Taal, Batangas

Forwarding you another interesting essay of cousin Mario about the many claims of Apparitions that took place around the European countries, Mexico and in the Philippines. In his essay, the most notable of all to me is the first Philippine recorded Marian apparition of the Our Lady of Caysasay that happened in 1603 in Labac, a rustic barangay in our hometown Taal. According to local legend, the Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was fished out from the Pansipit River, an outlet of Taal Lake, by a pious fisherman named Juan Maningcad. Thereafter, in the early seventeenth century, a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported by witnesses and She became a popular devotion to the local folks.

On December 8, 1954, the Image of Our Lady of Caysasay was canonically crowned at the Basilica of San Martin de Tours in Taal by the Papal delegate to the Marian Congress, Cardinal Fernando Quiroga, representing His Holiness Pope Pius XII. A Canonical Coronation is an act of the Pope expressed through a Papal decree wherein the Catholic Church recognizes an image of the Virgin Mary under a specific name being venerated in a certain locality. The venerated image should be historically old, acclaimed, and in times of need serves as a sign of faith and hope among the people. The canonical crowning of Our Lady of Caysasay was manifested by the recognition of the fervent devotion of the Taaleno faithfuls to the Virgin Mary. Through this rite the Church proclaimed that Our Lady is rightly regarded and invoked as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

By the way, Cardinal Quiroga was a Spanish Cardinal who served as Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela from 1949 until his death in Madrid in 1971. He was 71 years old. God Bless his soul!

I still remember the canonical crowning event as the streets of Taal were jam-packed with out-of-town folks coming from various areas of Batangas. There was also a large influx of local devotees of Our Lady and clerical guests from other parishes who participated in the procession on the eve of the town fiesta. I even invited my high school chums and classmates from Manila who expressed interest in witnessing this grandiose celebration. During the festivities, Mom was also busy with her chores of welcoming and accommodating many of our family house guests who came from Manila and stayed overnight to attend the fiesta Mass the following day.

What a rare and memorable moment and a joyful event to remember after all these years!

Dan Orosa

For the full story of Our Lady of Caysasay, please open this link - http://caysasay.com/Caysasay%20Home/storyOfCaysasay.html

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