Our Lady of the Poor of Taguig - The Simple and Caring Lady of Taguig City

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Our Lady of the Poor of Taguig City
In the modern City of Taguig, located in the Southern part of Metro Manila, known of it's fast paced Bonifacio Global City that became the latest commercial hotspot in Metro Manila. Despite the modern facade that Taguig projected, poverty is still present in the sidelines.

Although this contrasting situation is still dominant, Our Lord did not left a deaf ear to his poor children by sending his beloved mother and introduced herself as "The Virgin of the Poor". Our Blessed Mother identified herself as such for she knew how poverty is like and she came to console her children and relieve their sufferings and they in turn gave their confidence to her.

The image
Our Lady of the Poor of Taguig City
(Notre Dame de Banneuax)

The simple yet beautiful image of Our Lady of the Poor is based from the description that Mariette Beco, the visionary, in her testimony during the investigation phase:

"The Virgin was enveloped in a "great oval light" and wore a long white gown with a sash of "unforgettable blue" and a white, tranparent veil covering her head and shoulders. Her right foot was visible and "crowned with a golden rose" between the toes. She had a rosary on her right arm with diamond-like beads and a golden chain and cross. She stood on a cloud with her head and shoulders bent sllightly to the left."

Mariette Beco during the time of the apparitions
The Banneaux Apparitions

In a garden behind the Beco family's cottage, the Blessed Mother is said to have appeared to Mariette Beco (age 11) eight times. Calling herself the "Virgin of the Poor," Mary promised to intercede for the poor, the sick and the suffering and requested to build a chapel in her honor. Additionally, Mariette Beco had reportedly received a secret which never was made public. In the course of the Apparitions, she gave the following messages that concerned her children, especially the poor and the sick:

"I am the Virgin of the Poor. (01/19/1933) I am the Mother of the Savior, Mother of God.(03/02/1933) I come to relieve the suffering.(02/11/1933) Believe in me, I will believe in you. Pray much (02/15/1933), I will pray for you. (01/19/1933)"

Regarding the Spring:

"This spring is reserved for me. (01/18/1933), For all nation's, for the sick." (01/19/1933)

Many people, including Mariette's father, were converted to Catholicism upon hearing accounts of the apparition. Five hundred thousand pilgrims visit the site of the apparitions every year. Over fifty miraculous cures have been documented at the spring.

The Miraculous spring of Banneuax
Banneux was investigated from 1935 until 1937 by an Episcopal commission, after which the evidence collected was submitted to Rome. Meanwhile growing numbers of pilgrims came to the shrine, and on March 19, 1942 Bishop Mgr. Louis-Joseph Kerkhofs of Liege approved the cult of the Virgin of the Poor. In 1947 the apparitions themselves received preliminary approval, with this becoming definite on August 22, 1949.

"Two times, first in 1942 and then in 1947, we have officially recognized the reality of the apparitions of Banneux. Today after two new years of prayer and observation, we believe in conscience to be able and to be required to recognize without reserve this reality, namely, the reality of the eight apparitions of the Holy Virgin to Mariette Beco" (Dessain. Notre Dame de Banneux, Paris, 1967, p. 207)

In 1985, Pope John Paul II went to Banneux and had an audience with Mariette at the sacristy. On July 31, 1999, the Vatican issued a letter to the Bishop of Liege to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the apparitions. 
Mariette lived a quiet life since the apparitions ceased. She got married and bear children while she dedicated her entire life living and sharing the message of the beautiful Lady she met.  Mariette Beco passed away in the "Home de la Vierge des Pauvres" at Banneux, Belgium on December 2, 2011.

The arrival of the devotion in the Philippines

The devotion to the Virgin of the Poor, based from the apparitions in Banneaux, arrived in the Philippines in 1958 when Rev. Fr. Joseph Heuwagen, SVD brought a faithful replica of the Virgin from Banneaux, Belgium in St. Joseph Parish in Claveria, Cagayan and was enthroned in that parish. The enthronement of the image of the Virgin of the Poor sparked the spread of the devotion to the Blessed Mother under this sobriquet aided by different religious congregations like the Sisters of Mary based in Silang, Cavite. Soon afterwards, several religious and secular institutions, parishes, chapels, and public places began to enshrine images of the Virgin of the Poor all over the country.

The Taguig story
Our Lady of the Poor Parish in Taguig City

The first Parish dedicated to Our Lady of the Poor is located in one of the poorest areas in Metro Manila, in FB Tenement, Taguig City. This particular site somehow became the chosen abode to the pioneering parish to Our Lady who introduced herself as one of the Poorest of the Poor.

The parish had its humble beginnings from the bosom of F.B. Tenement Housing as early as 1965 and placed under the Patronage of Our Lady of Fatima. A portion of the basement was allotted for classrooms and a chapel for the parishioners. It was then a sub-parish of St. Martin de Porres Parish, Parañaque. The rapid increase of the population on account of the occupancy of Bagong Lipunan Condominium and the industrial growth of the Food Terminal, Inc. and the Veteran’s Complexes created an urgent need for the construction of the bigger church. In 1982 the National Housing Authority (NHA) approved a new site for the construction of the new church. The actual construction of the present parish started in 1984. 

The devotion to the Virgin of the Poor in Taguig began in 1993 when the Parish located in FB Tenement, Western Bicutan, Taguig was formally dedicated to the Virgin under this title. The image of the Virgin however arrived from the actual apparition site in Banneaux, Belgium in 1999. Since her enthronement, she became their consoler in their trying times as she promised to Mariette in one of her visits "I came to relieve the suffering."

The Episcopal Coronation of Our Lady of the Poor of Taguig
Church Recognition

In a span of years, numerous miracles were attributed through her intercession that in line of the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the parish, the Virgin of the Poor received the honor of Episcopal Coronation on December 29, 2018.

Devotion

The devotion to Our Lady of the Poor in Taguig City grew stronger as kept alive since her arrival and she continues to fulfill her promise to the poor, through Mariette to "relieve the suffering". The message of the Our Lady, seems to be appropriate in our present time for she invites us to show !ore concern to the poor, not only through prayer, but also by doing something to alleviate their suffering, that way we truly lived the message of the Virgin who chose to be known among the lowly.

As we conclude this blogpost dedicated to the Our Lady of the Poor of Taguig, here is prayer that is prayed by her devotees.

Mary Virgin of the Poor, You lead us to Jesus, source of grace, and you come to alleviate our suffering. We implore you with confidence: Help us to folow your Son with generosity, and to belong to Him unreservedly. Help us to welcome the Holy Spirit Who guides and sanctifies us. Obtain us the grace to look like Jesus everyday more, so that our life will glorify the Father and contribute to the salvation of all. Amen.

References:

Beevers, John. Virgin of the poor: the apparitions of Our Lady at Banneux. St. Meinrad, Indiana: Abbey Press, 1972.
Connor, Edward. Recent apparitions of Our Lady. Fresno, California: Academy Guild Press, 1960.
Dessain. Notre Dame de Banneux, Paris, 1967, p. 207.
Dolores, Milagros, The Virgin of the Poor: A Tribute from her Filipino children. GPV Printing Ventures, Quezon City, 2003.
Geradin, Amand. Des apparitions à Banneux. Louvain: Editions Rex., 1933.
Piron, Paul. Five children: the story of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin at Beauraing. New York: Benziger, 1938.
Wuillaume, Banneux: a message for our time, Banneux, 1995.
_____, Parish history of Our Lady of the Poor Parish, Retrieved from https://ourladyofthepoor.org/our-lady-of-the-poor/parish/parish-history/ on December 2, 2018.

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