Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Bohol - Loon's "Birhen sa Kasilak"

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Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Bohol
In the historic area of Loon, Bohol, where once the historic and then well preserved church of Bohol can be found before the devastating earthquake of 2013, is the strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin as "Birhen sa Kasilak" that is clearly seen and well known in the whole province. The miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Luz of Loon, Bohol gained much devotees over the past years and she later became the guiding light of the province amidst the dangerous circumstances that the province endured for centuries up to the present.

The image

The image of Nuestra Señora de la Luz of Loon, Bohol is that of a statue version of the famed Our Lady of Light venerated in Palermo, Sicily in Italy. The image of "Birhen sa Kasilak", as she is known to her devotees, is that of the Virgin holding the Child Jesus on her arm while the opposite holding a scepter. The Child Jesus on the other hand was holding a heart of a soul.

This image of the Virgin of Light was quite different from the images in Palermo, Sicily, Guanajuato, Mexico, Cainta, Rizal among others for there were the absence of the other elements in the iconography of the Virgen de la Luz: the angel offering a basket of hearts to the Child Jesus, the soul that the Virgin was holding and the mouth of the devil below the helpless soul. The absence of these elements probably as an effect of the controversy of the iconography and the devotion itself faced in Mexico and was unconsciously later carried it over to the Philippines.

While the devotion becomes more popular, controversy arise when some members of the Mexican clergy questioned the depiction of the Virgen de la Luz, most specifically when the Virgin pulled a soul from the mouth of the devil, which they believed that it contradicts the teaching that Christ is our only Savior. For sometime, the devotion was halted and its effects were felt when later images of the Virgin is depicted without the mouth of the beast, the Angel with a basket of hearts and the soul and was later replaced with a scepter and a rosary in place of the soul. The dispute ended in 1771 when a Franciscan friar points out that the Virgin was actually helping the soul from falling away to the fires of hell and the devotion resumed with much enthusiasm.
Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Bohol
The origin of the image 

The image of the Birhen sa Kasilak was said to have been originally enthroned in a church in Butuan, Agusan del Norte on September 8, 1597. When the Moro bandits attacked the coastal villages of Mindanao, concerned Butuanons sailed north towards Bohol bringing with them the wooden statue of Our Lady. Unfortunately, the Moros were also wreaking havoc on some communities on the island. The group was determined to sail towards Cebu but the Marian devotees opted to sail towards the western rim of the island, dropping anchor in Sandingan, a tranquil island near mainland Loon, Bohol. At present, a replica of the "Birhen sa Kasilak" is venerated at a Parish dedicated in her honor in Butuan.

Upon knowing that a well-established community existed in Napo, the group led by Rev. Fr. Pedro Lopez, S.J. brought the image to the latter where it was warmly received and enthroned. This happened in 1610. For several years, the Birhen sa Kasilak was venerated by the Loonanon faithful in this old poblacion of Loon.

The Church

In 1753, Fray Manuel de Elizalde of the Jesuit Mission became the first parish priest of the Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Luz. In 1768, the when the Jesuits were expelled in the country, they ceded administration of the parish to the Recollects. Years later, the image of the Kasilak was permanently enthroned in the present church of Loon which was completed around 1855.

The Processional image of
Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Bohol
The Parish was declared as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2010. The entire church building and convent unfortunately were reduced to rubble when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol and other parts of Central Visayas in October 15, 2013. Plans to restore the destroyed churches, including Loon Church is currently undertaken by the Diocese of Tagbilaran.

 The Miracles

Numerous miracles were attributed to the Birhen sa Kasilak over the course of the centuries. One of the most popular was the first miracle attributed to the Virgin that took place in the 18th century when a band of Moros sailed towards Napo to loot its houses of valuables. It is said that the Virgin appeared atop the steps of Inang-angan in her most radiant glory. The blinding lights radiating from her forced the intruders to sail away. Since then, countless untold miracles have been experienced by the Loonanon faithful.

One of the most recent miracles of the Virgin took place when the devastating earthquake of 2013 happened in the whole province of Bohol that destroyed the cherished old Churches of the province. One of the casualties was the Church of the Virgin in Loon that was destroyed into shambles. On the day of the recovery of important artifacts from the destroyed church, the people were surprised that the altar where the Virgin is enthroned was miraculously spared from the damage of the earthquake and remained standing in her altar.

The recovery of the original image of
Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Bohol
The Devotion

The devotion to the Birhen sa Kasilak remains to be strong over the centuries, despite the trials and tragedies that the Loon experienced in the recent years. The Virgin's feast is celebrated every September 8, the Feast of the Birth of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the anniversary of the arrival of the image to Loon, Bohol. Her feast day is celebrated thru the SidlaKasilak Festival or Loon’s Festival of Lights to commemorate her arrival to her chosen abode. A few days before September 8, the feast day of the Virgin, Loonanons stage the festival to commemorate the arrival of the image of Our Lady from Butuan.

The “Birhen sa Kasilak” showed us her unconditional love and protection despite that tragedies that took place in our lives. The Virgin also exhorts all of us to seek the True Light, Jesus Christ, especially in these times when selfishness, corruption, indifference and deceit seem to eclipse the real essence of life and living. She also encourages everyone to pass on this Light to all families and communities so that all will live united in a much better world.

Nuestra Señora de la Luz de Loon, Birhen sa Kasiliak, pray for us!

References:

______ (2009), "Nuestra Señora de Kasilak", Diocese of Tagbilaran, Bohol
Jose, Regalado Trota (2001). Visita Iglesia Bohol (A Guide to Historic Churches). Manila: National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Bolhayon-Mananghaya, Ma. Joycelyn. (2014), "A Technical Assessment of Bohol Churches damaged by the 15 October 2013 Bohol Earthquake". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved August 4, 2017.

Credits to the owners of the photos that were utilized to this blogpost. +AM+DG+

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