The Miraculous San Dioniso of San Dionisio, Parañaque City

-
San Dionisio de Parañaque
The last week of October, we could see several ways to prepare for All Saints Day and All Souls Day in a very cookie way, from Halloween parties, the Church endorsed "Parade of Saints" type or the mainstream scary ones.

Recently, in a "Parade of Saints" activity for children in a parish in Bataan province, a photo of a kid whose saint can come across both the holy and the unusual - that of St. Dennis, the famed Bishop and Martyr of France. Curiosity became eminent when mainstream media caught up with the photo.

This is the perfect time to introduce this saint to this blog and we do have a venerated image of St. Denis, or San Dionisio in a barangay bearing his name in Parañaque City.

The devotion to San Dionisio de Parañaque is still observed by the people of Barangay San Dionisio and its neighboring barangays due to numerous miracles attributed to his intercession.


The image

The venerable image of San Dionisio de Parañaque is a centuries old wooden statue depicts the saint headless while his hand is holding its decapitated head. He wears the bishop's choir dress yet the absence absence of his crosier is noticeable. At times, this image is vested on some occasions like his feast day.

St. Denis, Bishop of Paris, France
The Life of St. Denis

Saint Denis, (Latin: Dionysius, Spanish:Dioniso)  was born in Rome in an unknown date. Paris; feast day: Western church, October 9; Eastern church, October 3), allegedly first bishop of Paris, a martyr and a patron saint of France.

Very little is known about the early life of this saint, yet it is said that St. Denis was one of seven bishops sent to Gaul (now France) to convert the people in the reign of the Roman emperor Decius. St. Dennis was belived to be the first bishop of Paris and he was martyred during the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Decius in 251 or Valerian in 258. After St. Denis was beheaded, it is said that he was able to pick up his head and continued to preach the Gospel until he died when he reached his diocese.

In the 7th century his relics, which had been founded shortly before by the Merovingian king Dagobert I, were moved to the abbey of St. Denis, near Paris.

A legend recorded in the 9th century recounts that Denis was beheaded on Montmartre and that his decapitated corpse carried his head to the area northeast of Paris where the Benedictine abbey of St. Denis was founded.  St. Denis feast day is celebrated every October 9.
San Dionisio de Parañaque
The devotion in Parañaque City

The history of Barangay San Dionisio is tied to the establishment of its namesake visita or chapel south of La Huerta. The chapel was named after its patron, San Dionisio, whose headless image is enshrined in the brick stone chapel on Elpidio Quirino Avenue, which was originally a wooden chapel built in 1640.

History is quite silent on when the the image of San Dionisio came to Parañaque City yet studies were made and found that the original patron of the barangay is San Jose (his feast day is still celebrated every March 19) and it was later changed to San Dionisio, or "Tata Dune" to his devotees.

The chapel of San Dionisio became an important cultural center of the city because of the traditional comedia and the Sunduan tradition are still performed at the stage besides the chapel, especially on its fiestas.

The devotion at present

The devotion to Tata Dune continues to be vibrant in Barangay San Dionisio over the years. Miracles were reported through his intercession and his feast days - October 9 and 10 is also celebrated festively in thanksgiving to the guidance and protection he granted to his chosen abode. 


References:

Manipon, Roel Hoang, "In Focus: Mock Swords into Cultural Ploughshares: the National University Celebrates with Komedya",National Commission for Culture and the Arts, 2008.
"Events", City Government of Parañaque, Retrieved on October 29, 2019.
"San Dionisio: Kahapon, ngayon at bukas" May 19, 1990 PP.14-15
"St. Denis", Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Denis on October 29, 2019.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Mga Imaheng Relihiyoso sa Buhay Pagsamba ng mga Katoliko by Rev. Fr. Tim Ofrasio, SJ

