“I asked for at least one child. Instead, the Lady of the Candles gave me three,” Nanay Fe, now 60, of Barangay Jibao-an in Pavia, Iloilo, told CoverStory.ph.

Manila resident Kathy Kenny Ngo, blogger of Life is Kulayful, did not want a life of single-blessedness. “I prayed for the one,” she said. Her plea was answered in the most unexpected ways. 

Lighting a candle at the image’s shrine in the 400-year-old cathedral, she fervently prayed to meet “the one.” Within a week, she found him during a bloggers’ event in Singapore.

‘Bearer of Light’

Catholic devotees seeking solace and blessings came in droves to the shrine on Feb. 2, the feast day of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria. The celebration’s theme was “Virgen sang Candelaria, Tagdala sang Iwag kag Ubay sa Amon Pagpanglakaton bilang Simbahan” (Our Lady of Candles, Bearer of Light and Guide in our Journey as a Church).

The theme is worthy of reflection, Jaro Archbishop Jose Romeo O. Lazo said in his homily during the solemn pontifical Mass, “She introduced the light, which is Jesus, for sharing with others,” he said.

Rev. Fr. Angelo Colada, director of the Archdiocese of the Jaro Commission on Social Communication, amplified on the message celebrating Our Lady’s light and Jesus, saying: “We continue to carry that light to illumine our way to salvation. At the same time, He is also our guide and our model, especially as we embrace the virtue of humility and obedience to the will of God and salvation.” 

According to Lazo, the celebration was about the call of the Church to “synod on synodality, our journey as a Church, communion, participation, and mission.” He blessed the perdon candles and the Mass in a traditional rite after a procession from the Archbishop’s Residence to the cathedral. 

“The perdon symbolizes Christ, the light of the world, a symbol of hope, especially in this trying time, when the world seems to have been enveloped by darkness, anxiety, and fear brought about not only by the pandemic but by the challenges of every day, the calamities we experience, both natural and man-made,” the Social Communication posted on Facebook.

Legend

The history of the image of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria is rooted in legend and tradition, dating back to 1587. It is said that a group of fishermen fording the Iloilo River saw a floating statue of the Blessed Mother. Though it was heavy, the statue became miraculously light for the fishermen to bring to Jaro. Thus began the sacred journey of the image, which is deemed miraculous and venerated with faith and devotion to this day.

Stories of the statue that was enshrined in a modest niche near the pinnacle of the church’s central spire have become part of local lore. Eventually, the image found its rightful place in a glass encasement on a balcony.

Fe Esquillo attested to the miraculous favors she has received from Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria in the face of trials and tribulations. She has been offering novenas despite life’s challenges, including the loss of her husband and health complications.

Arnold Lata, 48, of Mambusao, Capiz, came to the celebration to pray for healthy children and a peaceful life.

A day before the pontifical Mass, Lazo led the traditional coronation of the Marian image, reenacting the act of then Pope (now Saint) John Paul II in February 1981 during his visit to the Philippines.

The image was named patroness of Western Visayas in 1982; the church was elevated into a national shrine on July 6, 2011. Eleven Masses were held at the St. John Paul II Hall and nine at the main altar on Feb. 2. —With a PNA report

Read more: Finding our way to happiness amid life’s difficulties

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The missionary Mother Teresa once said: “If you ever feel distressed during your day, call upon Our Lady—just say this simple prayer: ‘Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now.’ I must admit, this prayer has never failed me.”

That prayer has never failed me, too. 

I have been a Marian devotee since I was in my teens, due in large part to the influence of my Lola Pepay, who requested that I pray the rosary with her every night. Before she died from lung cancer in 1989, she gave me a precious 2-inch-tall bronze figurine of the Santo Niño and a ton of reasons why I should never stop being a devout follower of our Blessed Mother. 

Road trip

Decades later, I still am a proud devotee, and that’s why my husband and I took a 230-kilometer road trip to the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag (or simply Our Lady of Manaoag Church) in Pangasinan last Dec. 1. We’ve visited the church many times but because it was our 10th wedding anniversary, the trip was extra special.

Unlike other pilgrims who head to their destination at the crack of dawn, we left our house in Las Piñas City for the four-hour trip to Manaoag at 12:30 p.m. This meant missing the last scheduled Mass for the day and losing the chance to touch the statue of Our Lady of Manaoag, accessible via a staircase leading to the back of the church’s high altar. A little argument occurred, but we eventually agreed that the obvious solution was to leave the house early on our next visit. 

We expected traffic along the North Luzon Expressway to be bad because of the ongoing repair of the Candaba viaduct. But we had to endure the worst when we got stuck for an hour at the Bamban area of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway – the result of two separate accidents that involved five cars and a 12-wheel truck. 

My husband, who never runs out of “divine intervention” stories, said with a straight face: “You know, that could’ve been us had we left the house early.”

It was past 5 p.m. when we arrived at Our Lady of Manaoag Church. Only the back gate remained open, and two security guards ushered us and a few other visitors into the premises. The vendors of candles and religious items—permanent fixtures near the gate who would aggressively confront churchgoers with their wares—were nowhere to be found. 

We might have missed the last Mass of the day, but the sight of the many candles flickering in the candle gallery, highlighted by the serene aura of the church, was moving. We prayed the rosary and gave thanks to Our Lady, this time with no distractions. 

Related: Pope Francis: Learn from the Transfiguration of Jesus

First visit

I cannot forget the first time I was there because of a truly awkward incident. In the early 1990s, there was an area in the church where one could fill their container with water from a source which, my college classmate claimed, was “miraculous.”

Intrigued by her statement and pushed by the fact that I had always wanted to visit Our Lady of Manaoag Church, I finally decided to go. But I had to travel alone because my friend who was supposed to come along backed out at the last minute due to a family emergency. So I took the 3 a.m. bus to Manaoag and, upon arriving at the church, immediately looked for the queue to where I could fill my plastic jug with the “miraculous” water.

Maybe I was just so overwhelmed with excitement. I found out too late that I was in the line meant for devotees who wished to touch the statue of Our Lady, and not for those with water jugs. Anyone familiar with that area of the church knows that because only a part of the statue is exposed through a small window, one will not immediately see the statue unless it is one’s turn to touch it. A first-time visitor, like I was, will not know it, especially when one does not even bother to ask anyone else where the queue is headed. 

And that was how I suddenly found myself in front of the window through which a part of the statue of Our Lady could be touched. I stood there with the water jug that I had whipped out of my backpack, and then I turned around and saw some churchgoers trying to keep from laughing. I smiled back weakly, proceeded to touch the statue of Our Lady, and prayed my embarrassment away.

It was an unforgettable experience that marked the start of my devotion to Our Lady of Manaoag. 

Constant visitor

Despite the distance, I would always grab the chance to visit Our Lady and talk to her like a daughter would. Time and again she has saved me from trials that I thought I would never surmount, and answered my prayers when I needed her help badly.

But if I were to cite my memorable visits to Our Lady of Manaoag, it will always be the times when I came, not to ask for any favor from her, but merely to say, “Thank you, Mama Mary.” Just like any loving child who is forever thankful to her mother.

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