Friday, 8 July 2011
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Trip To : Batangas - The Our Lady of Caysasay Shrine and Sacred Well of Sta. Lucia in Taal
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Aside from the Taal Basilica found at the heart of Taal Town, another church worth visiting is the Our Lady of Caysasay Shrine. Located in barrio Caysasay, it is our last stop before to head back to Manila.
Pilgrims have the chance to touch the image of the Virgin Mary by going to the stairs behind the shrine. We went up and took some time to offer prayers for our families and loved ones.
Our Lady of Caysasay is a celebrated 17th-century image of the Immaculate Conception,dated 1603.The image was found by a man named Juan Maningcad while casting his net in nearby Pansipit River,the image is about six inches high.The feast day of Our Lady of Caysasay is December 8. (?)
Sta. Lucia Wells
The spring-fed well was where two women saw the reflection of the Virgin of Caysasay, is now known as the Miraculous Well of Sta. Lucia.
Since its discovery, many have attested that the spring water has miraculous healing and therapeutic powers.
The spot where the well which reflected the image of Our Lady is marked by a coral stone arch with a bas relief image of the Virgin on its façade.
It was built in early 1600.[The site of the wells is known as `Banal na Pook' (sacred site) and vestiges of the spring running close to the wells is known as `Banal na Tubig' (sacred water). The well is accessed from the San Lorenzo Luis Steps. An inconspicuous narrow walkway from the steps takes visitors to the well.
source: wikipedia.org
Although small as compared to the Taal Basilica, it still maintains its charm to be one of Taal's most important religious places.
LADY OF THE LAKE
TAAL, BATANGAS: LADY OF THE LAKE
MANILA, December 27, 2003 (STAR) AT 3:00 A.M. By James B. Reuter, S.J. -
The Blessed Virgin Mary is well-known for her apparition at Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe. But there is an amazing story of the Virgin appearing in the Philippines exactly four hundred years ago – at Taal, Batangas. There she is venerated as "Our Lady of Caysasay".
The image was found by a fisherman named Juan Maningcad, in 1603, in the Pansipit River in Barrio Caysasay, in the town of Taal, Batangas. It was a village filled with kingfishers, known in the local dialect as "casay-casay." The Spaniards pronounced this: "Caysasay".
Juan carried the image home. The whole village came to know about it. It was a little statue of the Immaculate Conception, only six inches tall, radiating a luster which struck them all as heavenly. They brought the image to the town of Taal, then by the shore of Lake Bombon, which is now Taal Lake. The image was placed in the care of the widow of the town’s judge. She had a special urn made for its safekeeping.
Then strange things began to happen. One day she found the urn empty. But the next morning the image was back in the urn. This was repeated a number of times. So she reported it to the parish priest. The priest set up vo-lunteers to keep vigil beside the urn. They saw the urn open, by itself. And they saw "with their own eyes" the image going out and coming back again.
The priest decided that the villagers should come with lighted candles and follow the image. The image led them to Caysasay, to the place where it was found. The priest decided to transfer the image from the widow's house to the town church. But the same thing happened in the church! Then one day the image disappeared. It was nowhere to be found.
Years later, in 1611, two women gathering firewood saw the image reflected in the spring water, near the place where it was originally found. They looked up, and saw the image on top of a tall sampaguita bush. The women reported what they saw to the parish priest. The people and the priest concluded that it was the Virgin’s wish to stay in Caysasay. So they built a chapel on the very spot where the image was found.
On that spot Our Lady appeared to a native girl, Juana Tangui, who was almost blind. Her eyes were cured, at the time of the vision. This was recorded by the church "Ordinario". The well water is now known as "Balon Ng Santa Lucia". The adjoining stream is called "Banal na Tubig." An arch was constructed over the place of the apparitions. It is now called "Ang Banal Na Pook". To this day miraculous cures are attributed to her intercession, and a stream of devotees visit Our Lady of Caysasay in her shrine, and in the Basilica.
The first chapel was torn down in 1639, to be replaced by a coral stone structure. That year saw the outbreak of the Sangley revolution, when more than 20,000 Chinese were massacred, including 20 Chinese stonemasons who were constructing the Shrine. One of the masons was Hay Bing, also known as Juan Imbing. People witnessed his execution and saw his body thrown into the lake with the others. But that night he was led by Our Lady to the wells beside the unfinished shrine. Our Lady said to him: "Continue to build my church". The Shrine was finished in 1640.
This cemented the relationship of the Chinese community in the Philippines with the Blessed Virgin Mary. To this day the Filipino Chinese communities of Northern Luzon, based in San Fernando, La Union and the communities of the Southern Luzon, based in Batangas City, come on yearly pilgrimage to visit her Shrine in Taal.
In 1732 the town of Taal became the prosperous capital of the Province of Taal. Bombon Lake was renamed Taal Lake. Its prosperity came from provisioning the galleons coming from Acapulco to Manila. These galleons found protection from typhoons in Taal Lake, which was then salt water. They honored Our Lady with cannon bursts as they passed in front of her shrine.
The most violent eruption of the Taal Volcano occurred in 1754. It lasted more than eight months. The lava almost closed the Pansipit River, and raised the water of the lake so high that it flooded out the lake towns of Tanauan, Lipa, Sala, Bauan and Taal. All five towns relocated inland, away from the volcano, toward the mountains. The townspeople of Taal, together with their parish priest, fled from their submerged capital town and sought refuge at the Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay. The present beautiful town of Taal was established on a hillside, overlooking the Shrine and Balayan Bay. From that time Taal Lake was transformed from a salt water lake to a fresh water lake. Divers, swimming in the Taal Lake, are amazed at the abandoned towns they discover, in the depths of the lake.
The incumbent mayor of the town of Taal was so traumatized by the terrible eruption that he fled to Batangas, bringing with him the seat of government. From that time on, Batangas became the Capital Town, and the Province of Taal was renamed "Batangas".
In 1854 – exactly one hundred years after the great eruption of the Taal Volcano – the Holy Father declared the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, to be observed by the universal Church. The Feast was set on December 8, which was the exact day on which Juan Maningcad found the image of Our Lady of Caysasay. And the Virgin Mary, under that title — the Immaculate Conception — is the national patron of the Philippines. And the Philippines has only two Holy Days of Obligation: Christmas, and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
In 1952, Bishop Rufino J. Santos – who later became the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila – decreed that the Image of Our Lady of Caysasay be permanently enshrined in her Sanctuary of Caysasay. But the people of the town of Taal requested the Holy Father that the Image be brought to Taal Basilica of Saint Martin every Saturday afternoon. This was granted. She now stays in the Basilica as Queen, or Reyna, until Thursday. They she is brought back to her Shrine at Caysasay, where she is honored as Mother, or Ina. This has kept the devotion to her alive, at least in two places. Her devotees call her: "ANG BIRHENG GALA".
In 1954–exactly two hundred years after the great Taal eruption — on December 8, the Image of Our Lady of Caysasay was canonically crowned at the Taal Basilica by Cardinal Quiroga, representing His Holiness Pope Pius XII.
On this year’s Feast of the Immaculate Conception – December 8, 2003 – the Filipinos celebrated the 400th anniversary of the finding of the Image of Our Lady of Caysasay in the Pansipit River, in Caysasay, Taal, Batangas. Our Lady of Lourdes was seen by Bernadette Soubirous, a simple peasant girl. Our Lady of Guadalupe was met on the mountainside by Juan Diego, a poor barefooted Mexican farmer who never went to school. Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three peasant children, none of whom went to school. They did not know how to say the Hail Mary, or the Our Father, or the Creed. And Our Lady of Caysasay came to us through Juan Maningcad, a fisherman.
The apparitions of Our Lady of Caysasay to Juana Tangui in 1611 are the first recorded apparitions of Our Blessed Mother in the Philippines, and in the whole continent of Asia.
Magellan gave the Santo Niño to the Princess Juana, in Cebu, in 1521. The image is the same as the Infant of Prague. But the statue did not appear in Prague until 1625 – 104 years later. It would really seem that God and his mother have a special concern for the Philippines.
Next Thursday, New Year’s Day, is the Feast of the Motherhood of Mary. She was given to us as a mother by Christ Our Lord, on Calvary. And that is the name she is called, at Caysasay: "Mother", "Ina". And the Filipinos are the only ones who refer to her, universally, as "Mama Mary".
