The Regal and Miraculous Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor of Bacolor, Pampanga
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| Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor (Church image) |
Bacolor is also famous for its centuries old sunken San Guillermo Church where half of edifice was submerged by lahar during the Pinatubo eruption in the early 1990's and decades later as the church from the iconic ABS-CBN teleserye "May Bukas Pa".
Bacolor is also known as one of the main Marian pilgrimage sites in the province and also of Central Luzon because it was in the famed Bacolor Church were the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor is enshrined. The Virgin of the Rosary of Bacolor became a silent witness of the colorful yet tragic history of the municipality and continues to guide Bacoloreños destiny.
The image
The venerable image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor is a de vestir image of the Our Lady of the Rosary enshrined at the retablo mayor of the church. The image is presented as a regal lady of the Spanish court with all the jewels, accessories and the style of her vestments that the Virgin sports. The Virgin wears a crown, her diagnostic aureola with estrellas, a rostrillo on her face, holds a scepter and the rosary. The Child Jesus also wears a crown, also garbs a royal robe, and a set of jewels as well - including those that is attached to his hair. One unique feature that stood out of the other La Naval images, those in Manila and Angeles City is that the Madonna and Child is not facing the beholder, but rather facing the sides and heads tilted downwards as if they are listening to the supplication of its devotees.
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| Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor |
The beginnings of the devotion to La Naval de Bacolor dates back in 1786, Bacolor ushered its first celebration of La Naval. The town instituted its Fiestang Naval presumably through Don Manuel Francisco Tubil, at the time the Parish Priest of Bacolor and Vicar Forane of Pampanga. Fr. Tubil was the first Filipino Doctor of Sacred Theology that he obtained in UST in 1772.
The inventory of 1790-93 records the donation of the images of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario y del Niño Jesus for the Fiesta and the contemporaneous creation of a Cofradia del Santisimo Rosario specifically to oversee the La Naval Fiesta in Bacolor. Other wealthy and prominent Bacolor Families at once allowed suit with their generous donations for La Naval rites and celebrations. The present altar image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario de Bacolor was commissioned by Doña Josefa Santos y Joven-Panlilio made by the best artisans of the time.
A few years later, with the marriage of Doña Josefa's son, Jose Panlilio, to Luz Panlilio y Sarmiento ushered a new era of the devotion to the Santo Rosario of Bacolor. The Panlilio couple commissioned another image of the Virgen del Rosario that became the Festejada (or the processional image for fiestas) image for the occassion. After Jose passed away in 1961, Luz began the imporvements on the image and the carrozza with a new silverplated carroza and placing her jewelry to rhe image that became her signature look. Unfortunately, when the Pinatubo erupted in 1990, the role of this image as the festejada ceased and the image, along with its old carroza that was saved from lahar can now be seen at De La Salle University - Dasmariñas campus' museum.
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| The processional image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor (The present processional image) |
Every third Sunday of November, Bacolor celebrates its own La Naval fiesta, ruling out any conflict arising were it simultaneously scheduled with the Manila celebrations in October. The decision was inevitable since most of the political leaders and prominent families in Pampanga attends the La Naval festivities in Manila in fulfillment of their Kapampangan forefathers who fought along with the Tagalogs and the Spanish forces to defend the islands from the Dutch invaders in the famed Five Naval battles of 1646. This also explains the La Naval celebrations also done in Angeles City in the same province.
La Naval de Bacolor drew its own share of devotees and pilgrims for Our Lady over the years from the neighboring towns of Guagua, Sasmuan, Macabebe and Lubao, as well as Sta. Rita, San Fernando and Mexico. Her Feast day saw her in procession together with the "staple" saints of La Naval Tradition - San Pio Quinto and Santo Domingo de Guzman - and with San Jose and San Guillermo, the titular patron of Bacolor. At present, more saints are accompanying the Virgin, mostly the patrons from different barangays within the jurisdiction of Bacolor.
In 1856, Bacolor recorded the biggest "Fiestang Naval" it had ever celebrated. The whole processional route was roofed with tents to protect Our Lady's image from impending rain; and despite the threat of downpour, the whole town was abloom with profuse garlands of paper flowers, buntings and other decorations. La Naval de Bacolor gained fame far and wide in the region for its impressive, pomp and splendor: on the one hand, there were the life size holy images adorned with gold and diamonds, the grand and sterling silver carozzas during the procession.
