Santa Ursula de Binangonan - the Powerful Princess of Binangonan, Rizal

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Sta. Ursula de Binangonan

In the peaceful town of Binangonan, Rizal where a serene atmosphere of the mountains can be seen, lies a Church dedicated to a Ancient Princess-martyr of the Chruch and later to be known as the Patroness of Binangonan, Rizal - Santa Ursula. The People seek her powerful intercession to guide and protect her chosen town and she in turn help them in their needs and grants protection to her people, especially during the wave of calamities that comes along the way.

The image

Apparently, there were two venerated images of St. Ursula in Binangonan, one located in the Parish made of wood and other one was made of Ivory that is being used for processions and her Pagoda. The wooden image of Santa Ursula is an intricately carved image wearing green and red vestments and holds a banner.

On the other hand, the processional image is made of Ivory and it was meant to be vested, wearing a tiara to signify her life as a princess, What was unique to these images is that they hold a banner alluding the fact that she lead a pan-European pilgrimage together with eleven (in other records, it's around eleven thousand) to Rome before they were martyred.
St. Ursula
The Life of St. Ursula and her companions

The exact date and place of the birth of Saint Ursula cannot be exactly determined. Venerable Tradition has it that she was a princess who, at the request of her father King Dionotus of Dumnonia in south-west Britain, set sail to join her future husband, the pagan governor Conan Meriadoc of Armorica, along with with eleven or 11,000 virginal handmaidens. After a miraculous storm brought them over the sea in a single day to a Gaulish port, Ursula declared that before her marriage she would undertake a pan-European pilgrimage. She headed for Rome with her followers and persuaded the Pope Siricius and Sulpicius, bishop of Ravenna, to join them.

After setting out for Cologne, which was being besieged by Huns, all the virgins were beheaded in a massacre. The Huns' leader shot with a bow and arrow at hand, St. Ursula dead, in about 383. The relics of the martyr are said to be still preserved in Saint Ursula's church in Cologne, Germany.

St. Ursula painted by St. Catherine of
Bologna
Devotions to Saint Ursula as patroness of young girls spread rapidly in Europe and today, we find her chosen as patroness of many institutions and churches. There were saints who are devotees of St. Ursula, most notably St. Angela of Merici who founded a religious Order under the Patronage of St. Ursula and they were later to be known as the Ursuline Sisters founded in 1535 and St. Catherine of Bologna who was reported to have a vision of St. Ursula and painted an image of her based from that vision.

The centuries old altar image in Binangonan
Her feast day is observed in October 21. However, because to the changes in the General Roman Calendar due to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, their feast day was removed due to the lack of definite information about the anonymous group of holy virgins but they are kept in the Roman Martyrology. Yet, in some countries, her feast day is continuously observed in other countries up to the present. This does not mean that her sainthood was removed, for such never occurred the history of the Catholic Church as what others insisted.


Parish of St. Ursula, Binangonan, Rizal
Sta. Ursula in the Philippines

By the year 1571-1602, the municipality of Binangonan was founded by Spanish missionaries. It was only a part of Morong at that time, but on 1621, it was separated. The Spanish missionaries then decided to create an independent parish and they chose St. Ursula as their patron.

The parish of Binangonan was founded in 1621. In 1679, its administration was handed over to the Jesuits, who in 1697 transferred administration to the Augustinians. In 1737, Binangonan returned to the administration of the Franciscans who had founded it in the first place. The church was built from 1792–1800, renovated in 1853. Along with the foundation of the Parish, it also seem like the Virgin-Martyr's image also came on that same year also.


With the enthronement of the miraculous of St. Ursula, the devotion immediately began. The people of Binangonan enjoys the continues protection and patronage of their beloved princess for centuries and this was embedded to their lives. She is credited for the protection of Binangonan from several calamities, Wars, revolutions and other catastrophes that the town faced. In gratitude, they celebrate her feast day in a grand scale.

The Processional image on its way to her Pagoda
However in 1994, the parish planned to change the Patronage of their parish to St. Francis of Assisi on the ground of the authenticity of the life of St. Ursula as cited during the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. This was met with mixed yet negative reactions and it was proven during her fiesta in 1994. At that time, a very strong typhoon hit Binangonan and it continued to rain for hours since the wee hours in the morning until evening and power interruption followed immediately that lasted for days and many properties and lives were lost. It seems that it's a sign of reprimand from heaven regarding this unpopular move and upon realizing this, the plan was immediately aborted.
Dalaw Patrona
Devotion

The Fiesta in honor of Sta. Ursula starts with a novena and a solemn procession took place on the last day of the novena - on the eve of the Fiesta and on the Fiesta day itself, the festive Pagoda (Fluvial procession) commence in her honor. The Tradition of Dalaw Patrona or visitation of the pilgrim image to to different areas of Binangonan also took place on the days of the novena and the people waited for her visit to pay homage to their Protectress.

Solemn Procession

The devotion of the people of Binangonan to St. Ursula is unique on its own for they freely express their love and devotion to their patroness regardless of some circumstances that surrounds her life. She in turn continues to lavish her devotees with numerous answered petitions and protection of her chosen abode that Binangonan will forever be grateful for. The people of the town express their love to their patroness through their hymn  and this would be a perfect way to close this blog entry in honor of Binangonan's Powerful Princess.



Sta. Ursula de Binangonan
AMPUNIN KAMI, SANTA URSULA

Ampunin kami, Sta. Ursula
At ipamagitan mo kami
Sa Diyos na tanging pag-asa
N'yaring abang kaluluwa
At kami'y iyong idalangin
Kay Hesus na Poon natin
Upang kami'y patawarin
Sa salang nagawa namin 

 May labing-isang martir na birhen
Na sa iyo ay nangagsisama
Nagkamit na para-para at maluwalhating glorya
O prinsesang mapang-aliw
Mapaglingap sa alipin
Ulirang pintakasi namin
Kami'y iyong idalangin 

Comments

  1. nasserOctober 21, 2016 at 9:09 PM

    Sana malagay rin dito ung approved lyrics na ginawa ko para kay Sta. Ursula

    ReplyDelete
  2. erlFebruary 8, 2018 at 7:14 PM

    It's 11 thousand virgins and their bones were used to decorate St. Ursula's church in Cologne. There are documentaries in youtube.

    ReplyDelete

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