however, until an Augustinian monk went to Cadiz upon instruction from the Virgin who appeared to him in a dream in 1330. He found the image in an underground part of the cave. The devotion soon spread to Spanish colonies and in the 18th century, the Augustinians introduced Filipinos to Our Lady of the Rule.

In 1735, the parish priest of Opon, P. Francisco Avalle showed the people a picture of the Virgin, which was received favorably. An image was soon carved from the trunk of a Philippine hardwood, giving the icon a swarthy complexion. Our Lady was enshrined in the main altar of the Church of Ntra. Sñra Virgen de la Regla which was under the ministry of the Augustinians from 1730-1929, to be replaced by the Dutch immediately after.

Also in the church is a cloth relic of the Blessed Virgin, given in 1909 by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, P. Ambrosio Agius. Reports of miracles attributed to the Virgin abound—from the healing of a barren and paralytic women to cures of abdominal and blood disorders, as in the case of Lauron Cruz who was instantly healed of his blood disease upon lighting candles before the image in 1735.

The image of Ntra. Sñra Virgen de la Regla was canonically crowned on 27 November 1954 during the First Marian Congress.

73. Santo Stories: ANG MAHAL NA SEÑOR NG PAETE

(Excerpted from the article , Ang Mahal na Señor, English translation “Mire of Heaven” by Elmer Beltran Ingles. Original Filipino text by Manuel Baldemor. The Paete Phenomenon, p. 43-44, by San Santiago Apostol, Foundation of Paete, 1991)


According to town historians, the Catholic image of the dead Christ is the oldest, most miraculous and the most important of all images. It is said to have come from Mexico and the oldest-known saint in the stone church of Paete.


Before Lent, it is blessed with incense and daily and nightly prayers are offered. It is bathed with wine and the liquid is kept in small bottles to be distributed to devotees. The used wine becomes sacred and is believed to be a good cure for any ailment.

The Jesus Christ figure also receives the biggest amount of donation from devotees from all over the land. Donations are in the form of blankets, silk clothing and pillows. Excess donations are given to the church to be used as altar mantles or clothes for sacristans. The clothes and pillows are often borrowed for use of sick persons or those afflicted with grave ailments.


While the vigil for the dead Christ is in progress in te house of the recamadero (the keeper of the image), Catholics and even Aglipay take turns in kissing the hands and feet of the image. Men with devotion or personal pledges go on shifts in carrying the image in the procession. The feel the weight on their shoulders if their sins against God and their fellowmen are grave. It is said to be lighter when volunteers do it in gratitude for past blessings. Newly circumcised boys serve as support group with the wooden poles which they used to steady the float during the procession. After the Good Friday rites, everyone is invited to the house of the recamadero for a yummy bowl of sotanghon ( a variety of noodle) and hot biringhi dipped in refined sugar.

72. Find of the Year: A SAN PIO QUINTO IVORY SANTO

At an out-of-print book shop cum gallery in Cubao, I came to pay for vintage fiesta programs I needed for my historical research----and I went home with this incredible ivory image of Pio Quinto ( St. Pius V, born Michele Ghislieri 1504-1572) in its original altar.

“Expect the unexpected” was once our ad agency’s creative credo, and it also rings true when it comes to finding sacred treasures such as this one. En route to the Main Avenue office, I had texted my dealer earlier to say that I was dropping by to pay for my purchases worth Php400. He was kind enough to open his office for me on a weekend (it was a Sunday) and then casually told me that he had a santo that I might be interested in. In his absence, he instructed a househelp to bring out the image for my perusal.

As soon as I entered the shop, I saw this dirty gothic urna that was threatening to fall apart. Through the dusty glass, I could still make out the figure of a santo with a papal tiara, holding a 3 bar-staff, which I immediately identified as the papal saint, Pius V. It also didn’t take much to recognize that the head and hands of the image were of—gasp!-- precious ivory!

THE FIRST TIME EVER I SAW HIS FACE. The image, when I first saw it in its grimy, dusty state. The urna was collapsing and a bunch of plastic flowers lay crumbling at the image's base.

The image was decorated with tulle and plastic flowers that were crumbling with age. Tacked inside was this torn 1906 prayer card to honor the beatification of Tonkinese (Vietnamese) martyrs.

VIET-ERANS OF THE FAITH. This damaged prayer card commemorates the beatification of Tonkinese beatos: Martyrs Vicente Liem, Castaneda, Ochoa, Jose Kang, Hermosilla, Almalo, Frederich.

I paid for my book purchase, and then rang up the dealer to tell him nonchalantly that I had seen the santo and was not impressed (I am so good in feigning disinterest). I suppose, I told him, given the santo’s sorry state—it would be priced accordingly. But of course, he replied, and then proceeded to quote the price of the santo—inclusive of the urna.

THROUGH A CLEAR GLASS, DARKLY. Peering through the front glass panel of the urna, the image of Pius V was clearly, unmistakably of ivory.

