Nuestra Señora delos Desamparados de Manila - La Gobernadora de Manila

Nuestra Señora delos Desamparados de Manila

In the historic district of Santa Ana, Manila, where a reflection of its glorious and glamorous past can still be seen throughout the district. the Church of Santa Ana (one of the oldest Churches in Manila) stands proudly in the center of the district. It was in this church that the famed Camarin (Dressing room-chapel) is located that houses the most important treasure of the district - the centuries old miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados de Manila, the longest reigning (and still is) "La Gobernadora de Manila".

For centuries, the Lady of the Abandoned of Manila, or affectionately called "Mama Amparo" (a nickname derived from the word 'Desamparados'), became the treasure of the people of Santa Ana, Manila, not only because of her antiquity and the jewels that adorned her, because she listens attentively to the supplications of her devotees for centuries and answers them.

The image

The image of the Virgen delos Desamparados is that of the typical Madonna and Child model where the Blessed Virgin carries her Son Jesus in her right arm while she holds a sheaf of lilies and a bejeweled cane given by the interim Governor General Archbishop dela Cuesta as a form of thanksgiving. The Child Jesus on the other hand carries a bejeweled Cross that signifies his upcoming Crucifixion that will save mankind from eternal damnation.

The image also features two infants, the Niños Inocentes (The Holy Innocents who were killed by Herod) that are placed in the lower part of the image since the complete title of the image is Nuestra Señora delos Desamparados y los Inocentes. The Virgin kept a vast wardrobe made from different fabrics that are commissioned by her devotees as a form of thanksgiving to her miracles that she manifested to them. The richly crowned Virgin has this very unique posture that is characterized by a slight forward tilt, and hence, she is known affectionately as "La Geperudeta" (The Hunchbacked Lady) which gives the impression that the Virgin listens attentively to her devoted children who are in dire need of help.

The original image of Valencia, Spain

The origin of the devotion

The devotion to the Virgin of the Abandoned and the Forsaken dates back in 1409. It was Lenten season at that time when Father Joan Gilabert Jofré saw the lynching of a mentally ill man and intervened to save the man. In response to this event, he preached on the subject of care of the mentally ill and established a hospice for the mentally ill and the devout immediately responded to his call to action and built a hospital for the insane and mentally challenged and placed it under the patronage of Our Lady of the Innocents and a brotherhood was also founded for this special apostolate. The Hermandad later decided to have an image of the Blessed Virgin for the hospital chapel for veneration and the King of Spain approved their request.

One day, three young men arrived and offered to make an image of the Virgin within three days in exchange for their board with the condition that they should not be disturbed. After the three day period of work, the hermandad became impatient that they heard an angelic choir singing in the workroom and they forcibly opened it and they were astounded with their discovery - the three men disappeared and a beautiful image of the Virgin with the Child Jesus and the Holy Innocents. The hermandad later realized that the men were actually angels who were sent by God as an answer to their request. Shortly after, a paralyzed and blind woman, who was the wife of one of the Brothers, was suddenly cured on the sight of the Virgin.

The image was initially placed in the hospital chapel and pilgrims flocked the hospital after hearing the story of the miraculous carving of the image. With the increasing number of devotees and pilgrims, a chapel was built in the plaza of Valencia and more pilgrims flocked the place that the Archbishop of Valencia decided to enthrone the Virgin first to the Cathedral of Valencia before a suitable chapel will be built where the original image is currently enthroned. She was declared the Patroness of Valencia thru a Papal Bull issued by Pope Leo XIII on April 21, 1849.

An estampa of the Virgen delos
Desamparados of Manila

The dramatic arrival in the Philippines

The center of the devotion in the country is located in her shrine in Santa Ana, Manila. The image was carved in 1713 in Valencia, Spain and Fr. Vicente Ingles OFM brought with him rthis image along with a replica of Santo Cristo de Burgos, now venerated in Sariyaya, Quezon, in 1717 via Manila - Acapulco Galleon Trade. Since the image of the Virgin was carved in Valencia and it was touched to the original image before heading to the Philippines, this made the Santa Ana Virgin the lone authentic replica of the Valencian Virgin.

The arrival of the Virgin was providential since at that time, there was an ongoing political conflict between the Church and the state in the person of the Governor General Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante and the Religious Orders of Intramuros.

Governor General Bustamante found that the treasury of Government funds were empty and out of desperation, he ordered for the confiscation of the contents of the galleon Santo Cristo de Burgos, especially the silver and gold coins that are in the cargo, incidentally, Padre Ingles and the two images are in the same galleon. 


The religious orders and the Archbishop of Manila were outraged with this move and protested to the Governor General that led to the imprisonment of Archbishop Francisco dela Cuesta and other friars. The tension between two of the most powerful institutions in the country at that time led to the assassination of Governador General Bustamante and the release of Archbishop dela Cuesta and the Archbishop became the Interim Governador General of the Islands.

