Señor Divino Tesoro de Calasiao: Pangasinan's Treasure and Protector

To those who have copies of novenarios and prayer cards of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag, there is a peculiar photograph of the Crucified Christ beside the image of Apo Baket - The image of Christ known in Pangasinan as Señor Divino Tesoro of Calasiao, Pangasinan. The Señor Divino Tesoro is the second most popular Holy Image in Pangasinan, next to the Image of Nuestra Señora de Manaoag, frequented by devotees.

The most Divine Image of our Lord Jesus Crucified, popularly known to its devotees as “Senor Divino Tesoro” (Our Lord of Divine Treasure) is venerated not only by the townspeople of Calasiao, Pangasinan, but also by people from all walks of life-young and old, rich and poor from near and far places. So many are recipients of his Divine help and countless blessings: so many have received answers to their prayers and supplications.

The feast of Señor Divino Tesoro falls every May 2-3, has been traditionally celebrates as town’s fiesta and a time for homecoming of families and acquaintances for a merry-making and to give due respect , honor, and thanksgiving to God Almighty for the Year’s bountiful blessings and harvest.

In the Tridentine Calendar, May 3 is the Feast of the Invention of the Cross, or the founding of the Cross of Jesus by St. Helena, Mother of Emperor Constantine,

Features of the image

The image of the Crucified Christ is carved on wood, made in a Filipino style of carving which is evident in the face of the Señor.  The image wears beautifully embroidered tapis which is given by the devotees as an ex voto for their answered prayers to Christ. The image also wears the diagnostic Tres Potencias which is common to the Hispanic depictions of Jesus Christ.

Details of the face of the Señor

History of the image

History is silent where the image came from but according to its earliest record, the venerable image was owned and treasured by a certain Don Francisco Paramio, a resident of Lasip, Calasiao, Pangasinan. A childless widower, Don Francisco lived alone for ten years in his nipa house, with only the venerated Image of Senor Divino Tesoro for a companion. Despite a hand-to-mouth existence, Don Francisco devoted precious time to care for the “Image”. Come rain and stormy weather, nothing befell him and Sr. Divino Tesoro. The very corners of his dwelling where he sheltered the image was never blemished despite all odds.

In the year 1837, in the month of April during the administration of Capitan Domingo Corpuz, a carpenter named Joaquin Fernandez and a neighbor of Don Francisco, witnessed a very strange incident. One day, on the same month, there was a heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds that almost completely detached the nipa shingle roofing of Don Francisco’s house. Joaquin thought of inspecting the image and to his surprise and complete disbelief; he found the image with no sign or trace of wetness.

Considering that what happened was almost unbelievable, it was considered to be miracle. Joaquin intended to take the image to his house, thinking that it was safer under his care. Whatever transpired within his inner thoughts in the next few minutes he altogether changed his intention. He decided not to transfer the Senor Divino Tesoro after all. There was a strange feeling and message, a whisper it seemed Joaquin later claimed that the Image wanted to stay where He was. The next day, Joaquin related the incident to the Gobernadorcillo. Without delay, the Gobernadorcillo ordered a certain Aguancil (peace officer) named Tomas, with the help of Joaquin and with permission from Don Francisco; the image was brought to the Tribunal (Municipal Hall). The Tribunal, the Gobernadorcillo believed, should be the abode of the Senor Divino Tesoro, to serve as the patron of Calasiao.

Later on, the image was taken from the Tribunal to Ibale (old vernacular term from Manila) for much needed repainting .A careton (cart) drawn by a carabao was used to transport the Image. The careton was then the only feasible means of transportation. Upon its arrival from Manila for the eventual return of the image to the Tribunal of Calasiao, about half a kilometer away from the town proper of Calasiao,so that the story goes, without any cause of provocation, the carabao went wild and uncontrollable that the person steering the carabao was thrown over rendering him unconscious for sometime. Regaining his senses later, the cohere found to his consternation that the cart was nowhere around only to be informed by the bystanders that the rider less carabao-drawn cart went its way a through a very narrow path leading to the school site near the Tribunal of Calasiao. The school site referred to is now the block where the present Calasiao Sports and Commercial Complex is located. The image was finally brought to the Tribunal, to stay year after year until it was transferred to its present shrine. This span of time is now one hundred seventy one years to be exact.


