Sta. Teresa de Avila de Talisay - The Miraculous Patroness of Talisay City, Cebu

-
Sta. Teresa de Avila de Talisay
In the historic city of Talisay, located in the province of Cebu, where it is knows as one of the historic guerrilla posts during the Second World War, it also in thie city that its natural tourist spots, like the Lagundi Reef, Igotan Cave, and Crocolandia are also located.

The city's historic Church is also known as the lone shrine is dedicated to one of the great Reformers of Counter Reformation and one of the pioneering women Doctor of the Church, La Santa Madre Santa Teresa de Avila. St. Teresa of Avila's bravery became an inspiration to the people of Talisay City, including a future saint, that she became an integral role model and patroness of the city.

The image

The venerable image of St. Teresa of Avila is one of the oldest in the province of Cebu. The image is a de vestir image where she is vested with an ornate version of her Carmelite Habit with some embroidery and beadwork. The image is holding her traditional attributed, a quill pen, a book alluding her works and the academic biretta to emphasize her title as Doctor of the Chruch which was given by the University of Salamance years after her death and centuries before the Church declaration in 1970.

St. Teresa of Avila
The Life of La Santa Madre

Teresa was born in 1515 in Ávila. She proved at an early age that she was an intelligent and thoughtful person. Teresa and her brother, Rodrigo, didn’t play the same games that the other children played. Instead, they preferred to go to the garden and read. They were most interested in reading the Bible and the stories of the lives of the saints.

When she was 16, Teresa was sent to a convent to live to keep her away from her family members who slowly becoming a bad influence to her life, and at 21 she decided to become a nun. She enjoyed her life there and began to realize that she had been given a special gift. She was able to see heavenly visions. She chronicled these visions in her writing. One such vision which is known as her transverberation where an angel appeared to Teresa bearing a long golden spear. The angel was smiling and gentle so he did not frighten Teresa. The angel thrust the spear into Teresa’s heart. Instead of feeling pain, Teresa felt safe and at peace. The spear was not really a spear, but the love of God. When the vision passed, Teresa felt very close to God. The evidence of the transverberation was proven when they found an wound in her incorrup heart that can still be seen and venerated today.

The Transverberation of St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa did many great things. She knew how to pray and many people wanted to learn from her. She wrote books to help them, which became classics of Spanish literature from her autiobiographt, "The Way of  Perfection" and her opus "Interior Castle". She founded a number of convents whose focus was a simple life of prayer. Other religious orders, even her own, opposed her and made her life difficult but eventually her ideas spread through Spain and into other parts of Europe. She became known as the foundress of the order known as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites.

She died in 1582 at the age of 67 and was canonized in 1622. In 1970, she, together with the famed Dominican tertiary and mystic St. Catherine of Siena, were named a Doctor of the Church - the first women in Church history. St. Teresa's feast is celebrated every October 15 and the Carmelites keep a special feast of her transverberation every August 26.

Sta. Teresa de Avila de Talisay
The devotion in Cebu

The devotion to the great La Santa Madre in Talisay City began in 1836 when Rev. Fr. Juan Soriano, a native of Avila, Spain was assigned in Taliay City. On his voyage, he brought with him the image of St. Teresa of Avila since it is said that he is a great devotee of their town's great saint and reformer. When the parish of Talisay was constructed, he immeidately placed it under the patronage of St. Teresa of Avila. The image that Fr. Juan Soriano brought from Avila can still be seen and venerated up to this day and it is currently enthroned in the main altar, together with the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa, or the "Birhen sa Kalipay."

The devotion developed over the years and shaped the faith of the people of Talisay that centuries later, the future Servant of God Archbishop Teofilo Camomot founded the Daughters of St. Teresa, a Pontifical Congregation for women in Valladolid, Carcar City, Cebu inspired by the Sta. Teresa de Avila when he was assigned to this parish and learned the Carmelite Spirituality,

The Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Teresa of Avila, Talisay City, Cebu
The construction of the Parish of Sta. Teresa de Avila began on August 16, 1836 and it was completed twelve years later. But, its roof was destroyed by a typhoon in 1877. In 1880, another church was built in 1880 and was finished a year later. Similar to many churches on the island, the Sta. Teresa de Avila Parish Church was made using coral stones.

A convent once stood beside the church, but it was destroyed during World War 2 after the Americans bombed the place to flush out any Japanese soldiers hiding in the area. Fortunately, the facade including the two side chapels of which one might be the baptistry were spared and the parish was late rebuilt years later. The ancient parish was elevated as an Archdiocesan Shrine by the late Archbiship +Ricardo Cardinal Vidal on October 15, 2007, the feast of St. Teresa of Avila - so far the only shrine in the Philippines dedicated to St. Teresa of Avila.

The devotion at present
The fluvial procession in honor of Sta. Teresa de Avila de Talisay


The devotion to Sta. Teresa deAvila developed and strengthened through the centuries. Numerous miracles were attributed to her intercession. The celebration of her feast begins when the month of October begins with a "Walk with St. Teresa" or a solemn procession, then a fluvial procession during one of the novena days, the celebation of the feast of "Birhen sa Kalipay" on the eve St. Teresa's feast and a grand procession on her feast day, October 15. Pilgrims would flock her shrine on a regular basis to seek help of their miraculous patroness.

