A Mother coming down to her children - A personal eyewitness account
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| An elder devotee reaching the original icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help of Baclaran, Parañaque |
There were some things that happened rarely that a generation can experience and remember and I do think that this is one of them. For many years, whenever we visit the famed Baclaran Shrine in Parañaque City, we would always look up to the high altar - a literally high one - to have a glimpse of the famed miraculous icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help which became a silent witness to the faith of all Filipinos who would flock her shrine 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Sometimes I would wonder "What does she look like up close?" - seems to be a vague question since most of the time, she is up there in her high altar. However, for some reason, that question was soon answered last year when the Redemptorists Fathers decided to bring down the icon from her altar after many years since the 1990's and the response was, I would say, it is overwhelming for devotees swarmed the shrine for days to have a once in a lifetime chance to see her up close and pout out their emotions and prayers before her.
So how did this once in a lifetime event became possible? In order for us to know and understand, this, let us have a short backtrack to her history to have at least a good perspective on recalling this event that added, or should I say, strengthen the so called "Baclaran Mystique".
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| Our Mother of Perpetual Help of Baclaran |
The Redemptorists Fathers brought a German copy of the icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help to the Philippines in 1906 and it was first enshrined in Malate Church then later moved to Baclaran in 1932. During the Second World War, the Japanse forces took over the convent and the community dispersed. The Icon was entrusted to a family in Malate, but when their house was burned down, nobody knew what happened to the icon. After liberation, a La Salle brother visited the old Bilibid Prison on Azcarraga in Manila where the Japanese had stored items looted from Filipino homes. He chanced upon the icon and reported his discovery to the Redemptorist Fathers. WIth great joy, it was brought back to her home in Baclaran and a few years later, the icon was enthroned to her current high altar that we currently see at present.
Forty years later, the Redemptorists introduced the Perpetual Novena to the people first in Iloilo in 1946 in the Redemptorist Church of St. Clement the it reached Lipa City, Batanags in 1948 when Fr. Gerard O'Donnel visited Iloilo and he was present at the Novena devotion that he determined to introduce it in Lipa. When Fr. O'Donnell, became Rector of Baclaran, his first thought was of the Novena which he began at 6.00 pm on June 23, 1948.
Fr. Leo English conducted the first Novena in Baclaran. There were only 70 people present. The capacity of the church at that time was only 300 yet as timed went by, the number of attendees swelled and by the end of 1949, there were eight crowded sessions of the Novena. The Wednesday of each week became a day of prayer to the Virgin of Perpetual Help throughout the entire nation. This prompted the Congregation to have a more spacious church. The construction of the shrine began and was funded entirely from the donation of the devotees. The foundation stone had been laid by Cardinal Gilroy of Sydney on January 11, 1953. On January 1958, the Philippine hierarchy officially declared the Baclaran Church to be the National Shrine of the Mother of Perpetual Help. And in 1958, the completed church was solemnly consecrated by Archbishop Rufino Cardinal Santos of Manila. Since the day when the Shrine was opened, it has never been closed, day or night with a special permission obtained from the Vatican and pilgrims flock the shrine to fulfill their Wednesday devotional duty in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
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| The presentation of the icon to the devotees |
For many years, the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help was placed on her high altar for the last 70 years since the shrine was established, listening to the prayers of millions of Filipinos for generations. During those 70 years, the icon was brought down from her altar twice, first during the Second World War for safekeeping and in 1992 when the icon underwent restoration.
September 5, 2019 will be one of the most unique days in the history of Bacalran Shrine and its devotees because on that day, the famed miraculous icon came down from her high altar after 27 years. The altar at that time needed to undergo cleaning and necessary restorations to for preservation purposes. This particular circumstance paved the way for a rare up close and personal with the famed icon that would last a for a few months.
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| A Close up photo of Our Mother of Perpetual Help of Bacalaran taken by the blogger when the icon was brought down in 2019. |
What I can recall on that day that I just came home from my work in the morning and it was near lunch time that the social media posts of the coming down of the icon became viral and I immediately prepared myself and my small print replica of the icon (From her original shrine in Rome) to go immediately to Baclaran to at least have a chance to see her for the first time. My family has a special devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help for my mom would use to go there whenever she can to pay homage to her and it was instilled in when I was a child since I would accompany my mom to Baclaran to visit the shrine. These thoughts were running through my head when I was travelling going to Baclaran and along with my friend who also knew what happened.
