Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Hagonoy - The Miraculous Brown Lady of Hagonoy, Bulacan

-
Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Hagonoy
In the historic and pilgrimage town of Hagonoy, Bulacan which is known as the home of the famed National Shrine of St. Anne, there is also another site that is a point of local devotion over the centuries since the Spanish era - the Parish of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary where the image of the patroness is deemed to be miraculous from the day it arrived in Hagonoy.

The image

The image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Hagonoy is classified as a Brown Madonna due to her complexion. The image is that of Our Lady with the Child Jesus where the Child is in her arms while the hand of the Virgin seems to presenting her Son to the beholder and holding a rosary. This particular depiction of the Virgin is similar to those other famed Marian images in the country from the Virgin of Manaoag in Pangasinan, Virgen del Pilar of Santa Cruz, Manila, La Virgen Milagrosa of Badoc, Ilocos Norte among others.

The Virgin's carved cloak and mantle was painted in estofado style, wears a wig and both faces of the Mother and Child are deemed to have Filipino features. This image at times wears a set of vestments given by her devotees over the years.

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Hagonoy
The miraculous arrival

The origins of the images happened between 1770 to 1800 where it is said that the image was found floating near the riverbanks of Barrio Caingin. It was believed that right after they have found the image, the people have started their devotions through a lutrina, which is a nine-day candlelight procession. A chapel in front of the river where the image was found was built to house the image of the Virgin.

The bell, which was still placed at the belfry of the present parish church, can serve as the basis of the existence of the chapel since the start. It was seen that a date was etched in the bell with the words “Mayo 1858”. Along with the progress of the community was the progress of the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario.

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Hagonoy
The development of the devotion

Years later, the barrio saw the expansion and development of the Chapel due to the increase of number of devotees and pilgrims flocking her chapel. During the 19th century, there is only one chapel under the patronage of the Virgen del Rosario within the barrios under Barrio Caingin. They are joyfully celebrating the fiesta every second Sunday of May, which is the old fiesta of the barrio. The elderly residing in the barrio the during the old times, the procession reaches the bridge near the town proper since Barrio San Jose is under Barrio Santo Rosario.

Between the years 1900-1930, the areas under Barrio Santo Rosario were able to build their own chapels, which became the root of the foundation of the new barrios today. In 1952, the chapel was soon elevated as an independent parish with the Decree of Erection of the New Parish from then Manila Archbishop Gabriel Reyes issued on January 16, 1952.

Through the years, the devotion to the Virgin of the Rosary developed over the years and these became part of the very culture of the people of Hagonoy. Two fiestas were then celebrated in Hagonoy, one every third Sunday of May and October 7th, the Liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.

Several rites and traditions were introduced to the devotees of the Virgin of the Rosary that continues to be observed at present, the Dalaw Patron where the a replica of the Virgin visits the homes of the parishioners, the solemn processions in her honor on her fiestas and  the fluvial procession to commemorate her finding in the river. The Cofradia del Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Hagonoy was established in 2002 as a fitting honor of the Year of the Rosary and the propagation of the devotion to the patroness.

Church recognition

Through the efforts of the parishioners, devotees and the local clergy, they petitioned for the Episcopal Coronation of their miraculous patroness and it was granted by Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, DD, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Malolos. The Coronation was held on October 7, 2019, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The crowning rites were officiated by the His Excellency Bishop Dennis Villarojo, DD, the current Bishop of the Diocese of Malolos.

The devotion at present

The devotion to Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Hagonoy continues to flourish up to this day. Devotees continued to flock her parish as numerous miracles were attributed to her intercession. The main feast of the Virgin is celebrated every 7th of October, the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in the General Roman Calendar. The devotion of the Rosary in this narrative showed us once again how the Blessed Mother and her rosary shaped the history of the locality and helped t oboost its morale as the devotees continued to foster this devotion from the day she miraculously aarived in the town. In these dark times, we have to cling more to her rosary for her rosary is proven to be community builder and also a weapon against the evils that hounds in our midst.

 References:

Aguinaldo, Rev. Msgr. Jose B."Ika-400 Bantayog ng Simbahan. Hagonoy: Parish of St. Anne. 1981.
Lunod, Rev. Fr. Roberto G. Bakas ng Ala-ala: Parokya ng Santisimo Rosario, Hagonoy, Bulacan". Hagonoy: Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario Parish. 1997.
Manahan, Rev. Msgr. Macario R. "Hagonoy sa Taon ng Jubileo". Hagonoy: National Shrine and Parish of St. Anne. 2000.
Raymundo, El Gideon and Panganiban, Kendrick Ivan, "The History of the Parish of Nuestra Senora del Santisimo Rosario and of the Devotion to the Patrona", unpublished manuscript, 2019.
Reyes, Most Rev. Gabriel M. “ERRECION DE LA NUEVA PARROQUIA DEL SANTISIMO ROSARIO EN HAGONOY: Mediante desmembración de la Santa Ana, Hagonoy, Bulacan” in Curia Diocesana. Manila: Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas Heritage Library. 1952.

Credits to the owners of the photos that were utilized for this blogpost.
Special thanks to Bro. Kendrick Ivan Panganiban for providing the documents and some photos cited in the this blogpost.
+AM+DG+

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 1, 2019 at 11:18 PM

    Good day sir!

