Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Pacita - The Mother of Pacita, San Pedro, Laguna

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Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Pacita
Pacita in San Pedro City, Laguna is one of the most developed areas in the city due to the presence of commercial centers, high end residences among others.  Part of the lifeline of people of Pacita is their unwavering devotion to their beloved Patroness, Our Lady of the Msot Holy Rosary. The Virgin of the Rosary of Pacita became the silent witness of the development of Pacita over the years and the devotion to the Virgin continues to progress and its about to join the ranks of the miraculous patrons of San Pedro City: The Holy Cross of Tunasan and Señor Santo Sepulcro of Landayan.

The image

The image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Pacita is a de vestir image of Our Lady of the Rosary. The image is presented in a typical iconography of the Philippine Santo Rosario image: Both Mother and Child wear regal vestments supported by a bastidor to give its conical look, a set of jewels and accessories from crowns, scepter, the rosary, some pieces of jewelry given by her devotees, a rostrillo and estrellas for the Virgin and the globus cruciger for the Child Jesus. The image is standing on a cloud base with cherubs and it is currently enthroned at the main altar of the parish.

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Pacita
The beginning of the devotion

The devotion to Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Pacita traces back in the 1980's when the residents of Pacita wanted to have a church to be established to nurture the Catholic faith in the area. There were two seemingly unrelated events that took place on establishing the parish and the selection of its patron saint.

A beautiful four feet image of Our Lady was sculptured in Paete, Laguna in 1982 that was commissioned by Mrs. Delia Sanchez and Mrs. Fely Canta – both workers in the academe, who took efforts in gathering funds (after they have approached the Interim Pastoral Council and have its approval) for the carving of the said icon and the creation of its vestment and other embellishments.

A separate incident closely prior to the carving of the image was the sending of the request letter by the Campos Family – the Church prime land donor, addressing the council leaders to consider the Blessed Mother in the selection of the parish patron saint.

It is as if it was by divine providence that these two incidents took place at the time when the Interim-Pastoral Council headed by Bro. Pedro Guillen Jr. is in the process of discerning as to who will be the patron saint of the newly established and growing community. It was then that the people of Pacita started invoking Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary as their patroness and protectress.

Upon its arrival in Pacita, the image was temporarily housed at the residence of the Cantas. It was later transferred through a procession to the make-shift chapel located at the site of the present church. The image was blessed by Rev. Fr. Rey Amante, the administrator of the would-be parish.

Coinciding with the canonical erection of the parish on October 16, 1983 is the official declaration of the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Pacita as the patroness of the parish community.

Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Pacita
From the year 1986 to 1997, the image of Our Lady was enshrined at the side veneration area of the church's sanctuary. It was on October 18, 1998 that the statue of the Virgin was transferred to and enthroned at the retablo mayor as seen today. Since the profile of Our Lady no longer matches her new throne, Her head together with the Child Jesus was slightly tilted downwards in the year 2000 so that the faithful venerating them could still see their loving gaze.

The devotion at present

The devotion to Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Pacita continues to thrive in Pacita over the years since the enthronement of the image of the Virgin. Miracles began to be reported attributed to her intercession and the devotion to the Virgin of Pacita is on the rise in the recent years.

The Feast of the Virgin is celebrated every Third Sunday of October to give way to the other major Feasts of Our Lady of the Rosary in the country, especially those of Manaoag and UST (First Sunday of October) and the most celebrated La Naval de Manila (every Second Sunday of October).

References:

Gullen, Pedro and Canta, Fely, "History of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pacita", Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Pacita Complex, San Pedro, Laguna, 2010.

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