Apo Consolacion: The Forgotten Mary of the Ilocanos - A Special Report

-
Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Bacarra, Ilocos Norte
Written by Rev. Fr. Ericson M. Josue

Editor's note: While I am doing some research on the devotion and history of Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa of San Agustin Church of Intramuros, Manila for a blogpost dedicated to her, I stumbled upon this post and research regarding the devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa in Ilocandia and its current state by Fr. Ericson Josue which shows the sad state of the devotion to La Consolacion given that the Ilocandia region was in fact an Augustinian mission province and it is inevitable that the devotion to Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture will be propagated. The devotion to La Consolacion in Ilocandia was similar to the case in Bulacan province (the Augustinian Mission side) that it almost went into oblivion if not through the efforts of the members of the Cofradia de la Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa. 

 What I'll be presenting in this blogpost is the full article on this topic written by Fr. Josue to let the readers have a grasp on the condition of this ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Augustinian family and have this one shared and hopefully revitalized the devotion in Ilocandia.

Annually, during the Month of September, some parishes in the Ilocos celebrate a feast of Our Lady in her title as Our Lady of Consolation. In my hometown of Pasuquin, I remember as a young boy of a petite image of Mary called by devotees as "Apo Consolación" being venerated on the first week of September, following the feast of St. Augustine at the end of August. I remember a group of old men calling themselves as "Diputados de la Correa."

Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa
de Paoay
Decades after, only few parishes still commemorate the Blessed Mother in this title, like in the old parishes of San Guillermo in Laoag, Santiago Apóstol in my hometown of Pasuquin and San Andrés in Bacarra.

In an old Book of Inventory (1898) of Ilocos Norte Churches being kept at the National Archives of the Philippines, it appeared that all parishes of Ilocos Norte had images of "Nuestra Señora de la Consolación de la Correa" (Our Lady of Consolation of the Leather Belt) with adornments of jewelries and regal clothings. This attests that there was a strong devotion of our ancestors to "Apo Consolación." In the parish archives of Narvacan and Bantay in Ilocos Sur and Batac in Ilocos Norte, there are books marked as "Libro de la Cofradía [de la Correa]” (Book of the Confraternity of the Leather Belt). Here, the names of members of a confraternity related with the “Belt” were enlisted with their "Hermano Mayor" (Senior Brother) who served as the group's Senior Member for a year. In the mid-1800's, Bishop Juan José Aragonés, OSA reported to the Spanish King of the presence of the confraternity in all Ilocano towns.

Let us have an initial attempt in tracing how "Apo Consolación" became known to the Ilocanos?

First, we should know that "Apo Consolación" is the Mary of the Augustinians who brought Christianity to the Ilocandia. A story has it that when Augustine was immersed in his mundane lifestyle, his devout mother Monica saw an apparition of Our Lady handing over to her the leather belt (Spanish: correa). Tradition says that Mary's appearance to Monica gave the latter consolation from her afflictions caused by her delinquent son. We know that it ended with Augustine's conversion to the Faith.

Later, a devotion was developed among devotees by wearing a leather belt to gain Mary's protection and consolation. This was primarily propagated by the friars from the Order of St. Augustine, the religious order following the ancient "Regla" (Rule) of St. Augustine who also wore the leather belt as part of their religious garb. Among their means of propagation was the establishment of the "Cofradía de la Nuestra Señora de la Consolación de la Correa" (Confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation of the Leather Belt) in all parishes of the Ilocandia, whose members were called "Diputados de la Correa" (Deputies of the Belt). The "Diputados" were deputized to wear the (Augustinian) leather belt. They celebrated "Apo Consolación's" feast on the Sunday within the octave of St. Augustine's feast (August 28).

Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa
de Bacarra
Today, in Ilocos Norte, after more than a century since the eviction of the Spanish Augustinian "Frailes," only the aforementioned parishes of Laoag, Pasuquin and Bacarra keep to their piety the devotion to "Apo Consolaciòn." No traces were found yet when and how the devotion diminished. This could only be done in a serious and thorough research.

"Apo Consolación" was among the important images of Mary. It was as important as the Our Lady of the Rosary to the Dominicans or "Nuestra Señora del Cármen" to the Carmelites. For devotional paraphernalia, the Augustinians have the "Correa," the Dominicans have the "Rosary" and the Carmelites have the "brown scapular."

It must be known that Ilocano Catholicism could not be understood fully without reference to its Augustinian origins. Our Catholic Faith came to us through the Augustinian Tradition. One good study is to retrieve or rediscover the Augustinian elements embedded or now hidden in our Ilocano practices of the Faith. This will help us more understand our identity as Ilocano Catholic. Pope Francis has these words to add: popular piety as "a fruit of the inculturated Gospel, is an active evangelizing power which we must not underestimate...[they] have much to teach us; for those who are capable of reading them, they are a 'locus theologicus' which demands our attention, especially at a time when we are looking to the new evangelization."(Evangelii Gaudium, 125-126).

With this, let us retrace "Apo Consolación" in the elements of our Ilocano piety. The forgotten Mary of the Ilocanos is just there journeying with us unnoticeably.

Consolatrix afflictorum, Ora pro nobis!

Reference:

Josue, Ericson, "The Forgotten Mary of the Ilocanos", St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Currimao,Ilocos Norte, 2015.

Special Thanks to Mr. John Erish Albano and Dr. Fritz Bernardo, MD for the photogrpahs of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture of Bacarra and Paoay, Ilocos Norte.
A special thank you to Rev. Fr. Ericson Josue for sharing us this striking research on the devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa in Ilocandia.
+AM+DG+

Comments

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