The Tale of the Miraculous Crosses of Bauan and Alitagtag of Batangas

The Holy Crosses of Bauan and Alitagtag

If we look on the church history of the province of Batangas, numerous events that were deemed miraculous have reported through the centuries, from the discovery and later the appearances of Nuestra Señora de Caysasay in Taal, Batangas, the stomps from the horse of St. Martin of Tours of the same town, the miraculous arrival of Santo Niño de Batangan, the miracles of San Rafael of Calaca, the controversial events in Lipa in the 1940's and the influx of pilgrims to St. Padro Pio's National Shrine in our modern times. In this colorful annals of the province of Batangas, one of the most renown is that of the miraculous Holy Crosses of Bauan and Alitagtag. Since the discovery of the Holy Crosses of 2 neighboring towns of Batangas, it became an object of great devotion that became

The Holy Cross of Bauan

The Holy Crosses

The Holy Crosses of Bauan and Alitagtag came from one cross that was made of anubing (Artocarpus cumingiana) wood, it is 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) high with a 1 metre (3.3 ft) crosspiece. A golden sun, with radiating rays and embossed with a human face, was added at the point where the cross's arms intersect. Both Crosses sport the alampay or the cloth that is hangign on the Crosses.

Based on a document found in the Bauan Parish Archives in 1790, Castro y Amoedo stated that the cross was made from a very strong post of a demolished house and erected in the village of Alitagtag to drive away a plague of ghosts.

The Discovery of the Cross

Some years after the establishment of the ecclesiastical mission of Bauan by the Augustinians, in 1595, an apparition was beheld by a gambler’s wife who was on her way to fetch water from the distant Taal Lake. It is said that on this hill, which is now called Labak, a strange blinding light that turned the vicinity into midday was beheld by the woman. Thereupon, the lady knelt before the cross from whence the light came. She prayed, and a voluminous flow of water came from the trunk of the cross which filled her water jar in no time. She thanked God and proceeded home, thereafter keeping to herself alone the marvelous incident that took place.

The Holy Cross of Alitagtag

But, as designed by the Almighty, the miracle did not escape the knowledge of the people. For, while the woman was keeping it a secret, the light coming from the cross was also seen by the people in the neighborhood. The news spread to neighboring towns until the priests of Batangas, Bauan and Taal were also informed of the phenomenon.

They went to the scene and each one of them tried to move and excavate the cross.The priests from Taal, Batangas failed to have the cross when “the sky became cloudy, and it began to thunder and emit dreadful lightning bolts.” When the chance of the priest of Bauan came, he pulled the cross very easily off the ground. It was brought to Bauan and confirmed as its patron.

Before its enshrinement in Bauan however, the cross has decreased in size because devotees has chipped away pieces of the cross that were made into miniature replicas and were worn as necklace talismans.

When Alitagtag became a town in 1910, the consensus of opinion was to have the cross divided into two so that Alitagtag might have a share of the cross. The proposition having been peacefully agreed upon, one half of the cross was given to Alitagtag and was made its patron saint as well.

A vintage pendant containing a chip of the Holy Cross
of Alitagtag

In honor of the Holy Cross, a small chapel was erected at the very spot where the cross was found (now called Labak) and a mass is said every third of May simultaneously with the town fiesta of Bauan.

Miracles

The miracles attributed to the cross attracted many devotees and a decision was made to move it to the bigger Bauan parish church. Soon, more miracles were attributed through its help which it was aid to have protected people of Bauan from pestilence, locusts, droughts, volcanic eruptions, and Moro raids.

A Fr. Manuel de Zamora was also reported to have cut more than 1/3 from the foot of the cross (that were perhaps made into more miniature replicas) and distributed in Manila where a number of miracles were reported. What was left is what is being venerated today in the Bauan church.

The Subli Dance

The devotion

The devotion to the Holy Crosses of Bauan and Alitagtag continues to prosper up to this day. Bauan celebrates its feast of the Holy Cross every May 3. the Traditional feast of the Finding of the True Cross while Alitagtag celebrates it every May 7. Today, the people of Bauan and Alitagatg pay homage to the Cross by dancing the "Subli". It is said that the "Subli" preceded Christianity in the Philippines and is said to be a pre-Hispanic religious ritual.

It's easy to understand that the Cross is special because Christ used it as the instrument of our salvation. But after His Resurrection, why would Christians continue to look to the Cross? Christ Himself offered us the answer: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). The point of taking up our own cross is not simply self-sacrifice; in doing so, we unite ourselves to the sacrifice of Christ on His Cross.

Reference:

Galende O.S.A., Pedro "Angels in Stone" G.A. Formoso. pp. 102–104, Manila,  1987.
Hangrove, Thomas, "The Mysteries of Taal: A Philippine Volcano and Lake, Her Sea Life and Lost Towns”.Retrieved from http://bigberto.blogspot.com/2007/10/holy-cross-of-alitagtag.html on July 26, 2019.
The Legend of the Miraculous Holy Crosses of Alitagtag and Bauan, Retrieved from https://lifesomundane.net/2017/06/holycross.html on August 2, 2019, 2017.

Credits the owners of the photos that were utilized for this blogpost.
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