Nuestra Señora de la Merced de Candaba - Candaba's Merciful Lady

Nuestra Señora de la Merced de Candaba

In the thriving town of Candaba, Pampanga, which is known for its famous swamp for it is the resting place of migratory birds that attracted bird watchers and tourist over the years, it is also one of Pampanga's historic towns. It is also in Candaba where a the Parish of Nuestra Señora de la Merced is enshrined and became a focal point of pilgrimage for years.

The image

The miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Merced of Candaba, Pampanga is a sculpted de tallado image of the Madonna and Child. The image is vested in White, a diagnostic color of the Virgin of Mercy of the Mercedarian Order. Oftentimes, the image wears a metal plancha. The Mother and Child wears splendid crowns, a doce estrellas for the Virgin and holds the White scapular of the Mercedarian Order.

The unique feature of this image is that the Virgin holds a sword, which somehow shows her power, or most probably, as observed, she is in the position of knighting, where the Queen (or King) appoints a person for a special mission or elevating the person's status to the royal court. In the case of the image, she might be knighting the three visionaries of Our Lady of Mercy: St. Pedro Nolasco, St. Raymond of Peñafort and King James of Aragon.

The apparition of Nuestra Señora de la Merced 

The Apparitions of Our Lady of Mercy

In the thirteenth century, Spain was conquered by a Muslim group of fundamentalists known as the Almohads. This allowed the Berbers to extend their power base from North Africa to the portals of Spain, which would bring untold misery to many. But things would take a turn for the worse, for the Islamic invaders when many Christian nations united to defeat this formidable foe. It was the decisive battle at Las Navas de Tolosa, which led to the defeat of Islamic rule in Europe.

But though the Spanish nation suffered much under the harsh rule of the Berber's still they prayed to God to save them from their enemies. In these dark times, in 1218, Our Lady appeared before St. Peter Nolasco, and his confessor St. Raymond of Peñafort and to King James of Aragon and she requested that a Religious Order be instituted for the release of Christians being held captive by the invaders.

Our Lady requested that this Order would venerate her mercy towards all those who were in captivity. This would touch Peter, Raymond and King James of Aragon deeply and they both undertook the duty of spreading this devotion to all the peoples. These two holy men were also very willing to take the place of those who had been kidnapped in order for the release of the poor prisoners, who had been taken hostage by the Moor's. It would be Pope Gregory IX who would approve this Order which would become known as "Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives," and the three founders aside from the Virgin Mary were St. Peter Nolasco, King James I of Aragon, and Bishop Belenger de Palau, Bishop of Barcelona with St. Raymond of Peñafort as their confessor.

St. Raymund also spoke with great love and devotion to all who would listen to him of our Lady's appearance to him, and of our Lady offering two bags of coins to pay the ransom for the imprisoned people. He spoke so eloquently and with such conviction that it moved the crowds to tears and also touched the hearts of Kings. But it was Fr. Peter Nolasco who would be chosen as the Commander General of this Divine Mission to save those who were imprisoned by the cruel Moors, and who were suffering under terrible conditions.

And as the Muslim invaders were pushed further and further back, this meant more young men joining this Order from which they would be known as 'Mercedarians'. And it was these brave Priests who would engage the Moor's to pay ransoms for the freedom of their brothers held in captivity. Today, the friars of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy continue to rescue others from modern types of captivity, such as social, political, and psychological forms.

Nuestra Señora de la Merced de Candaba

The arrival of devotion to Candaba

The image of Nuestra Senora de la Merced was said to have brought a priest, Rev. Fr. Aniceto dela Merced in the 18th century. It is said that the image was first brought by the Hospitalier Brothers or St. John of God, because Hacienda Bahay Pare was originally owned by San Juan de Dios Hospital na was used for the care of the sick. They were taken care of by this congregation and brought to the church of Our Lady of Mercy and were healed.

Oral tradition has it that when the image was brought to Bahay Pare, Candaba, Pampanga, it was initially placed in a makeshift chapel made of wood and thatch rood made from palm leaves. However, one day, it is said that Our Lady, together with St. Lucy and St. Catherine of Alexandria reportedly took human form, and went to the house of a well-known skilled carpenter in Plaridel, Bulacan. There, she asked the carpenter to have her house built. Then upon the arrival of the carpenter to the place that he have never been before, he saw the makeshift chapel and the when looking on the three images, he realized that the three women were the holy patrons of Candaba that a more fitting chapel for the Virgin was built. As the years passed by, in the 1970's, during the time of Rev. Fr. Lope Hernandez, he led the construction of a concreted church that can now be seen today.

Miracles

Several miracles that were attributed to Apung dela Merced were reported and collated over the years and here are some of the most well known.

When there was a time that Apung dela Merced was honored on her feast day through a fluvial procession in the stretch of Maasim River. There, the devotees would bathe in the water, with firm beliefs that it had been blessed by the Virgin and cures does occur. On one occasion, during a fluvial procession, the Child Jesus fell to the river, but to everyone's surprise, witnesses recalled that He moved from one place in the boat to another, much to the awe and amazement of those who witnessed this phenomenon.