She will watch over us in this coming year, 2004. She and her Son will draw all our evils into good. God draws straight, with crooked lines.
History
Our Lady of Caysasay (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Caysasay) is a celebrated 17th-century image of the Immaculate Conception,dated 1603.The image was found by a man named Juan Maningcad while casting his net in nearby Pansipit River. The image was canonically crowned in 1954 and was later given the title the "Queen of the Archdiocese of Lipa".The feast day of Our Lady of Caysasay is every December 8 and 9.
History
In the year 1603, in a small barrio in the town of Taal, a fisherman by the name of Juan Maningcad went out fishing instead of casting his net on the sea,he threw it into the nearby river. When he pulled out his net he caught a little image of the Blessed Virgin Mary less than a foot high. Although it was soaked in water, it had a heavenly lustre and the face twinkled like a star. Upon seeing this marvel,Juan being a pious and virtuous man prostrated himself before the image and began to pray. He picked it up and brought it home. "No one knew how the image got to the river, and according to the old folks, perhaps the image was thrown by one of the Spaniards to pacify the ravages of the ocean during one of those expeditions and somehow the waves pushed it to the river. Another opinion was that perhaps someone exploring the river must have inadvertently dropped it others believe it came from China.
The news began to spread like wild fire until it reached the parish priest of the town, and the judge that represented the King of Spain at that time. Without notice they immediately went to Juan Maningcad's house and there they saw the beautiful image of the Mother of God. They knelt down to venerate it, and took the image to Taal where a town fiesta was celebrated.
The widow of the Justice of the Peace by the name of Madam Maria Espiritu, was given the task of caring for the image. She ordered a precious urn to be made for the image and kept it in her home. Every evening she noticed that the urn turned empty and the image gone, but then in the morning it would be back in its usual place.
Worried about these disappearances, the widow told the story to the priest. He accompanied her back to her house and indeed saw that the urn was empty, but soon the urn opened and there appeared Mary's image before them. For several times, in spite of the watch made by the priest, the same events would happen that made the priest and others perplexed, not knowing what the desire of the Virgin was. After sometime, the priest decided to take the image to the Church for safekeeping but the image continued to leave the church until one day it completely disappeared and was nowhere to be found.
Years later, in 1611, two women gathering firewood saw the image reflected in the spring water, near the place where it was originally found. They looked up, and saw the image on top of a tall sampaguita bush. The women reported what they saw to the parish priest. The people and the priest concluded that it was the Virgin’s wish to stay in Caysasay. So they built a chapel on the very spot where the image was found.
In the early seventeenth Century, a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported at the rocky hillside of Caysasay, a barrio of Taal. According to a church inquiry, a vision first appeared to a native slave girl, Catalina Talayn, who had gone up the hillside with a companion to gather firewood and fetch some water. The unexpected vision of something small in stature but radiating extraordinary brilliance from a hollow in the rocky landscape so bewildered the girl that she ran to tell her companion, and both fled terrified back to the town of Taal, by the shore of the Lake. Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde, S.J., in his Historia de Filipinas, and other 18th Century Spanish chroniclers put the year at 1611, when natives began reporting strange visions on the hillside. This was also the year, according to Fr. Pedro G. Galende, currently Director of the San Agustin Museum in Intramuros, that the first makeshift church was reportedly built there. Historian Jose M. Cruz, S.J., currently dean of the School of Social Sciences of the Ateneo de Manila University, reviewed original microfilm documents of the inquiry into the apparitions (his date, 1619). He reports that Church officials interrogated Catalina but she told them she could not clearly identify what she saw.
The sparseness of her report, however, seems to convince Fr. Cruz that she "was not fabricating the story." In 17th Century Philippines, an alipin like Catalina had "much to gain from associating herself to the divinity or to the saints," notes Cruz in his study on the Caysasay apparitions. At any rate, when word got around, many people flocked to the area. Stories later included in the Tagalog novena say that two girls had seen the image of the Lady in the spring, and when they looked up, they saw her perched on a branch of a Sampaga tree, two lighted candles by her side, and guarded by kingfishers or casay-casay birds that abound in the area. The village was by the Pansipit River, which was then a wide salt-water channel that connected Balayan (then Balangon) Bay to Taal (then Bombon ) Lake. Even without official church sanction, native devotion to the reported Lady of Caysasay was quick and spontaneous. Miraculous healing powers were attributed to the waters from the spring. And in a cave near the spring was found the image of the Blessed Virgin—the same image that was fished out of the river almost a decade earlier and mysteriously disappeared! More than 30 people declared they saw visions of the Lady at Caysasay. Some believed that Our Lady of Caysasay saved the town Taal when the taal volcano exploded
After this unusual phenomenon had been witnessed, which had never before been seen or heard of in that sitio, some natives, both men and women, decided to see what it really was. They saw an Image of Our Lady, just a little taller than the size of one open hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle finger, dressed in white, with a crown on her head, and in her arms was the Infant Jesus, who also wore a crown.
Divine Providence granted this vision to some devout native women. "The news reached a native called Juana Tangui, from the town of Bauang, who was the `slave' of Don Juan Mangabot, one of that town's prominent natives. She had been suffering for a long time from a burning sensation in the eyes, which left her no rest and which could not be healed by the many remedies that had been applied to it. Moved by strong faith and true devotion, she resolved to go to the rock where people said that the Blessed Virgin appeared. With this purpose in her heart, one day she went, accompanied by one of her master's daughters, to that place where the ray of light was first seen. She had also heard that everyone who took a bath in the small stream was cured of any sickness of which they may have been suffering.
For this reason she took a bath in the stream, in the company of nine or ten other people who were also bathing. During the entire time of her bath, she noticed an unusual shadow by her side, though there was neither sun nor moon that could cause it, since it was already evening, and it was very dark. After some time she felt that someone was holding her and turning her body. When she turned to the place toward which she was being turned, she saw a great light, like that coming from an enormous lighted candle, which caused her great wonder. But she did not dare to move forward in order to examine what she had seen. "She went to a nearby field where she recounted what had happened to some native women. But they told her to return and to examine closely what it was. Since she said that she could not see very well, on account of her eye disease, they offered a young servant to accompany her to that place. (The recent account of Fr. Cruz is similar but says it was a young servant boy that was sent back with Juana.) Upon their arrival at the spot, she made the girl kneel down. Juana walked further and saw a very bright light and the Image of Our Lady, almost two palm measurements in height, dressed in white, with a crown on her head and a cross on her forehead. The Image seemed to be alive, as it was moving and blinking. When the native woman moved closer to her, the Image spoke to her, thanking her for remembering her and coming back to see her.
The native declared that the apparition told her: You have been kind-hearted to me, but unless you wear the belt of San Agustin, do not come back to see me, until you are a member of the Cofradía, and you wear it. "The native woman returned to the town, and did not tell anyone about what had happened until she had spoken with Fr. Juan Bautista Montoya, Prior of the Taal Convent. She asked him reverentially to give her the belt of the Cofradía. The Prior gave it to her at once. After spending eight days in confession and in preparing herself as best she could, she returned to the place where the Blessed Virgin had spoken to her.
In addition to herself, a simple woman who led a devout life, she brought with her eight or nine people, among them the wife of her master, Doña Juliana Dimoyaguín and other prominent residents, whose declarations appear in the accounts published about the event. They returned to the same place where the girl who had accompanied her the first time had knelt down. She moved forward to the same spot where she had been a few days before, and she saw once more, clearly and distinctly, the Blessed Virgin, in great splendor and beauty. After making a deep bow, Juana knelt in her presence.
The Virgin told her that she was much more pleased with her than before, because she was wearing the belt of the Cofradía of San Agustin. The devout native asked the Virgin directly what sign she should carry so that people would believe that she had spoken to and been in the company of the Virgin. The Virgin responded by asking for Juana's rosary and belt, telling her that it was a sufficient sign for her to touch them. Juana gave the Queen of Heaven her belt and her rosary, together with the rosaries that her companions had taken care to bring with them.
The Virgin accepted them and then returned them to the said Juana Tangui. The women who received the rosaries declared that the fragrance that emanated from them was so perfect and extraordinary that it elevated their souls. Moreover, Juana's eyes were healed, because her eyesight had never been good. Many natives declared that they had always known her to have bad eyesight. Now they saw that her eyesight was clear and good.
