Mariology

• "Pueblo amante de Maria": 'A people devoted to Mary, a people who love Mary'
• St. John Paul II reminded former Pres. Corazon Aquino that Filipino Catholic people have received a precious gift, not shared by every people: a special closeness to our Blessed Lady
• Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin said that for Marian assemblies there is never a need to urge people to come in large numbers. They come. "For Mary, they come."
• Blessed Virgin Mary


  Played an extraordinary role in the story of the remarkably rapid process of Christianization in the Philippines
• Five Religious Orders of Men


  • Augustinians-1565
  • Franciscans-1577
  • Jesuits-1581
  • Dominicans-1587
  • Recollects-1606
• Mission of the Religious Orders


  1. They are the early proclaimer of the Gospels

  2. They evangelize, run a schools, care the sick, established and organized communities, instructed and helped the native in their agricultural work

  3. They teach the children, care the sick and dying

  4. They helped the poor, and the orphans

  5. They set up printing presses to disseminate their catechisms and books on religious and other subjects of instructions, pamphlets for devotional use

  6. They built roads, bridges and irrigation systems
• Men of Zeal and dedication from the start discovered a remarkable fact: the natives everywhere "took" very readily to devotion to the Mother of God
• With or through Mary


  The two central mysteries of our Faith in Christ: The mystery of Incarnation celebrated at CHRISTMAS, an of REDEMPTION celebrated during HOLY WEEK, are deeply marked by the veneration of Mary
• Portrayed in


  • Simbang Gabi (Misa de Gallo or de Aguinaldo) and the panunuluyan at Christmas time
  • Salubong in Easter Sunday morning
• Five Filipino Characteristics


  • Family-oriented
  • Meal-oriented
  • Kundiman-oriented (Suffering in life)
  • Bayani-Oriented
  • Spirit-oriented
• Five Filipino Characteristics


  • Essential Traits of Jesus
  • Marian Approach
• Family-oriented


  • Self-identity (both son of God and son of man)
  • Jesus as Sto. Nino
  • Jesus of Nazareth
  • Mary as mother of Jesus and our spiritual mother
  • Devotion to Mahal na Birhen
• Meal-oriented


  • Meaning of life (Jesus as Eucharist; the bread of life, guest in every gathering, Communion)
  • Celebrating feast day in honor to Mary
  • Pilgrimages to her shrines
• Kundiman-oriented (suffering in life)


  • Suffering in Life (suffering servant)
  • Padre Hesus Nazareno, Santo Entierro, or the Sacred Heart
  • Jesus said "Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you". Mt. 11:28)
  • Mater Dolorosa, the Sorrowful Mother, whose "Perpetual Help," compassion and love is sought through popular novenas and devotions
• Bayani-oriented


  • Life-commitment (Jesus as Christ the King (Cristo Rey)
  • Jesus as the conqueror of the world by his mission as prophet, king, and priest
  • Christ the King has won the ultimate victory over evil
  • Mary as our Queen, the loving mother of Christ the King
• Spirit-oriented


  • World view(Jesus the "miracle-worker" promised to send his spirit to his disciples to give them new life
  • Mary is venerated as the woman upon whom the Holy Spirit came, that her offspring would be called Son of God
• Mary is deeply involved each of the five Filipino characteristics leading to Christ
• The widespread devotion to the Blessed Mother goes back to the origins of Christianity in the Philippines
• Filipinos find ancient statues of Mary, like Nuestra Señora de Guia, now venerated in the Ermita Church and whose origins are somehow lost in the folkloric details of legend, and Our Lady of the Rosary in Manila whose origin dates back to 1587


  As early as 1571
• Two prominent titles of Mary in the Philippines


  • The Immaculate Conception
  • Our Lady of the Rosary
• Pope Gregory XIII in a Bull issued on February 6 decreed that the Manila Cathedral should be erected under the invocation of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary


  1578
• Clement VIII decreed on 13 August that the Cathedrals of Nueva Segovia and Caceres also be erected under the same title of the Immaculate Conception


  1595
• One of the three ships that reached the Philippines in the first voyage of Magallanes in 1521 was the "Concepcion," named after the Immaculate Conception, together with the ships "Trinidad" and "Victoria"
• Nuestra Señora de Guia


  Our Lady of the Way, the oldest extant image of Mary in the Philippines
• Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila


  • Our Lady of La Naval
  • Filipinos say that the Blessed Virgin's intercession under Our Lady of La Naval helped successfully dismiss invading forces of the Protestant Dutch Republic during the Battles of La Naval de Manila in 1946
  • A lovely statue of Our Lady of the Rosary sculpted in 1539 by a Chinese artist commissioned by the Spanish Governor of the Philippines is today considered a Philippine National Cultural Treasure
• Our Lady of Peñafrancia (Naga)


  • This devotion roots from the story of Simon Vela
  • The Filipino tradition of honoring Our Lady of Peñafrancia began in the Bicol region in 1712, when the son of a Spanish government official fell very ill
  • When he recovered, he went on to become a priest in Naga City, and started to construct the shrine
• The Naga devotion began in 1712 and draws millions of devotees every year
• Naga devotion began


  1712
• Naga devotion draws millions of devotees every year
• The story of Our Lady of Peñafrancia began in Paris

  1401
• Story of Our Lady of Peñafrancia


  1. Simon Vela was awoken by a voice

  2. Told to travel to Peña de Francia

  3. Uncovered an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus
• Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus uncovered


  1434
• Filipino tradition of honoring Our Lady of Peñafrancia began in the Bicol region

  1712
• Filipino tradition of honoring Our Lady of Peñafrancia


  1. Son of a Spanish government official fell very ill

  2. Prayed to Our Lady of Peñafrancia

  3. Vowed to construct a shrine if he recovered

  4. Recovered and became a priest in Naga City

  5. Constructed the shrine and ordered an image to be made
• Nuestra Señora de la Porta Vaga (Our Lady of Porta Vaga)


  • According to local legend, a Spanish sentry saw a halo of bright light in storm clouds above Canacao Bay in 1667
  • A calm and soothing voice replied to him and told him she was Mary
  • The following morning, fishermen and workers found a framed image of the Virgen de la Soledad on the sandy shore
• Nuestra Señora de la Porta Vaga


  1. Image presented to a parish priest

  2. Temporarily installed in a nearby church

  3. Devotees decided to build the Ermita de Porta Vaga, a small chapel near the gate of the Porta Vaga
• The image was granted an official decree of canonical coronation by Pope Francis


  2018
• Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje (Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage)


  • Governor-General Juan Niño de Tabora brought an image from Mexico in 1626
  • His safe passage was attributed to the image
  • Six other voyages taking the image aboard were safe and successful
  • Construction of a church began in the 1630s
  • The image mysteriously vanished and reappeared atop a tipolo tree, so the church was moved to that site
• The image was temporarily transferred to Cavite

  1639
• The image was moved to Mexico

  1648