Miracles

It is a common belief that the Senor Divino Tesoro does not like to be removed from the municipal building making it at first the patron of the Municipal Government of Calasiao,thus its feast come and go unnoticed with only novena for celebration .Numerous attempts had been made to transfer the image but to no avail. There was a time when a chapel was being constructed near the municipal building- a laborer engaged in the said construction fell from the roofing causing his sudden death. Believing that the death of the laborer was a bad omen, the construction was temporarily stopped. The construction was resumed after sometime. A few months later, when the chapel was almost ready for occupancy, a strong storm totally blew down the galvanized iron roofing sheets to everybody’s surprise and wonder.

Sometime during the World War II at mid-day a conflagration was raging violently in the Poblacion. The image at that time was temporarily moved to the Church for the offering of a thanksgiving mass, a devotee of the image thought of bringing out the image with the assistance of other people. The image on its carriage was made to face the western side of the church (now Tesoro Street). The directions of the area where the fire was fast spreading towards a cluster of residential houses. Suddenly as if an unseen wall had acted as a barrier and made the wind veer away and change its direction. The fire was then placed under control, saving a lot of families from being rendered homeless.

During the landing of American Liberation Forces in 1945, there was a continuous barrage of artillery shelling and air bombings along the coastal areas of the Lingayen Gulf reaching the Municipality of Calasiao. The municipal hall where the Señor Divino Tesoro image was sheltered remained unscathed despite bombs all around except for an artillery missile that tore through the roofing and got embedded in the ground without actually exploding. Bombs that fell and explode in the vicinity of Poblacion killed some people.

The Señor in modern history

During the early part of the Martial Law,concrete cantilever roofing was constructed on the stage of the plaza infront of the municipal building to temporary house the image of Señor Divino Tesoro. But wonders of wonders for a day or two before the transfer of the image, the finished concrete structure collapsed in a slow motion manner. After a couple of months and with only a handful of financial resources realized from the just concluded Town Fiesta which was sponsored by the local government groups and from the donations of the faithful devotees of the Holy Image, The mayor at that time, Mayor Feliciano E. Ugay, with the help of the late Architect Felixberto T. Guillen, who offered his architectural knowledge and services for free, began the construction of the Señor Divino Tesoro Shrine.

The town suffered much from the 7.5 Intensity killer earthquake of July 16, 1990. The Church and its belfry were destroyed: the Calasiao Public Market and the Gabaldon Building of the Calasiao Central Pilot School were totally damaged beyond repair. Many buildings and houses were not spared from the havoc brought by the earthquake but the Municipal Building where the Señor Divino Tesoro shrine is located and which is within the fault line of the earthquake, was spared and untouched.

The Shrine of Señor Divino Tesoro 

The Shrine of the Señor

Under the administration of Mayor Engr. Roy T. Macanlalay and the presidency of Mrs. Lourdes S. Fernandez of Señor Divino Tesoro Association, the Señor Divino Tesoro Chapel had undergone massive improvements and general renovation in order to suit the needs of the changing time, attuned in the beauty and splendor befitting a National Shrine.

However, in the early morning of September 15, 2008, a fire raised to the ground the municipal building of Calasiao, and with it, the revered Señor Divino Tesoro image and shrine. The damaged brought about by the fire to the Señor Divino Tesoro image and shrine has left many devotees overwhelmed and devastated. The healing was a long and tedious process but the venerated patron of Calasiao never abandoned His people because of their faith, genuine belief, trust, and loyalty to God Almighty.

Our Lord Jesus Christ will always remain in the hallowed place until the end of time. And, as it was destined to be, the Señor Divino Tesoro was brought back when he was transferred to the newly built shrine on April 3, 2009, the first Friday of the month, in time for the observance of the holy week. The new Señor Divino Tesoro shrine is now back to its grandeur and has regained its stature as a place where the faithful can again be one in prayer with the divine image of our Lord Jesus crucified.