On February 24, 1620, Augustinians issued an order to construct a church "in the same place and site as Caysasay, visita of Taal, as it has been verified through serious investigation that the Most Holy Virgin has appeared there. It is resolved, likewise, that it be given the title of Nuestra Senora de la Misericordia." (This is reported by Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A, in his book Angels in Stone: Augustinian Churches in the Philippines, citing the Augustinian Libro del Gobierno)
The Lady of Caysasay is not the oldest Marian image in the Philippines. However, the report and documentation of the apparitions of 1611-1619, and later 1639, are unique in Philippine church annals. They could very well be the first apparitions in the Philippines. (Other reports of Marian apparitions are hinted in the story of La Naval de Manila (1649) and in Bantay, Ilocos Sur where—as the Lady of Charity—she was credited with saving the church and the convent from destruction during the revolt of Malong in 1661.)
In Asia, her appearance for public veneration also precedes the miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary as Lady of Mahdu in Sri Lanka and the Lady of Lavang in Vietnam. Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A., director of the museum of San Agustin, says the documentation and confirmation reports are similar to those granted to the famed Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico. In those days, the Philippines was under the autonomous Mexican vicarate. Fr. Casimiro Diaz, who reported the confirmation of the apparitions and miracles, was a comisario of the order's Mexican center.
History
Accounts of the Discovered Image
In the year 1603, in a small barrio in the town of Taal, a fisherman by the name of Juan Maningcad went out fishing instead of casting his net on the sea,he threw it into the nearby river. When he pulled out his net he caught a little image of the Blessed Virgin Mary less than a foot high. Although it was soaked in water, it had a heavenly lustre and the face twinkled like a star. Upon seeing this marvel,Juan being a pious and virtuous man prostrated himself before the image and began to pray. He picked it up and brought it home. "No one knew how the image got to the river, and according to the old folks, perhaps the image was thrown by one of the Spaniards to pacify the ravages of the ocean during one of those expeditions and somehow the waves pushed it to the river. Another opinion was that perhaps someone exploring the river must have inadvertently dropped it others believe it came from China.
The news began to spread like wild fire until it reached the parish priest of the town, and the judge that represented the King of Spain at that time. Without notice they immediately went to Juan Maningcad's house and there they saw the beautiful image of the Mother of God. They knelt down to venerate it, and took the image to Taal where a town fiesta was celebrated.
The widow of the Justice of the Peace by the name of Madam Maria Espiritu, was given the task of caring for the image. She ordered a precious urn to be made for the image and kept it in her home. Every evening she noticed that the urn turned empty and the image gone, but then in the morning it would be back in its usual place.
Worried about these disappearances, the widow told the story to the priest. He accompanied her back to her house and indeed saw that the urn was empty, but soon the urn opened and there appeared Mary's image before them. For several times, in spite of the watch made by the priest, the same events would happen that made the priest and others perplexed, not knowing what the desire of the Virgin was. After sometime, the priest decided to take the image to the Church for safekeeping but the image continued to leave the church until one day it completely disappeared and was nowhere to be found.
Years later, in 1611, two women gathering firewood saw the image reflected in the spring water, near the place where it was originally found. They looked up, and saw the image on top of a tall sampaguita bush. The women reported what they saw to the parish priest. The people and the priest concluded that it was the Virgin’s wish to stay in Caysasay. So they built a chapel on the very spot where the image was found.
In the early seventeenth Century, a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported at the rocky hillside of Caysasay, a barrio of Taal. According to a church inquiry, a vision first appeared to a native slave girl, Catalina Talayn, who had gone up the hillside with a companion to gather firewood and fetch some water. The unexpected vision of something small in stature but radiating extraordinary brilliance from a hollow in the rocky landscape so bewildered the girl that she ran to tell her companion, and both fled terrified back to the town of Taal, by the shore of the Lake. Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde, S.J., in his Historia de Filipinas, and other 18th Century Spanish chroniclers put the year at 1611, when natives began reporting strange visions on the hillside. This was also the year, according to Fr. Pedro G. Galende, currently Director of the San Agustin Museum in Intramuros, that the first makeshift church was reportedly built there. Historian Jose M. Cruz, S.J., currently dean of the School of Social Sciences of the Ateneo de Manila University, reviewed original microfilm documents of the inquiry into the apparitions (his date, 1619). He reports that Church officials interrogated Catalina but she told them she could not clearly identify what she saw.
The sparseness of her report, however, seems to convince Fr. Cruz that she "was not fabricating the story." In 17th Century Philippines, an alipin like Catalina had "much to gain from associating herself to the divinity or to the saints," notes Cruz in his study on the Caysasay apparitions. At any rate, when word got around, many people flocked to the area. Stories later included in the Tagalog novena say that two girls had seen the image of the Lady in the spring, and when they looked up, they saw her perched on a branch of a Sampaga tree, two lighted candles by her side, and guarded by kingfishers or casay-casay birds that abound in the area. The village was by the Pansipit River, which was then a wide salt-water channel that connected Balayan (then Balangon) Bay to Taal (then Bombon ) Lake. Even without official church sanction, native devotion to the reported Lady of Caysasay was quick and spontaneous. Miraculous healing powers were attributed to the waters from the spring. And in a cave near the spring was found the image of the Blessed Virgin—the same image that was fished out of the river almost a decade earlier and mysteriously disappeared! More than 30 people declared they saw visions of the Lady at Caysasay. Some believed that Our Lady of Caysasay saved the town Taal when the taal volcano exploded
The case of Juana Tangui
The clearest one was reported by Juana Tangui. Fr.Casimiro Díaz, a representative of the Mexican vicar, in his 18th Century Conquista de las Islas Filipinas (Part II), gives a detailed account: "In a sitio called Bingsacan, near the town of Caysasay, around 1611, the natives saw several times, mainly at night, near a river where they go to fetch water, a very great light coming from a small opening in a large rock. From a distance it shone more brightly than four giant wax candles. As they got nearer, they could hear sweet and harmonious music made by very pleasant instruments, which entranced them, not so much because they did not expect to hear music but because of the divine melody that they heard. As they approached closer, some saw a beautiful hand and arm jutting out of the opening in the rock. It held a lighted torch, which moved up and down, though it remained in its place in the opening. They watched this light for a long time, listening to music. Others saw only the great ray of light, while still others saw that above the rock, there was a very great light, and another group saw a great flame, which seemed to devour that sitio.After this unusual phenomenon had been witnessed, which had never before been seen or heard of in that sitio, some natives, both men and women, decided to see what it really was. They saw an Image of Our Lady, just a little taller than the size of one open hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle finger, dressed in white, with a crown on her head, and in her arms was the Infant Jesus, who also wore a crown.
Divine Providence granted this vision to some devout native women. "The news reached a native called Juana Tangui, from the town of Bauang, who was the `slave' of Don Juan Mangabot, one of that town's prominent natives. She had been suffering for a long time from a burning sensation in the eyes, which left her no rest and which could not be healed by the many remedies that had been applied to it. Moved by strong faith and true devotion, she resolved to go to the rock where people said that the Blessed Virgin appeared. With this purpose in her heart, one day she went, accompanied by one of her master's daughters, to that place where the ray of light was first seen. She had also heard that everyone who took a bath in the small stream was cured of any sickness of which they may have been suffering.
For this reason she took a bath in the stream, in the company of nine or ten other people who were also bathing. During the entire time of her bath, she noticed an unusual shadow by her side, though there was neither sun nor moon that could cause it, since it was already evening, and it was very dark. After some time she felt that someone was holding her and turning her body. When she turned to the place toward which she was being turned, she saw a great light, like that coming from an enormous lighted candle, which caused her great wonder. But she did not dare to move forward in order to examine what she had seen. "She went to a nearby field where she recounted what had happened to some native women. But they told her to return and to examine closely what it was. Since she said that she could not see very well, on account of her eye disease, they offered a young servant to accompany her to that place. (The recent account of Fr. Cruz is similar but says it was a young servant boy that was sent back with Juana.) Upon their arrival at the spot, she made the girl kneel down. Juana walked further and saw a very bright light and the Image of Our Lady, almost two palm measurements in height, dressed in white, with a crown on her head and a cross on her forehead. The Image seemed to be alive, as it was moving and blinking. When the native woman moved closer to her, the Image spoke to her, thanking her for remembering her and coming back to see her.