    I'm a silent reader of your blog because it is very educational not just spiritually but also because a lot of our religious relics are tied to our country's arts, history, culture and traditions.

    For future entries, might I suggest featuring the Sto. Rosario de Bacoor (Bacoor, Cavite) and the Sto. Rosario de Ugong (Ugong, Pasig City) ?

    The Rosario de Bacoor is almost an identical twin of the Milagrosa de Badoc, and by extension, the Pilarica de Sta. Cruz and the Rosario de Hagonoy while the Rosario de Ugong (not to be confused with the Rosario de Pasig which is another different image of the same title in the same city) looks like an almost perfect match to the Rosario de Manaoag if one removes the vestments of Manaoag to reveal the de-tallado image beneath.

    I think it's interesting to also compare and contrast these aforementioned titles of the Virgin which are very similar yet quite distinct in appearances, styles, histories, devotions, locations (all of them are in the western side of Luzon), etc.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Nuestra Señora de Barangay - The Mother and Protectress of the Barangay

-
Image
Nuestra Señora de Barangay Of all Marian images venerated in the country, there is a simple yet beautiful image of Our Lady that is very unique in our consciousness, the very Filipina image of the Virgin of the Barangay. The image of the "Virgen sang Barangay" gained much attention since its first public appearance in the 1950's as the Patroness of the Barangay sang Birhen Organization and began touring the nation for some years and numerous replicas of this image, whether it is a painting or a three-dimensional statue, this particular Venerada clearly shows how the Blessed Virgin became became our own Mother of the Filipino Nation and became a unifying force for centuries and still enjoys much love and veneration as time passed by.  The image The icon of the Virgin of the Baranggay depicts the Virgin presenting her Son to the barangay. The Virgin wears the traditional balintawak and wearing a red and yellow tapis on her waist while the Child is covered with
Read more

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario, La Naval de Manila - The Queen and Protectress of the Philippines

-
Image
Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario –  La Naval de Manila Within the busy streets of Quezon Avenue, Quezon City, a towering shrine is seen along its road. Inside that massive shrine of Santo Domingo Church, it houses the silent witness to the turbulent yet triumphant history of the Philippines – the beautiful and grand image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario, La Naval de Manila. The Virgin of the Rosary of La Naval is not only a silent witness, she is the anchor of hope of the Filipinos through the centuries of its turbulent and challenging history, better yet, the Great Protectress of the islands, the La Gran Senora de Filipinas. The Image of Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario, La Naval de Manila (colloquially known as the Santo Rosario or Our Lady of La Naval de Manila), is one of the most miraculous and the most important in the country. As with the Battle of Lepanto of 1571, Filipinos credit her intercession for successfully repulsing Dutch invasion during the Battles of L
Read more

Sisters in Blood, Sisters in Christ - The Talangpaz Sisters

-
Image
Servants of God Dionisia and Cecilia Rosa Talangpaz During the Spanish period,, there were few women who pioneered for a change in the early years of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, then controlled by the Spanish Clergy from the likes of Venerable Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, foundress of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, Servant of God Francisca del Espiritu Santo, foundress of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena and the two sisters who founded the Second Congregation for Filipino women, the Augustinian Recollect Sisters of Manila - the Talangpaz sisters of Calumpit, Bulacan. The Talangpaz sisters heeded the call to serve the Lord and later founded a Congregation for Filipinas who wanted to live a contemplative life within the cloisters of a convent which was then denied by the Spanish colonial clergy at that time until the foundation of these Congregations. Despite the Controversies and hardships they faced, the sisters, backed up with their unwavering faith
Read more

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles: The Regal Patroness of Angeles, Pampanga

-
Image
Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles inside the Holy Rosary Parish's famed sunburst altar Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles In the previous blogpost, we discovered the history of the image and the surrounding devotion to Santo Angel Custodio , the titular Patron of Angeles City, Pampanga where the progressive city was named after, aside from its founder Don Ángel Pantaleón de Miranda. On this blogpost, we are going to present the history of the devotion to Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles - the Queen and Patroness of Angeles City, Pampanga. The image The venerable image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Angeles is a de vestir image of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary somehow patterned to that of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Manila where the image is also vested in regal robes with bombas (conical enhancements), wears a set of metal accessories and jewels
Read more

Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Manila - La Fuerza y Alegria de Manila

-
Image
Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Manila (Courtesy of Mr. Christopher Palabay) In the busy streets of Modern Quiapo - Santa Cruz areas, commercial establishments from ever present shopping malls down to the bangketas that sells almost everything from clothing, food, jewelry, that covered the area is always a common scene. With that modern yet looming atmosphere of that district, it is easy to forget that the same district was once one of the most aristocratic and arrogant arrabal (Spanish for district) during the glorious days of Old Manila. The district that several novou riche families and aristocrats used to stay in that neighborhood and where commerce thrives in.  The link between the Glory days of Old Manila and its present atmosphere is located in a dominant Parish Church of Sta. Cruz, the centuries old miraculous image of Nuestra Señora del Pilar. The beautiful sliver gilded image of the "La Pilarica" is the silent witness to the colorful history of the district. As
Read more