I nearly choked at the unbelievable bargain-basement-300-feet-below-sea-level -price. Why, it’s only 1/6 of the current market price for ivory santos of this quality. I just continued on with my best Oscar performance and gave him a ho-hum response. Round off the price, I said, and I will not only issue a Pay-to-Cash check now, but I will also rid your shop of this dusty, grimy santo with its shaky urna. He agreed! I hastily gave him a check, lugged the santo to the car and Pio was mine!

CLEAN AND PURE IN SPIRIT. The ivory image cleaned and re-dressed in its original satin vestments.

Back home, I quickly removed the santo from its case. It was still wearing its original hand-sewn satin vestments in yellow and green. It was even wearing an alb with lacey edgings that you can’t see.

HEADS AND HANDS OF A SAINT. When removed for cleaning, the head turned out to be a solid piece of carved ivory. The finely carved ivory hands were attached to the manikin body with wooden pegs.
The ivory head and hands were in excellent condition. I was wondering about the hairless head. Did it have a flock of hair at some point? The wooden feet were painted to look like papal shoes, decorated in the intricate estofado style. The metal accessories were intact—from the staff to the tiara which was only missing a finial. A restorer dated this as a pre-War piece, possibly made by one of those commercial talyeres in Quiapo district.

Two weeks after, off to santo restorer Dr. Raffy Lopez I, and my santo went. I wanted to save the original vestments but the professional santo restorer prevailed on me to discard them. Instead, for my tabletop image, he opted to get design and color inspirations from the vestments of the original Pio Quinto of Sto. Domingo.

LA NAVAL'S PIO QUINTO. The original lifesize San Pio V of Sto. Domingo in his crimson and cream-colored vestments. Pix courtesy of Wilfred Jason Naval.

He even added a wig to the bald pope! After a month, these were the results:

IVORY SAN PIO QUINTO, (St. Pius V) as restored by Dr. Raffy Lopez.

I have also repaired the urna by myself, stabilizing loose joints with glue and nails and replacing the lost moldings, thanks to my frame shop. And by the way—to rid myself of any guilt feelings--I have also told my dealer that the santo he sold me was of ivory. This was not the first time this happened. Two years ago, he sold me a painted San Roque that turned out to be ivory. For sure, he wouldn’t have let go of these images had he not made a reasonable profit. To him, it was a fair done deal. To me, it was my find of the year.

71. THE ANGELS OF ANGELES

El Pueblo de los Ángeles (The Town of the Angels) owes its name to its patron saints, Los Santos Ángeles de los Custodios (Holy Guardian Angels), and the name of its founder, Don Ángel Pantaleón de Miranda, who, together with his wife Doña Rosalia de Jesus, created a new settlement out of Culiat, a forested area north of San Fernando, in 1796. On December 8, 1829, it finally became a separate municipality. The center of worship of Angeles is the Santo Rosario Church, completed in 1897. To pay homage to their patrons, several residents commissioned images to be carved, and they remain in existence today, surviving wars, natural calamities and the passage of time.

SAN ANGELO CUSTODIO

The image of the guardian angel was finished in 1830 and was passed on by the founders of Angeles to the succeeding heirs and descendants. It is currently under the care of Teresita Nepomuceno Wilkerson (handed down by father Juan Nepomuceno, founder of Holy Angel University), and is enshrined at the Holy Angel Chapel at the university grounds. A guardian angel is an angel assigned to protect and guide a particular person or group. The belief that God sends a spirit to watch every individual was common in Ancient Greek philosophy and the idea also appears in the Old Testament, although it is not specifically articulated. In Matthew 18:10, Jesus says of children: "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven". The 48 in. antique wooden image was recently restored in 2006.

SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL

Gabriel's name means 'God is my strength'. Gabriel is the Angel of child conception or the process of adopting a child, also the Angel of resurrection, mercy and peace and benefactor of " messengers". He is the patron of all who work in the field of communications. postal workers, and clergy. This image dates from 1916, with Jose Sanchez as the original owner. The heirs of Vicente Henson now take care of this almost-century old image.

SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL

Michael's name means 'He who is like God' or 'He who looks like God' He is the leader of the Archangels, he is the Angel of protection, justice & strength. The antique image shows San Miguel in his traditional representation--awe-inspiring with his silver wings, holding a sword and a scale to weigh the souls of men. He tramples the Devil underfoot. Also from 1916, the original owner was Roman Evangelista who bequeathed it to Francisco and Domingo Evangelista.

SAN RAFAEL ARCANGEL

Rafael's name means 'God heals' or 'God has healed' based upon the Hebrew word, Rapha, which means 'doctor' or 'healer' Rafael is a powerful healer of physical bodies, both for humans and animals. He is the Angel of Love, Joy and Laughter, the Patron Angel of all those in the field of Medicine.The fish is San Rafael’s primary attribute, in reference to his instructing his young traveling companion, Tobiah, to use the liver of a fish to cure the blindness of Tobit, Tobiah's father. This image was made in 1915, commissioned by Mariano V. Henson and passed down to Januaria and Manuela Lacson.