-
Image
The icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help that was set to return to her altar in 2019 A talk from Rev. Fr. Tim Ofrasio, SJ for "Visitacion III: Halina sa Marikina" of Esculturas Religiosas en las Filipinas  Transcribed by Mr. Sherwyn Aban Blogger's photo of +Rev. Fr. Tim Ofrasio, SJ during the said event Blogger's note: The night of December 1, 2020 was rocked with a sad news of the passing of Rev. Fr. Timoteo "Tim" Ofrasio, SJ due to COVID-19. Fr. Tim is known as  one of the pillars on Philippine Liturgical Music, a scholar and advocate of celebration of Ad Orientem worship for the Mass (The priest facing the altar at the direction of the east) and Traditional Latin Mass, The Filipino Catholic faithful from different sectors mourned on his passing. I then remembered the talk that he gave to one of the events I attended years ago which it's message is still important and relevant today, especially in the social media age where some non-Catholic extremists...
Read more

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Cebu - The Patroness of the City and the province of Cebu

-
Image
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Cebu Cebu, the cradle of the Catholic faith in the Philippines and center of the devotion to the Child Jesus in the country. The city and its province also have a plethora of devotions, sacred traditions and patrons and their shrines are frequently visited by pilgrims from the province and other parts of the country. One of the most visited shrines in Cebu is the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Guadalupe, Cebu where the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the City and the province of Cebu is enshrined. The image The brown skinned image of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Cebu is a de tallado image of the Blessed Virgin Mary carved in a folksy manner. The images sports a crown, a rostrillo around the face,a set of jewelry from necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, etc., carried a scepter and at times, a  rafaga surrounds the image. The image also wears a set of vestments patterned from of the fame...
Read more

Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia de Naga - The Ina of Bicolandia

-
Image
Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia de Naga The Image of the Mother of the Bicolanos - Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia (Complete title: Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Penafrancia de Naga)- is arguably one of the most popular and most venerated image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the country. The image is a wooden statue of the patterned after the image of Virgen del Santo Rosario de Peña de Francia in Salamanca, Spain and Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia de Manila of Paco. With several miracles that would fill many volumes to its history and the affection that Bicolanos showered to her earned her the title the Principal Patroness and Queen of Bicol Region or simply "Ina" to her devotees, Bicolanos and non Bicolanos alike. It is currently enshrined at the Basilica Minore de Nuestra Senora de Penafrancia in Naga City, Camarines Sur and millions of pilgrims and devotees arrive in Naga City every September for the nine-day  novanario and Fiesta festivities in honor of Our Lad...
Read more

The Resilient devotion and Tradition of the Holy Cross of Wawa

-
Image
The Holy Cross of Wawa In the town of Bocaue, south of Bulacan, famous for its firecracker industry and its iconic festival next to Obando fertility rites, the famous Pagoda (Fluvial Procession) of the Holy Cross of Wawa. Long before the tragedy of 1993, the Pagoda gained throng of devotees for centuries and it is proven to be a resilient devotion when it was revived in 2015. Bocaue's Tree of Life The Holy Cross of Wawa was wooden crucifix without the Corpus that is intricately decorated with silver accesories from rayos (rays at the four corners), three decorative ends of the Cross, a sun, a skull. the Sacred Heart of Jesus and draped with an intricately embroidered cloth. Flonking the flat cross are the images of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist and the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mater Dolorosa which is reminicent of the moment where the Blessed Mother and St. John at the foot of the Cross. Detail of the Holy Cross of Wawa The origin and the miracles  The actua...
Read more

Nuestra Señora de la Regla: Cebu's Gracious Lady

-
Image
Nuestra Señora de la Regla de Cebu Aside to the famed Santo Niño de Cebu, there is another devotion that flourished in the island that pilgrims visit through the centuries succor in times of great need - the felicitous Nuestra Señora De la Regla. The miraculous image is venerated widely by the Cebuanos who believe that the prosperity they enjoy is a blessing achieved through the strength of her maternal intercession. The image is currently venerated at The National Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Regla in Lapu-Lapu City, Mactan Island, Cebu. Features of the image The image of the Virgin is patterned to the original located in Chipiona, Spain. The Our Lady of the Rule image carved from the trunk of dark Philippine hardwood, was installed at the her own altar of Our Lady of the Rule Church in Lapu-Lapu City. The Brown Madonna holds the Infant Jesus in a form of offering and showing - as if she is presenting the Child Jesus to the people and telling them to worship his Son - ...
Read more