The native declared that the apparition told her: You have been kind-hearted to me, but unless you wear the belt of San Agustin, do not come back to see me, until you are a member of the Cofradía, and you wear it. "The native woman returned to the town, and did not tell anyone about what had happened until she had spoken with Fr. Juan Bautista Montoya, Prior of the Taal Convent. She asked him reverentially to give her the belt of the Cofradía. The Prior gave it to her at once. After spending eight days in confession and in preparing herself as best she could, she returned to the place where the Blessed Virgin had spoken to her.
In addition to herself, a simple woman who led a devout life, she brought with her eight or nine people, among them the wife of her master, Doña Juliana Dimoyaguín and other prominent residents, whose declarations appear in the accounts published about the event. They returned to the same place where the girl who had accompanied her the first time had knelt down. She moved forward to the same spot where she had been a few days before, and she saw once more, clearly and distinctly, the Blessed Virgin, in great splendor and beauty. After making a deep bow, Juana knelt in her presence.
The Virgin told her that she was much more pleased with her than before, because she was wearing the belt of the Cofradía of San Agustin. The devout native asked the Virgin directly what sign she should carry so that people would believe that she had spoken to and been in the company of the Virgin. The Virgin responded by asking for Juana's rosary and belt, telling her that it was a sufficient sign for her to touch them. Juana gave the Queen of Heaven her belt and her rosary, together with the rosaries that her companions had taken care to bring with them.
The Virgin accepted them and then returned them to the said Juana Tangui. The women who received the rosaries declared that the fragrance that emanated from them was so perfect and extraordinary that it elevated their souls. Moreover, Juana's eyes were healed, because her eyesight had never been good. Many natives declared that they had always known her to have bad eyesight. Now they saw that her eyesight was clear and good.
On February 24, 1620, Augustinians issued an order to construct a church "in the same place and site as Caysasay, visita of Taal, as it has been verified through serious investigation that the Most Holy Virgin has appeared there. It is resolved, likewise, that it be given the title of Nuestra Senora de la Misericordia." (This is reported by Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A, in his book Angels in Stone: Augustinian Churches in the Philippines, citing the Augustinian Libro del Gobierno)
Deliverance of the Town
In 1732 the town of Taal became the prosperous capital of the Province of Taal. Bombon Lake was renamed Taal Lake. Its prosperity came from provisioning the galleons coming from Acapulco to Manila. These galleons found protection from typhoons in Taal Lake, which was then salt water. They honored Our Lady with cannon bursts as they passed in front of her shrine. The most violent eruption of the Taal Volcano occurred in 1754. It lasted more than eight months. The lava almost closed the Pansipit River, and raised the water of the lake so high that it flooded out the lake towns of Tanauan, Lipa, Sala, Bauan and Taal. All five towns relocated inland, away from the volcano, toward the mountains. The townspeople of Taal, together with their parish priest, fled from their submerged capital town and sought refuge at the Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay. The present beautiful town of Taal was established on a hillside, overlooking the Shrine and Balayan Bay. From that time Taal Lake was transformed from a salt water lake to a fresh water lake. Divers, swimming in the Taal Lake, are amazed at the abandoned towns they discover, in the depths of the lake.Solemn Coronation
On 8th December, 1954, two hundred years after the great Taal eruption, the Image of Our Lady of Caysasay was canonically crowned at the Basilica de San Martin de Tours in Taal by Cardinal Quiroga, representing His Holiness the Venerable Servant of God Pope Pius XII.Debate
1603 or 1611?
Historical documents disagree on the exact date of Juan Maningcad's find. (Some say she was found in 1611.) Former Taal parish priest, Fr. Juan Coronel, however, agrees that 1603 is the more likely date because the priest mentioned in the account, Fray Juan Bautista de Montoya, was the Prior of Taal at that time. The Catalogo de todos los Padres Agustinos Calzados also puts the event in the year 1603, as does the Old Tagalog novena written by Fr. Francisco Buencuchillo in the mid-18th Century, from which the above account is based. It is probable that after disappearing for a while, it was in 1611 that she was found by the hollow of the rock on the hillside beside the spring in the village of Caysasay.The Image
The Lady, measuring about 272 millimeters, came garbed only in a simple red tunic dress gathered above her waist, then billowing into huge folds around her ankles. She appears pregnant. A green shawl is her only shield from the changing cycles of hot days and cold nights. She tilts very slightly forward, her fragile hands clasped across her breasts below her right shoulder. One eye is slightly bigger than the other, and in them dwell great mystery. This is the prologue of the story—the story of an enduring communal devotion to the Blessed Mother that has in no small way shaped a town and blessed its people.The Lady of Caysasay is not the oldest Marian image in the Philippines. However, the report and documentation of the apparitions of 1611-1619, and later 1639, are unique in Philippine church annals. They could very well be the first apparitions in the Philippines. (Other reports of Marian apparitions are hinted in the story of La Naval de Manila (1649) and in Bantay, Ilocos Sur where—as the Lady of Charity—she was credited with saving the church and the convent from destruction during the revolt of Malong in 1661.)
In Asia, her appearance for public veneration also precedes the miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary as Lady of Mahdu in Sri Lanka and the Lady of Lavang in Vietnam. Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A., director of the museum of San Agustin, says the documentation and confirmation reports are similar to those granted to the famed Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico. In those days, the Philippines was under the autonomous Mexican vicarate. Fr. Casimiro Diaz, who reported the confirmation of the apparitions and miracles, was a comisario of the order's Mexican center.
Sta. Lucia Wells
Initially, the public devotion to the Virgin Mary centered on the Caysasay spring. To the townsfolk, the vision had empowered the spring water with healing powers. Many stories say the Virgin had appeared as a reflection in the spring. Continues Fr. Diaz: "The Holy Image has performed numerous miracles, not only for those who have gone to the rock to ask for help from the Queen of Angels, but also for those who drank from the water and bathed in the nearby stream. "These miracles are confirmed in the accounts that Fr. Pedro de Arce, Bishop of Cebu, and Governor of the Archbishopric of Manila ordered to be drawn up and prepared by Fr. Juan Bautista de Montoya, Prior of Taal, together with Fr. Gerónimo de Medrano and Fr. Juan de Rojas." A beautifully carved stone dome or arch was also constructed over the spring near the church—so named Ang Balon ng Sta. Lucia or `the Wells of Santa Lucia.' To this day, the site of the wells is known as `Banal na Pook' (sacred site) and vestiges of the spring running close to the wells is known as `Banal na Tubig' (sacred water).References
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/53819437@N00/466666479/
- TAAL p.95,/Filippina Section/Teodoro M. Kalaw Memorial Library/ Lipa City,Batangas
External links
The Feast of the Virgin of Caysasay
The feast is celebrated on the 8th day of December every year, the day when Fernando Quiroga y Palascios, then the Spanish representative of Pope Pius XII, celebrated the solemn canonical coronation of the Virgin of Caysasay in 1954. This miraculous wooden image is eight inches (203 mm) high, bearing signs of long immersion in water, but garbed in exquisite robes.
The Our Lady of Caysasay Church
The balon (spring well) behind the church is considered miraculous. According to the villagers around the area, the spring water has cured many sick individuals, who used it for bathing.
Our Lady of Caysasay Church @ Taal, Batangas
Our Lady of Caysasay Church @ Taal, Batangas
Some of the best kept-secrets lie in a small package. That certainly holds true with Our Lady of Caysasay Church in Barrio Labac, Taal, Batangas. From the outside, the church is humble and plain looking but once you see the interiors, you will simply be mesmerized.The present church is a rebuilt version of the one that housed the Nuestra Senora de Caysasay, a miraculous image of the virgin that has guided the town since the 1600s. Originally built in 1639, the church was damaged by the eruption of Taal Volcano and an earthquake. It was later restored and improved by Father Marcos Anton with the interiors painted by Cesar Aberoni.
Just few minutes walk from the Church is the Santa Lucia Twin Wells. The waters from the wells are said to be miraculous and has healing powers. The wells are located on what was left of a stone-arch that has an engraved sculpture of Our Lady of Caysasay destroyed also by the eruption of Taal Volcano in the 1800s.
A visit to the pilgrim church
I first heard of Our Lady of Casaysay from a journalist friend, Monica, who was commissioned to write about the history of the devotion during its jubilee year. I had always wanted to see the place but never had a chance till last Sunday, when a planned Tagaytay trip to bring around a balikbayan guest Ruben, tuned into an unexpected pilgrimage to Taal.
The church is a few minutes away from the main Basilica of Taal, the Basilica of St. Martin de Tours. Not everyone knows the place as there is also an altar dedicated to Our Lady of Casaysay inside the basilica.
