Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Pagsanjan - Pagsanjan, Laguna's Protectress

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Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Pagsanjan
In the scenic and historic town of Pagsanjan, Laguna, known for its famed Pagsanjan Falls, there is an arch and a centuries old Church dedicated to the Mother and Queen of Mexico, Empress of the Americas and the Celestial Patroness of the Philippines - Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.

The people of Pagsanjan, Laguna took are known to be proud of their devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe for centuries and it was immortalized with an arch that was said to be site of the miracle of their beloved protectress.

The image 

There were two statues of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe venerated in Pagsanjan, Laguna , aside from a copy of the tilma of the Virgin. Both the altar and the processional image are beautifully carved images of the Guadalupana. Both images are painted in estofado style to adhere to the original depiction of the Virgin where her dress was embellished with floral motifs. Both images are surrounded with rafagas, sports a crown and wears an embroidered veil.

The original image of Nuestra Señora de
Guadalupe de Pagsanjan
before her destruction during World War 2.
History

The Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Pagsanjan, Laguna was established on November 12, 1687, by Franciscan missionary Father Agustin de la Magdalena as its first pastor, making the Parish as the first ever shrine in the Philippines dedicated to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe of Mexico.

A former visita of Lumban, the first church was originally made of light materials like bamboo, nipa and wood in 1688 by natives of Pagsanjan under forced labor. A larger and more solid church constructed from adobe with a red-tiled roof was built in 1690 with the help of Chinese Miguel Guan Co and chief alguacil alferez Alonzo Garcia to replace the original church. Further developments of the Shrine were conducted from 1847 to 1852.

The original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was donated by Father Agustin when the parish was first established. The image was given to him as a gift from rich and pious Mexican families; it was installed at the main altar on December 12, 1688.

The altar image carved by Maximo Vicente
The Miraculous Protection of the Virgin

 Since the enthronement of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Pagsanjan, Laguna, numerous miracles were reported through her intercession. Among the miracles that were reported took place in 1877. Bandits were rampant in Laguna during the last years of the Spanish colonization. Even the guardia civil at that time cannot control the acts of the tulisanes.

On midnight of December 8, 1877, a group of bandits led by Tangkad who already plundered the nearby town of Majayjay is nearly approaching the western entrance of Pagsanjan. When the bandits are approaching the town, a beautiful lady dressed in white and holding a shining sword appeared to them. Using her sword, she drew a line and proclaimed that the town is under her protection. The bandits experienced fear and immediately went to the mountains.

The Pagsanjan Arch was built to commemorate the
miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Mang Juan, a sabungero who lives near the western entrance saw the whole event because of his insomnia that night. He told the event to the Cura who later told it to the government authorities. All of them do not believe the story of Mang Juan until they went to the exact site and saw the mark of the Virgin's sword. To express their gratitude to their patroness, the Virgin of Guadalupe, they built a stone gate on the exact site where they saw the mark of the Virgin's sword.

This stone gate would later be known as the Pagsanjan Arch that built from 1878 to 1880 under the supervision of Fray Cipriano Bac. The arch was built by the people of Pagsanjan to express gratitude to their beloved patroness from protecting the town from bandits.

The Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe
of Pagsanjan, Laguna at present
The destruction and reconstruction

During the dark years of the Second World War, the church and the original image was heavily damaged by American and Japanese military bombers on March 15, 1945 during World War II. A replica of the church was constructed over its ruins, without the original dome, with the help of Manila Pagsanjenos under the leadership of Engr. German Yia and Dr. Rosendo Llamas. Serious restoration efforts after the war took place in 1965 under Lipa Archbishop Alejandro Olalia. On April 6, 1969, Bishop Pedro Bantigue blessed the rebuilt church and consecrated the main altar.

The coronation of Our Lady of Guadalupe by
Servant of God Bishop Alfredo Obviar
Since the original image was destroyed during the War, two new images arrived in Pagsanjan as replacements, one is the altar image that was carved by Maximo Vicente and later in 1958, upon learning the destruction of the original image and the situation in Pagsanjan, Mexican Catholics contributed a life-sized image of Our Lady of Guadalupe sculpted by Ramon Barretto of Toluca and was crowned by Servant of God, Bishop Alfredo Ma. Obviar in 1957.

As years passed by, developments of the shrine continued to happen in the pioneering shrine of the Guadalupana in Pagsanjan, Laguna. A side chapel near the altar was added which houses an image of San Juan Diego, a replica of the tilma of the Our Lady of Guadalupe and a stone relic from Tepeyac Hill, Mexico City in 1531, the site of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Pilgrims up to this visit this chapel to venerate the tilma and the stone from the apparition site.

The Episcopal Coronation of
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Pagsanjan
Recognition

Due to the strong and persistent devotion of the people of Pagsanjan and nearby towns to the Virgin of Guadalupe of Pagsanjan, the Diocese of San Pablo declared Pagsanjan Church as the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in December 12, 2012.

During the Elevation rites, the processional image of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Pagsanjan received Episcopal Coronation to highlight the special occasssion.

The devotion

The Fiesta of the Virgin every December 12 is one of the most populated and most visited in Laguna were the devotees and pilgrims with walk the procession to the tune of "Doce Doce", a march specially composed for La Guadalupana de Laguna.   The devotion to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Pagsanjan continues to be popular in Laguna and other provinces as of this writings. Pilgrims continue to flock the shrine, and numerous miracles through her intercession continuous to multiply as she promised to St. Juan Diego when she assured the Aztec convert that she will be with us, her children to protect us from all adversities in life.

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Pagsanjan, Ipanalangin mo kami!

References:

 Huerta, Felix de (1865). Estado geográfico, topográfico, estadístico, histórico-religioso. Binondo: Imprenta de M. Sanchez y Ca.
Layug, Benjamin (2007). A tourist guide to notable Philippine Churches. Quezon City: New Day Publication.
Zaide, Gregorio (1975). "Chapter 1: Pagsanjan, A Mini-Town of Global Fame". Pagsanjan in History and Legend. Social Studies Publications.
Zaide, Gregorio (1975). "Restoration of the Historic Town Gate". Pagsanjan in History and Legend. Social Studies Publications.
Zaide, Gregorio (1975). "Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Bandits". Pagsanjan in History and Legend. Social Studies Publications.

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 29, 2020 at 12:57 AM

    I was able to visit this shrine and I'm so lucky! Reading the miraculous incident makes me want to come back.

    ReplyDelete

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