Another noticeable characteristic of Apung dela Merced is her change of facial expressions when someone is asking for a favor that can be immediately granted, and if the image seemed to frown, it is a sign that it would take sometime to be granted.

A devotee recounts that when her mother was hospitalized due to severe stomach pains and she cannot move, she immediately went to Apung Dela Merced for her help and the following morning, all were dumbfounded when they saw her mother get up from her sickbed as if nothing happened.

Myrna Culala, a public school teacher of Candaba recounts when she was hospitalized with 50/50 chance to survive, one night, a nurse came to her room to attend her medical needs and was immediately cured. She noticed that the nameplate of the nurse read "Dela Merced" and asked her if she is from Candaba, the nurse replied yes and that her house is in the front of the Church. She later found out that there was no one in the town with the family name "Dela Merced" and a house where the nurse is staying does not exist. She then realized that it was the Virgin who cured her.

The White Scapular of Our Lady of Mercy

The White Scapular

The White Scapular of Our Lady of Mercy is also traced at the same time the apparition of the Virgin in 1218 where it is said that the White Scapular was given by Our Lady to the three visionary-founders of the Order. The scapular is of white and the front has the emblem of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy while the back has a symbol representing the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Auspice Maria.

Numerous indulgences where granted to the faithful for those who will wear the White Scapular. After the reforms of the Second Vatican Council the indulgences attached to the scapular were renewed by the Apostolic Penitentiary in 1967 and include a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions (i.e. the person must exclude all attachment to sin of any kind, even venial sin, must perform the work or say the prayer for which the indulgence is granted, and must also fulfill the three conditions of sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and praying for the intentions of the Pope on the day of enrollment and on the following Mercedarian feasts: Our Lady of Mercy (September 24), St. Peter Nolasco (May 6), St. Raymond Nonnatus (August 31), St. Peter Armengol (April 27), St. Mary de Cervellione (September 19), St. Serapion (November 14), and St. Peter Pascual (December 6).

Our Lady handing over the White Scapular to
Sts. Peter Nolasco and Raymond of Peñafort

On how the White Scapular of Our Lady of Mercy arrived in the country has its own story, Dr. Jose Alvin Balatbat recounts that on one of his visits in the United States, in his second visit to New York, he and his friend decided to visit St. Patrick's Cathedral. At the corner of the cathedral, he saw an image of Our Lady of Mercy, holding the white scapular. At a Catholic religious store located beside the Cathedral, he saw these white scapulars being sold, but quite expensive - $3 a piece. He bought a few and returned home to Candaba. Back home, He searched for local stores if such scapular is sold, but the searched failed. He then made a negotiation with a trader for reproduction of the scapular and it came through. On August 2, 2003, the parish launched the use of the White Scapular on the 785th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady.

Since the introduction of the White scapular in Candaba, numerous devotees wore this scapular and numerous miracles of healing were reported that the scapular was later regarded as "A Healing Scapular". The scapular later found its way to the pages of Philippine Daily Inquirer, through the weekly column, "Purely Personal" of the late Josephine Darang and numerous request for the scapular flooded Dr. Balatbat and the Parish and distribution continues up to this day.

The devotion

The devotion to Apung dela Merced continues to flourish in Candaba and later becoming known in the other parts of the country. On her feast day, September 24 and on August 2, the anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Mercy, pilgrims flock the parish and join the devotions and processions in her honor. The procession is being held twice, first on the Sunday before September 24 and on the actual feast day itself. Saturday devotions to Apung dela Merced will be always filled with devotees where rosaries, devotions and masses are offered to the Virgin and a special mass is offered for the vocation of priests and nun who are the children of the parish that resulted to produce priests and religious of the town.

The devotion to Mary, as the Mother of Mercy is one of the most ancient devotions to the Mother of God for centuries and it endured the test of time. As she promised to the three saintly visionaries for her protection and help on liberating captives from evil forces, let us ask for her Intercesión so that she can protect our people and liberate her children from captivity of the Evil one who wants to destroy peace that God established.

Reference:

Ball, Ann (2003), Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ISBN 0-87973-910-X page 525
Chandlery, Peter Joseph (2009), Mary's Praise on Every Tongue: A Record of Homage Paid to Our Blessed Lady ISBN 1-113-16154-X page 181
Hilgers, Joseph. (1912) "Scapular." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Decree granted to the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy by the Apostolic Penitentiary 17 November 1967 Prot. Number 179/67/R
Mananghaya, Mark James (2004), Our Lady of Mercy: Chronicles of Love and Maternal Intercession. Parish of Our Lady of Mercy, Bahay Pare, Candaba, Pampanga.

Special thanks to Dr. Alvin Balatbat for providing the necessary information for this blogpost dedicated to Apung Dela Merced.