I was expecting a big church similar to the basilica so we almost missed the place. The church or chapel is small just like the image of Our Lady.
It has some similarity to the antique church of San Miguel in Manila before it was renovated.
I particularly liked the painting on the ceiling which is made in black and white.
Some of the children selling sampaguitas kept asking us if we wanted to see the 'milagrosang balon' (miraculous spring) and I said yes of course. We were led to the back of the church, across a stony path, climbed a rugged rock to get to a grotto, where we prayed and finally to an old arch under which lies the two miraculous springs.
Below this old Arch, one can find the two springs where it is believed miraculous waters flow.
A small boy offered to scop up some water from the springs. The children told us that there are two water sources.
The one on the right is for the head, and the other one is for the body.
Took a photo of Bebeth and Ruben as they went around the slim path to get closer to the springs where we prayed and dipped our hands.
This is a closer look at the two sources of the miraculous water.
The children saw my almost empty plastic bottle and asked if I wanted to put some of the miraculous water inside. I said yes of course!
They said however that it would be better to get them from the faucet where it is filtered and you can find this just at the back of the chapel.
We then trekked back towards the direction of the sanctuary.
The little sampaguita vendor is filling up my plastic bottle first from the left faucet then the right (one of the springs for the body and the other for the head, remember?).
We tried asking for the story behind the miraculous image but we got some piece meal tales of how the statue of our lady was fished out from the river by Juan Maningcad.
Finally I was able to find something on the internet from Balita part of which I am quoting below.
The story of the image began four centuries ago after a fisherman namedJuan Maningcad, found the statue in the Pansipit River in Barrio Casaysayin the year 1603.
But Taal folks said strange phenomenon had occurred when the image"disappeared" from time to time but comes back again the next day.This puzzled the people, including the parish priest.
this painting is found inside the chapel
and is a depiction of the discovery of
Our Lady's statue
It was said thatduring its disappearances, the statue goes back to the river where it wasoriginally located. The image was then brought to the church of thebarrio, but the same incident occurred.
Many years ago when the image was under the care of Ms. Maria del EspirituSanto, strange things had happened.Ms. Espiritu had a special urn where the image was placed.But according to the townsfolk of Taal, Ms Espiritu found the urn emptyone day. But the next morning the image was back in the urn.
This strange happening was repeated a number of times prompting, Ms.Espiritu to report the matter to the parish priest.To investigate the mysterious coming and going of the image, the priestdecided to have volunteers keep a vigil beside the urn.They sat and prayed, painstakingly waiting for the moment to happen. Thensuddenly they saw with their eyes the glorious image going out from theurn and coming back againThe priest decided that the villagers should light candles and follow theimage the next time it left from the urn.
When the phenomenon again occurred the image led the faithful to Caysasay,the place it was originally found..The villagers concluded that it was the Lady's wish to stay in the riverof Pansipit. They built a chapel in honor of the image.The first miracle of the image happened in 1611 when a native girl wascured from blindness.
An arch was soon built over the wells of the statue,and is now known as "Banal na Pook".The chapel was torn down and replaced by the coral stone structure in 1639.
Recent miracles: Leony Martinez, a PIA employee, experienced an excruciating abdominal painthat when she urinated, blood came out.A devotee of the Our Lady of Casaysay, she took the miracle water ofCaysasay and wiped it on her abdomen.
The blood stopped and the pain wasgone immediately. Cedee Buenafe, also an employee, took a picture of the image, thinking itwould make a pretty wall for her mobile phone. To her big surprise, thephoto that she took had two angels on both sides of Our Lady. She used itas a screen saver but two days later, the photo was deleted from hercellular phone.
But the most bizarre was that of Girlie Duldulao, a PIA employee, who wasran over by speeding Pajero and another car.As the traffic stopped, people nearby had to carry the Pajero to getDuldulao out from the bottom of the vehicle.
Those who saw the accident thought Duldulao was crushed to death, but shesurvived with only minor bruises, including a marking of the wheel on herlegs.Duldulao said later that the only thing she could recall was that all thewh ile she was thinking of the Virgin of Caysasay, while calling for Jesusas she utters "Lord, Oh Lord, Mama Mary!" seconds before the accident.
The image of Our Lady of Casaysay was crowned at the Taal Basilica byCardinal Quiroga, representing Pope Pius XII on December 8, 1954.Until now miracles and healings by the image continue to take place.By tradition the image of the Our Lady of Casaysay visits homes, parishes,government offices as well as institutions to provide guidance andprotection for the people.
The church is a few minutes away from the main Basilica of Taal, the Basilica of St. Martin de Tours. Not everyone knows the place as there is also an altar dedicated to Our Lady of Casaysay inside the basilica.
I was expecting a big church similar to the basilica so we almost missed the place. The church or chapel is small just like the image of Our Lady.
It has some similarity to the antique church of San Miguel in Manila before it was renovated.
I particularly liked the painting on the ceiling which is made in black and white.
Some of the children selling sampaguitas kept asking us if we wanted to see the 'milagrosang balon' (miraculous spring) and I said yes of course. We were led to the back of the church, across a stony path, climbed a rugged rock to get to a grotto, where we prayed and finally to an old arch under which lies the two miraculous springs.
Below this old Arch, one can find the two springs where it is believed miraculous waters flow.
A small boy offered to scop up some water from the springs. The children told us that there are two water sources.
The one on the right is for the head, and the other one is for the body.
Took a photo of Bebeth and Ruben as they went around the slim path to get closer to the springs where we prayed and dipped our hands.
This is a closer look at the two sources of the miraculous water.
The children saw my almost empty plastic bottle and asked if I wanted to put some of the miraculous water inside. I said yes of course!
They said however that it would be better to get them from the faucet where it is filtered and you can find this just at the back of the chapel.
We then trekked back towards the direction of the sanctuary.
The little sampaguita vendor is filling up my plastic bottle first from the left faucet then the right (one of the springs for the body and the other for the head, remember?).
We tried asking for the story behind the miraculous image but we got some piece meal tales of how the statue of our lady was fished out from the river by Juan Maningcad.
Finally I was able to find something on the internet from Balita part of which I am quoting below.
The story of the image began four centuries ago after a fisherman namedJuan Maningcad, found the statue in the Pansipit River in Barrio Casaysayin the year 1603.
But Taal folks said strange phenomenon had occurred when the image"disappeared" from time to time but comes back again the next day.This puzzled the people, including the parish priest.
this painting is found inside the chapel
and is a depiction of the discovery of
Our Lady's statue
It was said thatduring its disappearances, the statue goes back to the river where it wasoriginally located. The image was then brought to the church of thebarrio, but the same incident occurred.
Many years ago when the image was under the care of Ms. Maria del EspirituSanto, strange things had happened.Ms. Espiritu had a special urn where the image was placed.But according to the townsfolk of Taal, Ms Espiritu found the urn emptyone day. But the next morning the image was back in the urn.
This strange happening was repeated a number of times prompting, Ms.Espiritu to report the matter to the parish priest.To investigate the mysterious coming and going of the image, the priestdecided to have volunteers keep a vigil beside the urn.They sat and prayed, painstakingly waiting for the moment to happen. Thensuddenly they saw with their eyes the glorious image going out from theurn and coming back againThe priest decided that the villagers should light candles and follow theimage the next time it left from the urn.
When the phenomenon again occurred the image led the faithful to Caysasay,the place it was originally found..The villagers concluded that it was the Lady's wish to stay in the riverof Pansipit. They built a chapel in honor of the image.The first miracle of the image happened in 1611 when a native girl wascured from blindness.
An arch was soon built over the wells of the statue,and is now known as "Banal na Pook".The chapel was torn down and replaced by the coral stone structure in 1639.
Recent miracles: Leony Martinez, a PIA employee, experienced an excruciating abdominal painthat when she urinated, blood came out.A devotee of the Our Lady of Casaysay, she took the miracle water ofCaysasay and wiped it on her abdomen.
The blood stopped and the pain wasgone immediately. Cedee Buenafe, also an employee, took a picture of the image, thinking itwould make a pretty wall for her mobile phone. To her big surprise, thephoto that she took had two angels on both sides of Our Lady. She used itas a screen saver but two days later, the photo was deleted from hercellular phone.
