Pintakasi

The image El Glorioso San Jose of old San Nicolas Church in Intramuros that became a casualty of the Second World War. If  we can recall one of the previous blogposts here in Pintakasi about the venerated images of Intramuros that survived the ravages of the Second World War  either remained or left Intramuros either as venerated images in the relocated churches of the religious orders who brought them to the country or commissioned locally by our artisans or in some cases, museum pieces. As its fitting follow up on this unexpected trilogy on the Catholic Faith in Old Intramuros (Due to the response on the first article regarding the surviving images of Old Intramuros), we now focus on the images that were unfortunately destroyed during the Liberation of Manila. These images enjoyed much cult following during the Spanish regime and the Pre-War period and became part of the lives of every Manileños for centuries until the atrocities of the Second World War. These images ...

Servant of God Bishop Alfredo Verzosa In our present time, our local bishops faced much hatred and controversy due to politics, accusations of some anomalies and hatred of our Catholic faith. But if we are going to look back in our own history, such incidents already existed and very few rise above it through their faithful service and obedience to God's will. This was the life of Servant of God Bishop Alfredo Verzosa, the first Ilocano Bishop and the First Filipino Bishop of Lipa. Although he was one of the pioneers in our church history, he worked hard for his flock and suffered much yet he endured them for the love of God, Our Blessed Mother and his beloved Church. Early life Alfredo Florentin Verzosa was born in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, on December 9, 1877 from the well-to-do Verzosa clan. The family, being a seedbed for his sanctity, was deeply religious.  His family was financial patron in the Cathedral parish. In the ‘Cuadro de Honor’ found at the cathedral entrance, ...

Nuestra Señora de Namacpacan In the quiet yet historic town of Luna, La Union is known as a pilgrims town because people come to this place because it was here that the famed image of Nuestra Señora de Namacpacan is enshrined. The Virgin of Namacpacan chose this simple town to be her abode and it was here that she showered many graces to her devotees for centuries up to this day. The Image The image of the Our Lady of Namacpacan is an image of the Immaculate Conception yet it was depicted in an unsual manner: standing upright, hands were outstretched, her head and eyes looking downwards with a motherly gaze. The image wears a veil and has a set of vestments made from different materials and styles that were given by devotees through the years. The image stands 6 feet 4 inches (1.92 m) tall, which makes her one of the tallest venerated and canonically crowned Marian image in the Philippines and is known as the patroness of Ilocano travellers. Nuestra Señora de Namacpacan ...

Venerable Mother Consuelo Barcelo y Pages In the illustrious yet tumultuous Church history, it is seldom mentioned the colorful history of women religious in the Philippines for much of our history books mostly contains anti-clerical sentiments written by nationalists demonizing the Spanish colonization in the country. Yet in the recent years, some archival documents surfaced and some important figures saw some light of the day. One of them is an Augustinian nun who quielty came to the pages in our history that made some significant contribution to education and social action. Venerable Mother Consuelo Barcelo cares for the our nations welfare by establishing La Consolacion College and the historic Asilo merited her to join the ranks of our Holy Women whose cause for sainthood is on its way. Her early life Mother Consuelo was born on July 24, 1857, in Sarriá, Barcelona, Spain, to Salvador Barceló y Roces and Maria Pagés y Campanya. Her siblings were Salvador, Joaquin, Ana Mar...

Nuestra Señora del Pronto Socorro  de Marinduque In the island province of Marinduque, located in the Southern Tagalog region is well known for its famed marble and its thriving industry, the unique Moriones festival held during Lent and the scenic view of the island itself. For Marian devotees, when Marinduque  comes into mind, they will recall its beautiful and miraculous image of Nestra Señora del Pronto Socorro, or more popularly known as Nuestra Señora de Biglang Awa or Birhen ng Biglang Awa. The devotion to the Virgin of Biglang Awa became widely known and treasured in the islands that she became an integral part of the daily lives of Marinduqeños for centuries. The image The image of  Nuestra Senora del Pronto Socorro is in fact an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Immaculate Conception. In this image, the virgin is standing on the moon with a cloud base, her hands clasped near her breast, her hair was lose and flowing graciously. One uni...

San Buenaventura de Liliw In the historic parish of St. John the Baptist of Liliw, Laguna, known as the red bricked Church of Laguna, is not only known for its miraculous Patron San Juan Bautista, it also known for it's miraculous second patron - San Buenaventura. The miraculous San Buenaventura of Liliw gained much attention and devotion in Liliw since the miraculous lachrymation of his image in 1664. The image The image of San Buenaventura of Liliw is a wooden image of St. Bonaventure as a Franciscan bishop holding his crozier and a book - to signify his title as "Doctor of the Church". The image also wears a stole given by his devotees. Life of St. Bonaventure St. Bonaventure, known as "the seraphic doctor," was born at Bagnoregio, in the Lazio region of central Italy, in 1221. He received the name of Bonaventure in consequence of an exclamation of St. Francis of Assisi, when, in response to the pleading of the child's mother, the sa...