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| Dulce Prenda |
One of the unique elements of the devotion to Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor is the pastry called Dulce Prenda that is then prepared during the "Fiestang Naval" celebrations.
The pastry is an upgraded version of the famous "Panecillos de San Nicolas" (San Nicolas Cookies) and also taking an inspiration of the famed Chinese dessert "hopia" where sweetened kundol is stuffed inside the pastry and the cookie's floral design was inspired by the designs of the vestment of the Virgin. The name itself was probably taken from the famed Marian hymn "Despedida a la Virgen" where it is sung at the end of the novena and fiesta days in Manila, Pampanga and other parts of the country. The cookies were very popular during the festivities yet it was abruptly ended with the Pinatubo exploded years ago, it made the people of Bacolor migrate to different locations, tearing the tradition apart.
Despite this set back, a few culinary historians preserved the tradition and the dessert itself so that one day, it will make its return to Fiestang Naval tradition.
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| The first processional image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor now in the museum of De La Salle University - Dasmariñas, Cavite campus |
In 1991, the unthinkable happened when the "dormant volcano" Mount Pinatubo exploded in 1991 and when lahar flow from Mt. Pinatubo, it devastated and buried the San Guillermo Church some 20 staggering feet deep. When everything cleared up, the half-buried church, once imposing with its three-tiered facade, was almost declared unserviceable and the faithful had to flee in exodus to more fertile land, while spurts of gruesome lahar continued to isolate the town even more, making it ghastly, almost no man’s land.
With the efforts of Bacoloreños headed by Bacolor Church's former parish priest Rev. Fr. Nestor G. Tayag, Jr., they worked together on digging up the lahar to save what was left in the centuries old parish and landmark.
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| The processional image of Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor on her first procession after the tragic Pinatubo eruption |
Amidst the onslaught of lahar, the devotion to Our Lady of La Naval proved to be resilient. The image of Nuestra Señora del Santismo Rosario of Thomas Joven was brought out in solemn procession around her lahar covered domain on top of the shoulders of Her faithful devotees.
Encouraged by the huge turnout of people who flocked back to Bacolor to take part in the La Naval fiesta, Fr. Tayag saw to it that the Christmas and other celebrations in the makeshift tent would also have to come to pass. For more than three months in 1997, the parishioners concentrated on salvaging what could still be saved from the rubble from the old retablo, pews, the images and other valuable objects and documents until the church was reopened years later.
The devotion itself also gained a refreshing new start when the late +Thomas Joven reinvented the procession of the Virgin with a new ochovado carroza, set of vestments and jewels for the Virgin that gave new life to the historic "Fiestang Naval" tradition and continues up to this day.
The devotion at present
The devotion to Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario - La Naval de Bacolor continues to thrive up to this day. Devotees and Pilgrims from within and outside Pampanga flock the parish, most especially on her fiesta every Third Sunday of November to pay homage to the Virgin of Bacolor. he Virgin became a witness to the glorious, tragic and resilient history of Bacolor and its people that she became a symbol of hope and courage of Bacoloreños and it is clearly manifested with the their devotion to their beloved Patroness.
References:
Castro, Jasper, "Have A Taste Of This Kapampangan Lola’s Legendary Cookies", Retrieved from https://www.yummy.ph/news-trends/sannikulas-cookie-spampanga-aching-lillian-borromeo-a00261-20190730-lfrm on Novembr 16, 2019.
David, Ruben, "Re-building Bacolor", Retreived from https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2001/04/23/85749/sports#WGSWGgiuxgux6iQH.99 on November 12, 2019.
Santos, John Valenzuela, "La Naval de Bacolor" Retrieved from https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=579842929489276&id=427007511439486 on November 26, 2019.
Quintos, Floy, "From prayers for good crops, This Virgin now hears appeals for better grades", Sunday Inquirer Magazine, October 5, 2005. Retrieved from http://andalltheangelsandsaints.blogspot.com/2019/10/334-from-prayers-for-good-crops-this.html on November 15, 2019.
Special thanks to Mr. Jerome de Jesus and Mr, Floy Quintos for the photographs used in this blogpost
+AM+DG+
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