But the most bizarre was that of Girlie Duldulao, a PIA employee, who wasran over by speeding Pajero and another car.As the traffic stopped, people nearby had to carry the Pajero to getDuldulao out from the bottom of the vehicle.
Those who saw the accident thought Duldulao was crushed to death, but shesurvived with only minor bruises, including a marking of the wheel on herlegs.Duldulao said later that the only thing she could recall was that all thewh ile she was thinking of the Virgin of Caysasay, while calling for Jesusas she utters "Lord, Oh Lord, Mama Mary!" seconds before the accident.
The image of Our Lady of Casaysay was crowned at the Taal Basilica byCardinal Quiroga, representing Pope Pius XII on December 8, 1954.Until now miracles and healings by the image continue to take place.By tradition the image of the Our Lady of Casaysay visits homes, parishes,government offices as well as institutions to provide guidance andprotection for the people.
Our lady of Caysasay
Our Lady of Caysasay, Taal, Batangas
Our Lady of Caysasay
Taal, Batangas City, Philippines
In the year 1603, in a small barrio of Caysasay, in the town of Taal, a fisherman by the name of Juan Maningcad went out fishing and instead of casting his net on the sea, threw it into the nearby river, and instead of catching fish, caught a little statue of the Blessed Virgin of the Immaculate Conception about six inches high. Although it was soaked in water, it had a heavenly lustre and her face twinkled like a star. Upon seeing this marvel, the startled Juan, being a pious and virtuous man prostrated himself before the image and began to pray. He picked it up and brought it home. "No one knew how the image got to the river, and according to the old folks, perhaps the image was thrown by one of the Spaniards to pacify the ravages of the ocean during one of those expeditions and somehow the waves pushed it to the river. Another opinion was that perhaps someone exploring the river must have inadvertently dropped it. (Some believe it came from China.)
The news began to spread like lightning until it reached the priest in town, and the judge that represented the King of Spain at that time. Without notice they immediately went to Juan Maningcad's house and there they saw the beautiful image of the Mother of God. They knelt down to venerate it, and took the image to Taal where a town fiesta was celebrated.
The widow of the Justice of the Peace by the name of Madam Maria Espiritu, was given the task of caring for the image. She ordered a precious urn to be made for the image and kept it in her home. Every evening she noticed that the urn turned empty and the image gone, but then in the morning it would be back in its usual place.
Worried about these disappearances, the widow told the story to the priest. He accompanied her back to her house and indeed saw that the urn was empty, but soon the urn opened and there appeared Mary's image before them. For several times, in spite of the watch made by the priest, the same events would happen that made the priest and others perplexed, not knowing what the desire of the Virgin was. After sometime, the priest decided to take the image to the Church for safekeeping but it was in vain. The image continued to leave the church until one day it completely disappeared and was nowhere to be found.
Historical documents disagree on the exact date of Juan Maningcad's find. (Some say she was found in 1611.) Former Taal parish priest, Fr. Juan Coronel, however, agrees that 1603 is the more likely date because the priest mentioned in the account, Fray Juan Bautista de Montoya, was the Prior of Taal at that time. The Catalogo de todos los Padres Agustinos Calzados also puts the event in the year 1603, as does the Old Tagalog novena written by Fr. Francisco Buencuchillo in the mid-18th Century, from which the above account is based.
It is probable that after disappearing for a while, it was in 1611 that she was found by the hollow of the rock on the hillside beside the spring in the village of Caysasay. The Lady, measuring about 272 millimeters, came garbed only in a simple white tunic dress gathered above her waist, then billowing into huge folds around her ankles. She appears pregnant. A blue shawl is her only shield from the changing cycles of hot days and cold nights. She tilts very slightly forward, her fragile hands clasped across her breasts below her right shoulder. One eye is slightly bigger than the other, and in them dwell great mystery. This is the prologue of the story—the story of an enduring communal devotion to the Blessed Mother that has in no small way shaped a town and blessed its people.
In the early seventeenth Century, a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported at the rocky hillside of Caysasay, a barrio of Taal. According to a church inquiry, a vision first appeared to a native slave girl, Catalina Talayn, who had gone up the hillside with a companion to gather firewood and fetch some water. The unexpected vision of something small in stature but radiating extraordinary brilliance from a hollow in the rocky landscape so bewildered the girl that she ran to tell her companion, and both fled terrified back to the town of Taal, by the shore of the Lake. Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde, S.J., in his Historia de Filipinas, and other 18th Century Spanish chroniclers put the year at 1611, when natives began reporting strange visions on the hillside. This was also the year, according to Fr. Pedro G. Galende, currently Director of the San Agustin Museum in Intramuros, that the first makeshift church was reportedly built there. Historian Jose M. Cruz, S.J., currently dean of the School of Social Sciences of the Ateneo de Manila University, reviewed original microfilm documents of the inquiry into the apparitions (his date, 1619). He reports that Church officials interrogated Catalina but she told them she could not clearly identify what she saw.
The sparseness of her report, however, seems to convince Fr. Cruz that she "was not fabricating the story." In 17th Century Philippines, an alipin like Catalina had "much to gain from associating herself to the divinity or to the saints," notes Cruz in his study on the Caysasay apparitions. At any rate, when word got around, many people flocked to the area. Stories later included in the Tagalog novena say that two girls had seen the image of the Lady in the spring, and when they looked up, they saw her perched on a branch of a Sampaga tree, two lighted candles by her side, and guarded by kingfishers or casay-casay birds that abound in the area. The village was by the Pansipit River, which was then a wide salt-water channel that connected Balayan (then Balangon) Bay to Taal (then Bombon ) Lake. Even without official church sanction, native devotion to the reported Lady of Caysasay was quick and spontaneous.
Miraculous healing powers were attributed to the waters from the spring. And in a cave near the spring was found the image of the Blessed Virgin—the same image that was fished out of the river almost a decade earlier and mysteriously disappeared! More than 30 people declared they saw visions of the Lady at Caysasay.
The clearest one was reported by Juana Tangui. Fr.Casimiro Díaz, a representative of the Mexican vicar, in his 18th Century Conquista de las Islas Filipinas (Part II), gives a detailed account: "In a sitio called Bingsacan, near the town of Caysasay, around 1611, the natives saw several times, mainly at night, near a river where they go to fetch water, a very great light coming from a small opening in a large rock. From a distance it shone more brightly than four giant wax candles. As they got nearer, they could hear sweet and harmonious music made by very pleasant instruments, which entranced them, not so much because they did not expect to hear music but because of the divine melody that they heard. As they approached closer, some saw a beautiful hand and arm jutting out of the opening in the rock. It held a lighted torch, which moved up and down, though it remained in its place in the opening. They watched this light for a long time, listening to music. Others saw only the great ray of light, while still others saw that above the rock, there was a very great light, and another group saw a great flame, which seemed to devour that sitio.
After this unusual phenomenon had been witnessed, which had never before been seen or heard of in that sitio, some natives, both men and women, decided to see what it really was. They saw an Image of Our Lady, just a little taller than the size of one open hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle finger, dressed in white, with a crown on her head, and in her arms was the Infant Jesus, who also wore a crown.
Divine Providence granted this vision to some devout native women. "The news reached a native called Juana Tangui, from the town of Bauang, who was the `slave' of Don Juan Mangabot, one of that town's prominent natives. She had been suffering for a long time from a burning sensation in the eyes, which left her no rest and which could not be healed by the many remedies that had been applied to it. Moved by strong faith and true devotion, she resolved to go to the rock where people said that the Blessed Virgin appeared. With this purpose in her heart, one day she went, accompanied by one of her master's daughters, to that place where the ray of light was first seen. She had also heard that everyone who took a bath in the small stream was cured of any sickness of which they may have been suffering.
For this reason she took a bath in the stream, in the company of nine or ten other people who were also bathing. During the entire time of her bath, she noticed an unusual shadow by her side, though there was neither sun nor moon that could cause it, since it was already evening, and it was very dark. After some time she felt that someone was holding her and turning her body. When she turned to the place toward which she was being turned, she saw a great light, like that coming from an enormous lighted candle, which caused her great wonder. But she did not dare to move forward in order to examine what she had seen. "She went to a nearby field where she recounted what had happened to some native women. But they told her to return and to examine closely what it was. Since she said that she could not see very well, on account of her eye disease, they offered a young servant to accompany her to that place. (The recent account of Fr. Cruz is similar but says it was a young servant boy that was sent back with Juana.) Upon their arrival at the spot, she made the girl kneel down. Juana walked further and saw a very bright light and the Image of Our Lady, almost two palm measurements in height, dressed in white, with a crown on her head and a cross on her forehead. The Image seemed to be alive, as it was moving and blinking. When the native woman moved closer to her, the Image spoke to her, thanking her for remembering her and coming back to see her.
