June 25th, 2009 -- Posted in Fiestas, Philippines, Religious observances |
Yesterday was the feast of St. John the Baptist (Joannes Baptista, John the Baptizer, John the Forerunner, Juan Bautista, Yahya the Baptizer). I have known this feast when my grandparents and parents got a stall in San Juan City almost 2 decades ago. The celebration has always been fun and people are all in the streets to greet everyone with water. Aside from that, the city held their annual street dancing.
But not all the cities and towns celebrate it that way. Some have the traditional procession while others lined up many dressed lechon to commemorate the birth of their patron saint. Among some of the places that celebrate the feast aside from San Juan are Negros Occidental, Silay City, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija and Balayan, Batangas.
April 12th, 2009 -- Posted in Religious observances, Travel |
My kids and I spent Maundy Thursday till Easter Sunday with relatives in Manila because hubby is usually off to work during the Lenten season for their annual maintenance. Every afternoon of Good Friday, the Tondo Parish Church always have their annual procession being routed on the streets back and forth of the church. This year we were lucky because the said procession passed by in front of our house (usually it passes by in the street two blocks from the house) and for that we had a closer look of every “karosa” (carrier/float) that joined the procession. Check the pictures below I am fortunate to take as the procession passes by in our street.
The above “karosa” shows the “Sorrowful Mysteries” of the Holy Rosary: Agony in the Garden of Gethsemani, Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross and the Crucifixion.
The “karosa” where the dead body of Jesus lay down is being carried by men devotees while others of them formed a human chain in front of the “karosa” like the human chain during the feast of the Black Nazarene. Women and children are not allowed to join and get near the chain for safety reasons.
September 28th, 2008 -- Posted in Ilocos, La Union, Patron Saints, Philippines, Religious Shrines, Religious observances, Travel |
The century-old church of St. Catherine in Luna, formerly called Namacpacan, houses the miraculous image of Our Lady of Namacpacan, patroness of Ilocano travellers. The shrine is located at the town proper of Luna, approximately 40 kilometers northwest of San Fernando.
The year 1690 saw the birth of a new town as idyllic in its formation as its name implies. Situated along the fringes of Northern La Union coasting the China Sea, it was named NAMACPACAN to glorify the native trait of hospitality which residents showed towards the people of neighboring towns who retreated to its thick forests when they were persecuted by the colonizers.
It was in the year 1871, when an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was brought along its shores by a lucky stroke of fate, which eventually became venerated as the Image of Our Lady of Namacpacan. The image was ordered from Spain by a certain Augustinian Priest then assigned to the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Brought to the Philippines in a ship, it was heading for the province of Ilocos Sur when a storm forced the crew to seek shelter at Darigayos, a barrio of the town then named Namacpacan. When the storm abated, they tried to resume their journey, but strong winds forced them back to the port; several attempts were made to sail, but each time they did, their progress was impeded by the winds. Finally, the captain of the ship decided to carry the statue to the port and have it carried overland to its destination. Again, the natives met difficulties when the box containing the image could not be budged an inch, so that after several unsuccessful attempts, they concluded that Our Blessed Lady must have chosen the town of Namacpacan as her sanctuary. Rev. Fr. Marcelino Ceballos, the Parish Priest of Namacpacan then, negotiated with the Augustinian Friars who came to claim the statue, and the sacred Image was carried in procession to the Church of Namacpacan. A big feast marked the arrival of Our Lady in town. The townspeople came out in their best to meet the parish church and which came to be known as Our Lady of Namacpacan. An altar at the northern portion side of the church was constructed to house the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Namacpacan. By virtue of Philippine Commission Act No. 1543, the town’s name was changed to Luna in 1906 to honor the Luna brothers, Antonio, the General and Juan, the Painter, whose mother, Doña Laureana Novicio Luna hails from the place; however, the townspeople became so attached to Our Lady that the name, Our Lady of Namacpacan, remained despite the change of the name of the town.
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September 26th, 2008 -- Posted in Ilocos, La Union, Patron Saints, Philippines, Religious Shrines, Religious observances, Travel |
Basilica of Our Lady of Charity
The renowned organ situated at the left area of the altar.
The Agoo Basilica enshrines the miraculous image of Our Lady of Charity. This imposing structure of Mexican-Baroque architecture is the venue of religious rites, foremost of which is the Semana Santa.
It is situated at the center of the aged town of Agoo, the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity has stood for scores of centuries now as one of the long venerated configurations of the Virgin in the Philippines.
It was founded in 1578 when two zealous Franciscan priests, Fray John Baptist Lucarelli of Pesaro, Italy and Fray Sebastian de San Francisco of Baesa, Spain on the time they got in the country for their evangelical mission. The settlement of the Franciscan Order opened the doors to Agoo’s embrace to God’s supremacy over mankind, making the town the first point of contact with Christianity for the Southern Ilocos region.
At present, the Basilica of Our Lady of Charity commemorates its Patronal Fiesta every 4th of May as a tribute to its myriad of help that will live forever in the hearts of its thousands of devotees far and wide.
September 16th, 2008 -- Posted in Festivals, Holy Week, La Union, Religious observances |
In the oldest town of La Union, observances of Holy Week are being held like in most part of the Philippines. The life-size statues depicting the Stations of the Cross are pulled by devotees along the processional roads and there is a Penitential Procession of women during the Good Friday procession. There are other religious activities being held during Holy Week in the town of Agoo to make the occasion more meaningful and sacred.
Yesterday was the feast of St. John the Baptist (Joannes Baptista, John the Baptizer, John the Forerunner, Juan Bautista, Yahya the Baptizer). I have known this feast when my grandparents and parents got a stall in San Juan City almost 2 decades ago. The celebration has always been fun and people are all in the streets to greet everyone with water. Aside from that, the city held their annual street dancing.