In thanksgiving, Archbishop dela Cuesta visited the Santa Ana Church in 1720 and ceremoniously gave his Baston de Mando, the symbol of power of the Governor General in the country during the Spanish colonization, to the Virgen delos Desamparados as an act of perpetual thanksgiving and proclaiming her as "La Gobernadora de Manila". At present, the Baston de Mando can still be seen in the hands of the Virgin.

The throne of the Gobernadora

Parish of Our Lady of the Abandoned of Santa Ana, Manila

The image was enshrined in the main altar of the Parish which was established by the Franciscan missionaries in 1578 under the patronage of Saint Anne. When Father Vincente Ingles arrived in 1717, he reconstructed the parish by rebuilding it by the use of stone church was constructed from 1720 to 1725 and was dedicated to its present patron, Our Lady of the Abandoned.

The Church houses the famed Camarin de la Virgen or the Dressing room-chapel of the Virgin located at the back of the main altar where devotees will have a closer look of the Virgin and touch her manto at the back.

Camarin de la Virgen

The Camarin was also known as "A Church within a Church" for it was designed as such and the religious art pieces that are located inside the Camarin from the murals in its ceiling, the Papal Bull of her Canonical Coronation, some antique and new religious images of different mediums like sculptures and paintings. It was in the Camarin where the Virgin is vested in a ceremony called "Atavio" attended by the Franciscan priests, the Camarera and the members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Abandoned.

Due to the preservation efforts of the Camarin, as well as the irreplaceable value of its paintings, which were considered one of the oldest dated religious murals in the country, the Camarín de la Virgen was declared a National Cultural Treasure on November 2008 by the National Museum of the Philippines.

The Canonical Coronation of Nuestra Señora delos
Desamparados de Manila

The Canonical Coronation

In recognition of the miracles that are attributed to the Virgin of the Abandoned of Manila, the Parish priest, Father Agustin Cuenca, OFM petitioned for the Canonical Coronation of the Virgin as a fitting honor to the Patroness of Santa Ana district. On December 10, 1990, during the Pontificate of Pope St. John Paul II, the Papal Bull authorizing the Canonical Coronation of the Miraculous Virgin of the district was issued . The Coronation rites was held on May 12, 1991, led by his Eminence the late Jaime Cardinal Sin.

The Devotion

The devotion to the Virgen delos Desamparados of Manila became very popular and enduring over the centuries. Miracles of every kind from protection of the district from the ravages of the Philippine Revolution and the Second World War, the numerous cures from different kinds of diseases, the conversion of sinners, her reported "visitations" to her devotees, and numerous petitions that were answered through her intercession. The devotion spread across the country like that of Marikina, Mandaluyong, Muntinlupa and some parts of Cebu that they adopted her as Patroness to the Shrines and Parishes in the aforementioned locations in the country.

Devotees and pilgrims all over Metro Manila and other parts of the country continued to flock Santa Church to pay homage to the Gobernadora de Manila, especially to her Camarin for the besamanto. The Feast day of the Virgin of Santa Ana district is celebrated every May 12, the same date observed in Valencia, Spain. On her feast day  procession, she is accompanied by Franciscan Saints and other Patrons of the District. A Separate procession for replicas are held on the eve of her fiesta which signified the popularity of the devotion and as a form of thanksgiving to the miracles that she bestowed her devotees.

We will end this blog entry dedicated to the Virgen delos Desamparados de Manila with the famed chorus from her hymn "Awit sa Inang Mapag-Ampon" which describes her loving gaze that invites us to come to her and ask for her intercession.

"Halina't dumulog sa Inang Mapag-ampon
Mata n'yang maamo sa'ti'y nakatuon
Bayang Santa Ana ay laging kupkupin
Ang sala't panagnib ilayo sa amin"

Nuestra Señora delos Desamparados de Manila - La Gobernadora de Manila, Ipanalangin mo kami!

References:

Barcelona, Mary Anne.(2004) Ynang Maria: a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the    Philippines. Ed. Consuelo B. Estampa, P.D. Pasig City, Anvil Publishing Inc.
Cofradia de la Inmaculada Concepcion Foundation, Inc. (2008). Santa Ana Church: A Historical  Guide.   Paco, Manila: Kayumanggi Press.
Delos Reyes, Michael P. (2015) Salve Regina: On Crowning image of the Virgin Mary, Diliman,  Quezon  City, Claret Communications Foundation Inc.
Novena to Our Lady of the Abandoned - Venerated in the Parish of Santa Ana administered by the  Franciscan Fathers in Santa Ana. Manila, (1956), Parish of Our Lady of the Abandoned, Santa Ana,  Manila.
Sanchez, Francisco (1904). La Virgen Maria Venerada en sus Imagenes Filipinas, Manila: Imp. De  Santos y  Bernal.