The native declared that the apparition told her: You have been kind-hearted to me, but unless you wear the belt of San Agustin, do not come back to see me, until you are a member of the Cofradía, and you wear it. "The native woman returned to the town, and did not tell anyone about what had happened until she had spoken with Fr. Juan Bautista Montoya, Prior of the Taal Convent. She asked him reverentially to give her the belt of the Cofradía. The Prior gave it to her at once. After spending eight days in confession and in preparing herself as best she could, she returned to the place where the Blessed Virgin had spoken to her.
In addition to herself, a simple woman who led a devout life, she brought with her eight or nine people, among them the wife of her master, Doña Juliana Dimoyaguín and other prominent residents, whose declarations appear in the accounts published about the event. They returned to the same place where the girl who had accompanied her the first time had knelt down. She moved forward to the same spot where she had been a few days before, and she saw once more, clearly and distinctly, the Blessed Virgin, in great splendor and beauty. After making a deep bow, Juana knelt in her presence.
The Virgin told her that she was much more pleased with her than before, because she was wearing the belt of the Cofradía of San Agustin. The devout native asked the Virgin directly what sign she should carry so that people would believe that she had spoken to and been in the company of the Virgin. The Virgin responded by asking for Juana's rosary and belt, telling her that it was a sufficient sign for her to touch them. Juana gave the Queen of Heaven her belt and her rosary, together with the rosaries that her companions had taken care to bring with them.
The Virgin accepted them and then returned them to the said Juana Tangui. The women who received the rosaries declared that the fragrance that emanated from them was so perfect and extraordinary that it elevated their souls. Moreover, Juana's eyes were healed, because her eyesight had never been good. Many natives declared that they had always known her to have bad eyesight. Now they saw that her eyesight was clear and good.
Many other native women saw this Holy Image, mainly Magdalena Pongsoin, from Bauang, Doña Catalina Guinatosan, Doña Mahalay and Catalina Talaín and many others, all native women, known to be good and virtuous Christians. More than thirty declare that they saw her. So numerous were those who showed interest that the church authorities felt compelled to launch an official inquiry.
On February 24, 1620, Augustinians issued an order to construct a church "in the same place and site as Caysasay, visita of Taal, as it has been verified through serious investigation that the Most Holy Virgin has appeared there. It is resolved, likewise, that it be given the title of Nuestra Senora de la Misericordia." (This is reported by Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A, in his book Angels in Stone: Augustinian Churches in the Philippines, citing the Augustinian Libro del Gobierno)
The Lady of Caysasay is not the oldest Marian image in the Philippines. However, the report and documentation of the apparitions of 1611-1619, and later 1639, are unique in Philippine church annals. They could very well be the first apparitions in the Philippines. (Other reports of Marian apparitions are hinted in the story of La Naval de Manila (1649) and in Bantay, Ilocos Sur where—as the Lady of Charity—she was credited with saving the church and the convent from destruction during the revolt of Malong in 1661.)
In Asia, her appearance for public veneration also precedes the miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary as Lady of Mahdu in Sri Lanka and the Lady of Lavang in Vietnam. Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A., director of the museum of San Agustin, says the documentation and confirmation reports are similar to those granted to the famed Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico. In those days, the Philippines was under the autonomous Mexican vicarate. Fr. Casimiro Diaz, who reported the confirmation of the apparitions and miracles, was a comisario of the order's Mexican center.
Initially, the public devotion to the Virgin Mary centered on the Caysasay spring. To the townsfolk, the vision had empowered the spring water with healing powers. Many stories say the Virgin had appeared as a reflection in the spring. Continues Fr. Diaz: "The Holy Image has performed numerous miracles, not only for those who have gone to the rock to ask for help from the Queen of Angels, but also for those who drank from the water and bathed in the nearby stream. "These miracles are confirmed in the accounts that Fr. Pedro de Arce, Bishop of Cebu, and Governor of the Archbishopric of Manila ordered to be drawn up and prepared by Fr. Juan Bautista de Montoya, Prior of Taal, together with Fr. Gerónimo de Medrano and Fr. Juan de Rojas." A beautifully carved stone dome or arch was also constructed over the spring near the church—so named Ang Balon ng Sta. Lucia or `the Wells of Santa Lucia.' To this day, the site of the wells is known as `Banal na Pook' (sacred site) and vestiges of the spring running close to the wells is known as `Banal na Tubig' (sacred water).
Taal, Batangas City, Philippines
In the year 1603, in a small barrio of Caysasay, in the town of Taal, a fisherman by the name of Juan Maningcad went out fishing and instead of casting his net on the sea, threw it into the nearby river, and instead of catching fish, caught a little statue of the Blessed Virgin of the Immaculate Conception about six inches high. Although it was soaked in water, it had a heavenly lustre and her face twinkled like a star. Upon seeing this marvel, the startled Juan, being a pious and virtuous man prostrated himself before the image and began to pray. He picked it up and brought it home. "No one knew how the image got to the river, and according to the old folks, perhaps the image was thrown by one of the Spaniards to pacify the ravages of the ocean during one of those expeditions and somehow the waves pushed it to the river. Another opinion was that perhaps someone exploring the river must have inadvertently dropped it. (Some believe it came from China.)
The news began to spread like lightning until it reached the priest in town, and the judge that represented the King of Spain at that time. Without notice they immediately went to Juan Maningcad's house and there they saw the beautiful image of the Mother of God. They knelt down to venerate it, and took the image to Taal where a town fiesta was celebrated.
The widow of the Justice of the Peace by the name of Madam Maria Espiritu, was given the task of caring for the image. She ordered a precious urn to be made for the image and kept it in her home. Every evening she noticed that the urn turned empty and the image gone, but then in the morning it would be back in its usual place.
Worried about these disappearances, the widow told the story to the priest. He accompanied her back to her house and indeed saw that the urn was empty, but soon the urn opened and there appeared Mary's image before them. For several times, in spite of the watch made by the priest, the same events would happen that made the priest and others perplexed, not knowing what the desire of the Virgin was. After sometime, the priest decided to take the image to the Church for safekeeping but it was in vain. The image continued to leave the church until one day it completely disappeared and was nowhere to be found.
Historical documents disagree on the exact date of Juan Maningcad's find. (Some say she was found in 1611.) Former Taal parish priest, Fr. Juan Coronel, however, agrees that 1603 is the more likely date because the priest mentioned in the account, Fray Juan Bautista de Montoya, was the Prior of Taal at that time. The Catalogo de todos los Padres Agustinos Calzados also puts the event in the year 1603, as does the Old Tagalog novena written by Fr. Francisco Buencuchillo in the mid-18th Century, from which the above account is based.
It is probable that after disappearing for a while, it was in 1611 that she was found by the hollow of the rock on the hillside beside the spring in the village of Caysasay. The Lady, measuring about 272 millimeters, came garbed only in a simple white tunic dress gathered above her waist, then billowing into huge folds around her ankles. She appears pregnant. A blue shawl is her only shield from the changing cycles of hot days and cold nights. She tilts very slightly forward, her fragile hands clasped across her breasts below her right shoulder. One eye is slightly bigger than the other, and in them dwell great mystery. This is the prologue of the story—the story of an enduring communal devotion to the Blessed Mother that has in no small way shaped a town and blessed its people.
In the early seventeenth Century, a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported at the rocky hillside of Caysasay, a barrio of Taal. According to a church inquiry, a vision first appeared to a native slave girl, Catalina Talayn, who had gone up the hillside with a companion to gather firewood and fetch some water. The unexpected vision of something small in stature but radiating extraordinary brilliance from a hollow in the rocky landscape so bewildered the girl that she ran to tell her companion, and both fled terrified back to the town of Taal, by the shore of the Lake. Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde, S.J., in his Historia de Filipinas, and other 18th Century Spanish chroniclers put the year at 1611, when natives began reporting strange visions on the hillside. This was also the year, according to Fr. Pedro G. Galende, currently Director of the San Agustin Museum in Intramuros, that the first makeshift church was reportedly built there. Historian Jose M. Cruz, S.J., currently dean of the School of Social Sciences of the Ateneo de Manila University, reviewed original microfilm documents of the inquiry into the apparitions (his date, 1619). He reports that Church officials interrogated Catalina but she told them she could not clearly identify what she saw.
