Virgin Of Antipolo

It's May again. That month filled with merry-making and fiestas in the Philippines. It's also the month of Mary. Our country has been known to be so much devoted to the Virgin Mother of God in her many titles. However, during this month one of the most popular shrines being visited by devotees is the National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo City, Rizal where the centuries-old image of Mary is venerated. Read on for some important tid-bits on this famous devotion.

1. On March 25, 1626, Don Juan Niño de Tabora left the shores of Mexico aboard the galleon, El Almirante, to make its voyage to the Philippines. On this trip, Governor Tabora brought along the brown image of our Blessed Virgin Mother. For three months, the El Almirante safely braved the dangers of the stormy seas and a fire aboard the ship, arriving in the ports of Manila on July 18, 1626. Governor Tabora, realizing that the galleon's safe and successful journey was due to the presence of the image of the Blessed Virgin on board the ship, called for the pompous celebration of the image's arrival.

2. It is said that because of the events surrounding the safe voyage of the El Almirante, the Blessed Virgin was named Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buenviaje.

3. When Governor Tabora died in 1632, the Blessed Image was turned over to the care of the Jesuit fathers who were then constructing a church of Antipolo. Actually, a church was to be specifically built for the Blessed Virgin in the nearby barrio of Sta. Cruz. But attempts of the Jesuit fathers to move it from the Church of Antipolo were futile because somehow, as if in protest of leaving this town, the holy image was always found on the trunk of a tree called the Tipolo which grew in the original site of the old church. Because of these manifestations, a pedestal was curved out of the trunks of the said tree, and thus the Blessed Virgin became locally known as the Virgin of Antipolo.

4. During the occupation of the Japanese, the Blessed Image of Our Lady of Antipolo was evacuated to the mountains of Angono, then at Santolan. The five hundred people who journeyed with the Brown Virgin all felt safe through their trips along steep mountain trails.

5. For a while, the Blessed Virgin was housed in the Ocampo residence at Quiapo, previous to its transfer to the Quiapo Church where it stayed until October 15, 1945, when it was finally transferred to its original and permanent sanctuary at the Church of Antipolo. Every year, devotees commemorate this transfer, as they join the "Alay Lakad" from Quiapo Church to the Antipolo Cathedral starting at around 8:00 PM (30th of April) until dawn of the following day (1st of May).

Reference: Antipolocity.com