What happened next is so surreal, when we arrived at the Shrine, the icon was already in the private oratory for safekeeping. Fortunately, as fate would have it, we were given a chance to see her up close and personal and stayed at the chapel for quite sometime, relishing the moment that we are facing the famed and miraculous icon that everyone knew and loved, the icon that became a witness to the everyday struggles of her devotees, the icon that my mom and I visit and paid homage to for years. I would recall that I have shivers in my spine when I gazed to her eyes and tears fell and took courage to take a photo of her face (as seen in this blog post) as my keepsake. Then we whispered our prayers remembering everybody from my friends, family, colleagues among others and have my print contacted the icon.
We then went home in the afternoon and when I posted the photo on social media, I did not expect the response it would receive and I later shared the dates of public veneration of the icon, then slated for September 7, 2019 (Eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and September 9, 2019, I remember everyone becoming excited for this and it went on until the day of the first public veneration arrived. A few months later, I was invited by a friend to attend a special mass before the icon, days before the final veneration day of the icon as it was about to be re-enthroned to her altar at that time.
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| Devotees lining up for the veneration of the icon |
September 7, 2019, Eve of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the day chosen for the first day of public veneration of the icon. I came back to Baclaran, this time with more friends for the public veneration (and to also document the event which is in my YouTube channel). We were surprised with the huge number of devotees and pilgrims from different parts of the country who came to Baclaran as the news of the veneration spread like wildfire. That day felt like a Wednesday with the number of crowds that is typically seen on a regular Wednesday in Baclaran where every part of the shrine is full of people waiting for the Mass and public veneration.
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| A huge number of devotees lining up for the public veneration of the icon |
The veneration lasted for a few months with additional dates were set for the duration of three months so that all the faithful could have a one of a kind experience with the Blessed Mother as Our Mother of Perpetual Help. The icon was later re-enthroned on November 27, 2019 - Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal witnessed by devotees in attendance.
Fr. Victorino Cueto, CSSR, Rector of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, said the occasion of the public veneration was a “symbolic” one for "it allowed Our Mother to come down from the high altar and be closer to all her devotee-missionaries,”. True enough, the devotees of Our Mother of Perpetual Help experienced a one of a kind encounter with the Blessed Mother and took their chances on whispering their prayers to her, wiping their handkerchiefs to the frame that protects the icon, touching their estampitas, rosaries, replicas of the icon made from a myriad of mediums and other sacramentals as keepsakes of this memorable encounter.
When I glimpsed on the veneration of the devotees to the icon, there were also moving scenes that plucked some heartstrings from parents introducing the Virgin to their children, mothers carrying their infants to touch the icon, elders praying, weeping devotees among others. These scenes might look mundane to some, yet I then understood that these people from different social strata were willing to queue in line for hours, offering their prayers and sacrifices while waiting for their chance to see their beloved Mother who helped them keep going to their everyday struggles and when that moment comes, it is something that they will treasure for the rest of their lives and helped their love and devotion alive as long as they live.
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| The return of the icon to her high altar |
I can conclude this blog with the words of the Blessed Mother that she spoke to St. Juan Diego of the famed apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe which I do think it is very applicable in this occasion:
"Do not be distressed and afraid. Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the fountain of your joy? Are you not in the fold of my mantle, in the cradle of my arms?
I truly am your merciful Mother, your Mother and the Mother of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, and of those who seek and place their trust in me. Here I shall listen to their weeping and their sorrows. I shall take them all to my heart, and I shall cure their many sufferings, afflictions, and sorrows."
References:
Aviado, Lutgarda, Madonnas of the Philippines, Manlapaz Press, Quezon City, 1972.
"The Baclaran Phenomenon". National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Retrieved from http://baclaranovena.org/About_the%20Shrine/The_Baclaran_Phenomenon.html on January 16, 2017.
Barcelona, Mary Anne, Ynang Maria: a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines. Ed. Consuelo B. Estampa, P.D. Pasig City, Anvil Publishing Inc., 2004.
"The icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran wil be removed from the altar", National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Baclaran, Parañaque City.
Photographs:
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Facebook page
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