The sparseness of her report, however, seems to convince Fr. Cruz that she "was not fabricating the story." In 17th Century Philippines, an alipin like Catalina had "much to gain from associating herself to the divinity or to the saints," notes Cruz in his study on the Caysasay apparitions. At any rate, when word got around, many people flocked to the area. Stories later included in the Tagalog novena say that two girls had seen the image of the Lady in the spring, and when they looked up, they saw her perched on a branch of a Sampaga tree, two lighted candles by her side, and guarded by kingfishers or casay-casay birds that abound in the area. The village was by the Pansipit River, which was then a wide salt-water channel that connected Balayan (then Balangon) Bay to Taal (then Bombon ) Lake. Even without official church sanction, native devotion to the reported Lady of Caysasay was quick and spontaneous.
Miraculous healing powers were attributed to the waters from the spring. And in a cave near the spring was found the image of the Blessed Virgin—the same image that was fished out of the river almost a decade earlier and mysteriously disappeared! More than 30 people declared they saw visions of the Lady at Caysasay.
The clearest one was reported by Juana Tangui. Fr.Casimiro Díaz, a representative of the Mexican vicar, in his 18th Century Conquista de las Islas Filipinas (Part II), gives a detailed account: "In a sitio called Bingsacan, near the town of Caysasay, around 1611, the natives saw several times, mainly at night, near a river where they go to fetch water, a very great light coming from a small opening in a large rock. From a distance it shone more brightly than four giant wax candles. As they got nearer, they could hear sweet and harmonious music made by very pleasant instruments, which entranced them, not so much because they did not expect to hear music but because of the divine melody that they heard. As they approached closer, some saw a beautiful hand and arm jutting out of the opening in the rock. It held a lighted torch, which moved up and down, though it remained in its place in the opening. They watched this light for a long time, listening to music. Others saw only the great ray of light, while still others saw that above the rock, there was a very great light, and another group saw a great flame, which seemed to devour that sitio.
After this unusual phenomenon had been witnessed, which had never before been seen or heard of in that sitio, some natives, both men and women, decided to see what it really was. They saw an Image of Our Lady, just a little taller than the size of one open hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle finger, dressed in white, with a crown on her head, and in her arms was the Infant Jesus, who also wore a crown.
Divine Providence granted this vision to some devout native women. "The news reached a native called Juana Tangui, from the town of Bauang, who was the `slave' of Don Juan Mangabot, one of that town's prominent natives. She had been suffering for a long time from a burning sensation in the eyes, which left her no rest and which could not be healed by the many remedies that had been applied to it. Moved by strong faith and true devotion, she resolved to go to the rock where people said that the Blessed Virgin appeared. With this purpose in her heart, one day she went, accompanied by one of her master's daughters, to that place where the ray of light was first seen. She had also heard that everyone who took a bath in the small stream was cured of any sickness of which they may have been suffering.
For this reason she took a bath in the stream, in the company of nine or ten other people who were also bathing. During the entire time of her bath, she noticed an unusual shadow by her side, though there was neither sun nor moon that could cause it, since it was already evening, and it was very dark. After some time she felt that someone was holding her and turning her body. When she turned to the place toward which she was being turned, she saw a great light, like that coming from an enormous lighted candle, which caused her great wonder. But she did not dare to move forward in order to examine what she had seen. "She went to a nearby field where she recounted what had happened to some native women. But they told her to return and to examine closely what it was. Since she said that she could not see very well, on account of her eye disease, they offered a young servant to accompany her to that place. (The recent account of Fr. Cruz is similar but says it was a young servant boy that was sent back with Juana.) Upon their arrival at the spot, she made the girl kneel down. Juana walked further and saw a very bright light and the Image of Our Lady, almost two palm measurements in height, dressed in white, with a crown on her head and a cross on her forehead. The Image seemed to be alive, as it was moving and blinking. When the native woman moved closer to her, the Image spoke to her, thanking her for remembering her and coming back to see her.
The native declared that the apparition told her: You have been kind-hearted to me, but unless you wear the belt of San Agustin, do not come back to see me, until you are a member of the Cofradía, and you wear it. "The native woman returned to the town, and did not tell anyone about what had happened until she had spoken with Fr. Juan Bautista Montoya, Prior of the Taal Convent. She asked him reverentially to give her the belt of the Cofradía. The Prior gave it to her at once. After spending eight days in confession and in preparing herself as best she could, she returned to the place where the Blessed Virgin had spoken to her.
In addition to herself, a simple woman who led a devout life, she brought with her eight or nine people, among them the wife of her master, Doña Juliana Dimoyaguín and other prominent residents, whose declarations appear in the accounts published about the event. They returned to the same place where the girl who had accompanied her the first time had knelt down. She moved forward to the same spot where she had been a few days before, and she saw once more, clearly and distinctly, the Blessed Virgin, in great splendor and beauty. After making a deep bow, Juana knelt in her presence.
The Virgin told her that she was much more pleased with her than before, because she was wearing the belt of the Cofradía of San Agustin. The devout native asked the Virgin directly what sign she should carry so that people would believe that she had spoken to and been in the company of the Virgin. The Virgin responded by asking for Juana's rosary and belt, telling her that it was a sufficient sign for her to touch them. Juana gave the Queen of Heaven her belt and her rosary, together with the rosaries that her companions had taken care to bring with them.
The Virgin accepted them and then returned them to the said Juana Tangui. The women who received the rosaries declared that the fragrance that emanated from them was so perfect and extraordinary that it elevated their souls. Moreover, Juana's eyes were healed, because her eyesight had never been good. Many natives declared that they had always known her to have bad eyesight. Now they saw that her eyesight was clear and good.
Many other native women saw this Holy Image, mainly Magdalena Pongsoin, from Bauang, Doña Catalina Guinatosan, Doña Mahalay and Catalina Talaín and many others, all native women, known to be good and virtuous Christians. More than thirty declare that they saw her. So numerous were those who showed interest that the church authorities felt compelled to launch an official inquiry.
On February 24, 1620, Augustinians issued an order to construct a church "in the same place and site as Caysasay, visita of Taal, as it has been verified through serious investigation that the Most Holy Virgin has appeared there. It is resolved, likewise, that it be given the title of Nuestra Senora de la Misericordia." (This is reported by Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A, in his book Angels in Stone: Augustinian Churches in the Philippines, citing the Augustinian Libro del Gobierno)
The Lady of Caysasay is not the oldest Marian image in the Philippines. However, the report and documentation of the apparitions of 1611-1619, and later 1639, are unique in Philippine church annals. They could very well be the first apparitions in the Philippines. (Other reports of Marian apparitions are hinted in the story of La Naval de Manila (1649) and in Bantay, Ilocos Sur where—as the Lady of Charity—she was credited with saving the church and the convent from destruction during the revolt of Malong in 1661.)
In Asia, her appearance for public veneration also precedes the miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary as Lady of Mahdu in Sri Lanka and the Lady of Lavang in Vietnam. Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A., director of the museum of San Agustin, says the documentation and confirmation reports are similar to those granted to the famed Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico. In those days, the Philippines was under the autonomous Mexican vicarate. Fr. Casimiro Diaz, who reported the confirmation of the apparitions and miracles, was a comisario of the order's Mexican center.
Initially, the public devotion to the Virgin Mary centered on the Caysasay spring. To the townsfolk, the vision had empowered the spring water with healing powers. Many stories say the Virgin had appeared as a reflection in the spring. Continues Fr. Diaz: "The Holy Image has performed numerous miracles, not only for those who have gone to the rock to ask for help from the Queen of Angels, but also for those who drank from the water and bathed in the nearby stream. "These miracles are confirmed in the accounts that Fr. Pedro de Arce, Bishop of Cebu, and Governor of the Archbishopric of Manila ordered to be drawn up and prepared by Fr. Juan Bautista de Montoya, Prior of Taal, together with Fr. Gerónimo de Medrano and Fr. Juan de Rojas." A beautifully carved stone dome or arch was also constructed over the spring near the church—so named Ang Balon ng Sta. Lucia or `the Wells of Santa Lucia.' To this day, the site of the wells is known as `Banal na Pook' (sacred site) and vestiges of the spring running close to the wells is known as `Banal na Tubig' (sacred water).
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