The life of St. Teresa of Avila is one of the boldest and brave in the history of the Catholic Church for it takes a woman to initiate and influence change for the sake of following God's will that contributed to the Counter Reformation and still makes an impact up to this day. Her life inspired millions of the faithful and converted those who lsot their way, like in the case of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), St. Teresa de los Andes among others.

As we end this blogpost dedicated to one of the greatest saints of all time, here is the famed lines from her breviary which sums up the life and lessons of La Santa Madre which also doubles as piece of inspiration as we continue in this life's journey:

Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing make you afraid.
All things are passing.
God alone never changes.
Patience gains all things.
If you have God you will want for nothing.
God alone suffices.

Reference:

Kavanaugh, Kieran, "The Collected Works of St Teresa of Avia, Vol.1" Washington: ICS Publications, Washington, USA, 1991.
Miller, Lucy Urgello, "Glimpses of Old Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era". University of San Carlos Press, 2010.
"Visiting The Sta. Teresa de Avila Parish Church In Talisay City," Retrieved from http://www.peanutbrowas.com/blog/visiting-the-sta-teresa-de-avila-parish-church-in-talisay-city on August 5, 2019.

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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Did Mama Mary Appear in the Philippines? - A Closer Look

-
Image
The Finding of Nuestra Señora de Caysasay of Batangas Disclaimer: The intention of this blogpost is to present data of different reported Marian apparitions that took place in our country from the Spanish era up to the modern times based from the reports gathered by the blogger. The blogger does not have any intention to incite belief in these reported events, especially those that do not have formal approval in accordance to the ruling of Pope Urban VIII regarding reported supernatural phenomena (anticipation of a formal approval or disapproval of such events without the official ruling of the Church). Therefore, the blogger  submits himself to the judgement of the Holy See, together with every interpretation or theory contained in this blog special. Introduction "Did Mama Mary appear in the Philippines?" a question that many Filipino Marian devotees would sometimes wonder given that we are known as the "Pueblo Amante de Maria" for our love for the Mother
Read more

Santo Niño de Cebu - The Eternal King of the Philippines

-
Image
Sto. Nino de Cebu The most revered image in the Philippines -  Santo Niño de Cebú is an image of the Child Jesus much venerated as miraculous by the majority of Filipino Catholics and revered as the symbol of the Catholic Faith in the country. The oldest Christian image in the Philippines, it was originally given in 1521 as a baptismal gift by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to Hara Humamay, the chief consort of Rajah Humabon, along with a statue of the Virgin Mary, and a bust of depicting Christ as Ecce Homo. The image is one of the most celebrated in the country that is highlighted through the celebration of Sinulog Festival every Third Sunday of January, its Liturgical Feast and on Kaplag every April 28th, its Original and Traditional Feast, to commemorate the rediscovery of the image by Juan Camus. Miracles have recorded through his help that he continues to shower his devotees up to the present. Features of the Image The image measures approximately tw
Read more

Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Quezon - The Sorrowing Mother of Quezon Province

-
Image
Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Quezon (Altar image) In the quiet yet mystical town of Dolores, Quezon, known as one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the province where the famed Mount Banahaw is located where syncretic folk beliefs are practiced up to this day. Aside form the “mystical” Mount Banahaw, pilgrims would flock a church near the mountain and it became a center of pilgrimage for ages, the National Shrine of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores. The devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows of Dolores, Quezon flourished over the years and it became one of the most visited in the Quezon Province due to the numerous miracles that were attributed to her intercession. The image There were two images of the Virgin of Sorrows that is venerated in the shrine, the famed altar image that is currently enthroned at the center of the main altar and the processional image that also served as the pilgrim image of the shrine. Both images depict the Blessed Virgin Mary in her moment oi sor
Read more

La Virgen Divina Pastora of Gapan - the Queen of the Central Plains

-
Image
The original image of  La Virgen Divina Pastora In the historic province of Nueva Ecija, located in the Central Luzon Region, where agriculture and commerce are thriving and played an important role in the Philippine Revolution as one of the provinces who revolt against the Spanish regime for the cause of Independence, the faith is still much alive and well in the province because of its devotion to the Mother of God that the people inherited to their forefathers for centuries. In almost every churches in the province, one can see a unique image of the Blessed Mother known as La Virgen Divina Pastora where she is acclaimed as the Queen of Nueva Ecija for years. The Divina Pastora for centuries, since her arrival, have manifested to the people of Gapan and later the whole province with miracles that she earned a special place in the heart of everyone in the province and the whole Central Luzon that she was also known as "The Queen of the Central Plains". The Image
Read more

San Agustin de Tanza - Cavite's famous "Tata Usteng"

-
Image
San Agustin de Tanza "Tata Usteng" In the collective consciousness of the faithful in lowland Cavite, three famous Patrons are community not heard in their lips and centers of devotion, that of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga or "Nana Choleng" of Cavite City, Santa Maria Magdalena or "Nana Nena" of Kawit and our San Agustin of Tanza or more popularly known as "Tata Usteng". Arguably the most famous image of St. Augustine in the Philippines, Tata Usteng lavished his devotees with answered favors, unbelievable miracles and other phenomena that was engrained to the hearts and minds of Cavitenos and his devotees outside Cavite. The image The famed image of San Agustin of Tanza is that of a wooden detallado image of St. Augustine as a Bishop wearing his canonical garb, holding his staff, wearing his mitre and holding a book topped with a scale model of a church in allusion to his title as "Doctor of the Church". Although t
Read more