Nuestra Señora de la Regla: Cebu's Gracious Lady

Nuestra Señora de la Regla de Cebu

Aside to the famed Santo Niño de Cebu, there is another devotion that flourished in the island that pilgrims visit through the centuries succor in times of great need - the felicitous Nuestra Señora De la Regla.

The miraculous image is venerated widely by the Cebuanos who believe that the prosperity they enjoy is a blessing achieved through the strength of her maternal intercession.

The image is currently venerated at The National Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Regla in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan Island, Cebu.

Features of the image

The image of the Virgin is patterned to the original located in Chipiona, Spain. The Our Lady of the Rule image carved from the trunk of dark Philippine hardwood, was installed at the her own altar of Our Lady of the Rule Church in Lapu-Lapu City.

The Brown Madonna holds the Infant Jesus in a form of offering and showing - as if she is presenting the Child Jesus to the people and telling them to worship his Son - God became Man. The Virgin is richly vested which are given by the devotees as a sign of gratitude to the answered prayers through her intercession.

Nuestra Señora de la Regla de Chipiona

The Spanish Origin of the Virgin 

The devotion to Our Lady of the Rule was started by St. Augustine, the bishop of Hippo In Northern Africa. He has carved an image of Our Lady by using his own hands which was one of the relics that has survived the destruction of the city of Hippo. Upon Augustine's death, the monks fled to Spain, taking the image with them. In Spain, the image has done miracles and survived the destruction and pillage of the Moors, because of this, the devotion to Our Lady rapidly spread.

1330, the Virgin appeared to an Augustinian monk and instructed him to go to the city of Cadiz and look for a cave where the image had been hidden away. He was instructed to dig up and found a hidden underground altar.

There, the statue of Our Lady of the Rule has been permanently enshrined. For several centuries, the Virgen de la Regla was venerated under several names: Virgen Libica, Virgen del Sagrario, Estrella de los Mares and La Virgen Morena, or Morenita.

The original painting brought by Fr. Avalle from Spain

The Arrival of the devotion to Cebu

The devotion was transported to the Philippines in the 18th century, when the Augustinian Order was given control over the parish of Opon, now,Lapu-Lapu City,Cebu.

The people first saw a picture of the Virgen de la Regla in 1735, when the first parish priest, Francisco Avalle, an Augustinian monk, showed it to them. Father Avalle was a devotee, having lived for 10 years in the Monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Regla in Chipiona, Andalucia, Spain.

Upon hearing the story of the Virgn of Chipiona, the people of Opon chose Our Lady of the Rule to be their patroness. They had a big picture made and placed it on the altar. Miracles began to happen and the devotion flourished.

Miracles

Cruz Lauron, an Opon resident, suffered from a disease which caused him to lose a large amount of blood. He was bedridden for a long time. When Fr. Avalle placed the picture in the church in 1735, He instructed to lit two candles before the image, when the candles were lighted, he was immediately healed.

In 1736, the town of Opon was spared from the attacks of the locusts which swept across Cebu. The locusts only at the harmful insects that infested the crops. This incident happened several times.
Maria Ramos who has a cerebral palsy, suffered from terrible seizures, almost lost died in one episode.

In 1912, A woman was brought to the Opon church where she crawled up the altar to kiss the statue of Our Lady, after she has done this, she stood up without support and walked out the door, to everyone's astonishment.

In 1920, A woman had an acute abdominal disorder. She made a promise to give large amount of tithes should her child attain remedy through Mary's intervention. Her wish was granted and the pair of donated articles has become part of Our Lady's standard decorations.

Another story runs that a cova used to run from one end of the town plaza to the church basement. The cova is not existing anymore. Pilgrims used to crawl through the maze as a form of penitence, and appear on the other end with feelings of spiritual relief and the granting of favors asked. One such case was a Cebuana matron who has no child and was paralytic for 15 years, after her Opon pilgrimage, she was able to walk, and a year after, gave birth to a child with a complexion as dark as De Regla's.

A gift from an Apostolic delegate

The famous gift to the Virgin is more precious than any jewle - the receptacle of a cloth relic that is believed to have belonged to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This relic was a gift to the church frm Fr. Ambrosio Agius, Apostolic delegate to the Philippines in 1909. The relic became an object of veneration of pilgrims who come to Cebu and the people kissed it reverently whenever they visit the Virgin.

The Canonical Coronation of the Virgen de la Regla

The Canonical Coronation

On Nov. 27, 1954, Archbishop Julio Rosales crowned the Virgin as highlight to the Archdiocesan Marian Congress that year. The people rejoiced when the Virgin was crowned and this is also historic for this is the first image from Visayas to receive such recognition.

The devotion

Though the years, the devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Regla continues to flourish up to this day. Miracles continued to be experienced and reported and devotees flock her shrine in supplication and Thanksgiving. The Feast of the Virgin is celebrated every November 21 with much solemnity.

Nuestra Señora de la Regla de Cebu

Prayers before Our Lady mostly asked for the protection of women and children from violence and for their purification. Devotion is held on the third week of November. The occasion was participated by devotees in Cebu and Cebuanos abroad. She is acknowledged for the great role she plays in their lives as the intercessor, a special privilege she hold as a Mother of God.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, This being the second movement of the Hail Mary. We give Because she has given the world Jesus, Mary is the Mother of God. She is also our Mother as Jesus spoke from the cross to his beloved disciple John:" Behold your mother," Jesus said.

We are deeply indebted to God for having given us Mary as our Mother. We, too, marvel with Elizabeth at this great gift, echoing her words: "And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" When we bring our prayer to Mary, like her, we give ourselves over to the will of God for ourselves. We say with Mary, "thy will be done."

References:

Aviado, Lutgarda, "Madonnas of the Philippines", Manlapaz Press, Quezon City, 1972.
" Novena to Nuestea Señora de la Regla", National Shrine of Our Lady of the Rule. Cebu, 2005.
Sanchez, Francisco,. La Virgen Maria Venerada en sus Imagenes Filipinas, Manila: Imp. De Santos y Bernal., 1904.

Credits to the owner of the photos, especially to Mr. Mike Alvin Pugoy for the recent photos of the Virgin that were utilized for this blogpost.
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