People walk by a Black Nazarene doll for sale in front of the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian in Manila, Philippines, in this 2014 file photo. The basilica houses an imae of Mary known as the black Nazarene. Filipino Catholics processed through the city's Quiapo district with an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to "meet" the image of the Black Nazarene May 4 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of arrival of Mary's image in their country. (CNS photo/Tyler Orsburn)

Filipinos mark 400th anniversary of arrival of Mary’s image

793 0

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Thousands of Filipino Catholics walked in the heat of the sun for about four hours to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the Philippines.

People gathered as early as 2 a.m. May 4 to relive the arrival of the image from Mexico in 1618 with the third mission of the Augustinian Recollects.

Several streets in Manila were closed to give way to the “Salubong” and “Traslacion,” literally the “meeting” and “transfer,” respectively, of the image from the Bay of Manila to the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian in Manila’s Quiapo district.

The procession passed through the district to “meet” the image of the Black Nazarene at the basilica. Teary-eyed devotees sang and offered prayers during the re-enactment of the historic arrival of Mary’s image in the city.

The meeting of the images was iconic because aside from simulating the moment when Jesus meets Mary as he carries the cross to his crucifixion, it served to reconnect two statues that had the same origin.

Ysabel de Dios, a tour guide at the basilica, said both images were brought by the Augustinian Recollects from Mexico and were stored in the same church.

While the Our Lady of Mount Carmel image was a gift from Mexican Carmelite nuns to traveling Augustinian missionaries in 1618, the Black Nazarene was created by a Mexican sculptor and believed to have been brought to the Philippines at about the same time.

“The two icons bring droves of people here, and actually catalyzed the transformation of Quiapo from a poor fishing village in 1621 to the center of culture and the arts in 1891,” de Dios said.

The image of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a key figure in the annual feast of the Black Nazarene, which attracts millions of devotees from around the country every January.

In his homily during the early morning Mass at the basilica, Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao urged the faithful to follow Mary’s example to “be joyful in our faith, come what may.”

“She stood at the foot of the cross without words … keeping her faith even in the tragedy of the cross,” the archbishop said.

“Mary always brings us to Jesus. With Mary our recognition, our trust, our confidence in the love and mercy of the Lord are always strengthened,” he added.

The arrival of the image began a devotion that remains popular throughout the country today, as witnessed by the number of Filipinos who continue to wear the distinctive brown scapular, which is associated with Our Lady of Mount Carmel. A growing number of parishes and schools also have been placed under her patronage.

Related Post

A photo of the late Benedictine Father Cyprian Davis, a renowned chronicler of black Catholic history, is seen July 31 in the center of the altar at St. Katharine Drexel Chapel of Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans surrounded by pictures of four candidates for sainthood. (CNS photo/Christine Bordelon, Clarion Herald)

University to be a hub for causes of African-American Catholics

Posted by - August 11, 2018 0
NEW ORLEANS (CNS) — Reynold Verret, president of Xavier University of Louisiana, announced July 31 that the university and its…
Pat Boerschinger, who is legally blind, helps carry a statue of the Blessed Mother across the Claude Allouez Bridge in De Pere, Wis., in early May during the sixth annual Walk to Mary. Since the walking pilgrimage began in 2013, Boerschinger has walked the entire 21 miles from St. Norbert College in De Pere to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Champion. (CNS photo/Sam Lucero, The Compass)

Despite blindness, Wisconsin woman continues to love life, give thanks

Posted by - September 8, 2018 0
GREEN BAY, Wis. (CNS) — For the past 40 years, Pat Boerschinger has been legally blind. And while she cannot…
Pope Benedict XVI delivers a blessing at the conclusion of a Mass for the Knights of Malta in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Feb. 9, 2013, two days before he announced his resignation. The retired pope marks his 92 birthday April 16. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Official marks retired pope’s birthday, commenting on his latest letter

Posted by - April 21, 2019 0
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Marking retired Pope Benedict XVI’s 92nd birthday, the editorial director of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication…