Our Lady of Manaoag
| Reported event | Tradition that Mary appeared with the Child Jesus to a farmer on a treetop and requested a shrine at the place |
|---|---|
| Place | Manaoag, Pangasinan, Philippines |
| Dates associated with the event | Early seventeenth century |
| Witnesses | Unnamed farmer of Manaoag |
| Ecclesial status | Public devotion authorized; supernatural authenticity not determined |
| Public devotion | Authorized |
| Competent authority | Apostolic Delegate Guglielmo Piani and the Holy See, papal representative and basilica-granting authority |
| Judgment date | 1926 |
Our Lady of Manaoag is a Catholic Marian title and manifestation tradition associated with Manaoag, Pangasinan, Philippines. Its exact ecclesial status is public devotion authorized; supernatural authenticity not determined; that status governs what may truthfully be said about the reported event and the devotion connected with it.[1][2]
Overview
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, colloquially called as Our Lady of Manaoag (Latin: Nostra Domina de Sacratissimi Rosarii de Manaoagensis), is an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in Manaoag, the Philippines. The statue is vested in imperial regalia and is locally referred to as Apo Baket ("Noble Mistress").[3]
The ivory and silver image of the Madonna and Child which bears its title dates from the sixteenth century and is presently enshrined within the Minor Basilica and is a major pilgrimage site in the country administered by the Order of Preachers.
Pope Pius XI granted a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation titled Sanctissimus Dominus Noster on 25 August 1925. The Papal nuncio, Archbishop Guglielmo Piani celebrated the rite of coronation on 21 April 1926.
Pope Benedict XVI later raised her sanctuary in equal indulgences to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on 21 June 2011. Pope Francis further elevated the shrine to the status of a Minor Basilica via his Pontifical decree Spiritualem Fidelium Progressionem on 11 October 2014.[4][5] The image is venerated twice a year: the third Wednesday after Easter and first Sunday of October.
Reported event
Tradition that Mary appeared with the Child Jesus to a farmer on a treetop and requested a shrine at the place. The tradition locates the event at Manaoag, Pangasinan, Philippines and associates it with Early seventeenth century.[1]
The identified witness or witnesses are Unnamed farmer of Manaoag (traditional visionary). The cited article reports the tradition according to its competent ecclesial sources; it does not fill gaps with later devotional embroidery or treat every attributed message and anecdote as part of the authoritative judgment.[1]
Ecclesiastical judgment
The official basilica history links the town and pilgrimage to the apparition tradition, records the image's canonical coronation by the Apostolic Delegate in 1926, and records elevation of the shrine to a minor basilica in 2015. The competent authority was Apostolic Delegate Guglielmo Piani and the Holy See, papal representative and basilica-granting authority, acting with respect to Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. The recorded judgment date is 1926, and its defined scope is The crowned image, shrine, pilgrimage, and public devotion linked by the basilica to Manaoag's apparition tradition.[1][2]
The competent ecclesial acts receive or authorize public devotion connected with the tradition, but they do not decide that the reported manifestation was supernatural. Liturgical observance, a shrine, pilgrimage, canonical coronation, patronage, or papal reception must not be converted into an authenticity decree that was never issued. Canonical coronation and minor-basilica status authorize and receive devotion but do not judge the reported apparition supernatural. Official shrine pages conflict between 21 and 26 April for the 1926 coronation, so this record retains year precision.[2][6]
Devotion and reception
Public devotion connected with Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag is authorized within the scope expressed by the competent acts. This permits Catholic prayer, pilgrimage, liturgical or shrine life, and pastoral reception only as those acts actually provide; local and universal observance remain distinct.[1][2]
A devotional permission is not a blank authorization for commercial exploitation, sensational predictions, disobedience, novel doctrine, or every text circulated under an apparition's name. Pastors retain responsibility for sound catechesis, the Sacraments, protection of the faithful, and any qualifications or restrictions attached to the judgment.[1][2]
Relation to Catholic faith
Public Revelation is complete in Jesus Christ and transmitted in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition. A Marian apparition cannot add to the Deposit of Faith, correct the Gospel, or create an alternate teaching office. At most, an authentic private revelation helps the faithful live Christ's definitive Revelation more fully in a particular historical setting.[7][8]
No Catholic is obliged to accept a private revelation as an article of divine and Catholic faith, even when competent authority has made a favorable judgment. Catholics must, however, respect the Church's actual permissions, cautions, and prohibitions. Exact terminology safeguards both legitimate Marian devotion and the primacy of Christ, whose grace alone gives every authentic apparition its meaning.[7][6]
Etymology
Tradition holds the town of Manaoag was derived from the Pangasinense verb Mantaoag, which means "to call" (from the root Taoag, "call").[9]
Historicity
The original statue is a 17th-century ivory and silver image of the Madonna and Child enshrined at the high altar of the Basilica. It was brought to the Philippines from Spain via the Manila galleon trade from Acapulco, Mexico, in the early 17th century by the Catholic priest Juan de San Jacinto.
Accordingly, the ivory material used for the image is attested to be of subpar quality, resulting in the cracks of the image over the centuries as compared to other notable ivory images of higher quality venerated in the Philippines. Nevertheless, the image receives much financial patronage and support which sustains its devotion, regalia and festivities. The image is also a full structured body underneath, later enlarged and adorned by its embroidered cape and vested skirt. It bears a bent neck and knape which looks down towards the devotees, which is a stylized posture associated with maternal embrace and piety.
Documents preserved from 1610 attest that a middle-aged farmer walking home began hearing a mysterious female voice. He looked around and saw on a cloud-veiled treetop a Diwata-like figure, interpreted by Catholic priests as a Marian apparition. The Blessed Virgin was purported to hold a rosary in her right hand with the Christ Child in her left arm all amidst a heavenly glow. The figure told the farmer where she wanted her simbahan (an indigenous shrine, later interpreted as a church by Catholic priests) to be built, and so a chapel was built on the hilltop site of the apparition, forming the nucleus of the present town.
Our Lady of the Rosary is depicted in other countries with similar attributes, with the accoutrement and style of the vestments varying across cultures. The Manaoag image is distinct from other statues in its sculpture and regalia, particularly its crown.
A pilgrim replica of the image also exists and is toured around parishes in the Philippines for veneration. In 1972, Josefa Edralin Marcos, the mother of former President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, donated a new crown for the image. Her grandson, President Bongbong Marcos attended the centennial anniversary of its Pontifical coronation on 22 April 2026.
Regalia and security
The image and her bejeweled crown are considered priceless. There have been several attempts to rob the shrine of jewels sewn into the icon's dress and set into its regalia, which include crowns, aureolas, rosary, sceptres, and marshal's baton.
Several of her golden crowns and haloes are deposited at the shrine's museum, donated by both local and foreign devotees. An expensive collection of liturgical vestments that have been used by the image and the Dominican priests are also on display, as are an array of perfumes used to anoint the image. These are ex-votos given by devotees and pilgrims from around the world.
The image is fully secured within a bulletproof glass enclosure above the new high altar, an elevated pedestal, and four golden candelabras. The coat-of-arms of the Dominicans is embedded above the image's window as a demonstration of the Order's devotion to her. The Narra wood bas-relief Isabelo Tampinco beneath her altar beautifully depicts the historic events connected to Virgin.
The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, in line with the Filipino custom of venerating an image by touching its body or clothing, constructed a staircase that rises to the Camarin ("Changing room") on the second floor behind the apse. The room has pews in front of the alcove behind the image's shrine. Supplicants kneel before the small window behind the image's base to pray and touch the hem of the image's mantle, often dropping written prayers into a nearby box. After venerating the image, devotees pass through the religious goods shop on their way out.
Marian devotion and veneration
Purported miracles
Some of the earliest miracles attributed to Our Lady of Manaoag, including the original apparition, are depicted in the murals in the church.
During the Spanish era, animist mountain tribes burnt down newly-Christianized villages. The town of Manaoag was among the settlements that were burnt by the raiders, sending the locals fleeing to the thatch-roofed church. The pillagers's leader climbed over the church compound's crude fence and shot flaming arrows at all parts of the church, but the building miraculously did not catch fire.
During the Second World War, enemy Japanese forces dropped several bombs within the church's vicinity. The structure was only moderately damaged. Four bombs were released above the church, with three landing on the plaza and the facade, destroying both. The last bomb fell into the sanctuary, but miraculously did not explode. The supposed presence of chrysanthemum flowers in the church prevented the Japanese soldiers from doing acts of desecration, due to the flower being revered in their culture.
Other miracles recounted and attributed to the Lady of Manaoag includes rainfalls during droughts, reviving an already-dead boy through holy intercession and holy water, stopping a fire that originated from the church, and resisting various attempts at relocating the shrine.
Miracles attributed to the Lady of Manaoag in modern times are widespread, attested by believers and widely promoted by word of mouth, publications and legends. As such, pilgrims often invoke Her intercession in times of dire need, with some of the petitioners travelling all the way from far places to do so.
Feasts
| Year | Coronation (Eastertide) |
Rosary Feast |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | April 22 | October 4 |
| 2027 | April 14 | October 3 |
| 2028 | May 3 | October 1 |
| 2029 | April 18 | October 7 |
| 2030 | May 8 | October 6 |
| 2031 | April 30 | October 5 |
The primary feast of Our Lady of Manaoag is on the third Wednesday of Easter. The peaks of the pilgrimages are during the Lenten and Easter seasons, the month of May, and the month of October — the rosary-month – where the Feast Our Lady of Rosary is celebrated. There is a procession after the afternoon Mass on these occasions.
Services
Thousands converge on Saturdays and Sundays to pray for their intentions, attend Holy Mass, pray the Rosary, offer flowers, light candles, purchase religious articles, have religious articles or vehicles blessed, get holy water, and join in the daily and seasonal activities. The blessings of religious articles and vehicles are performed at the back of the church grounds after every Mass, while holy water is also dispensed there for free to those with containers.
The short dawn procession and Scriptural Rosary every first Saturday before the 5 a.m. Mass is well-attended by regular pilgrims mostly from Metro Manila and from Regions I (Ilocos), II (Cagayan Valley), and III (Central Luzon). These first Saturday rites are pursuant to the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays requested by the Virgin Mary in her third apparition at Fátima on 13 July 1917 for the preservation of world peace.
Any of the Holy Masses in the regular schedule may be offered for personal petitions and thanksgiving. The 7 a.m. Masses on Fridays (except on Good Friday) may be offered for the repose of the Souls in Purgatory. These may be done through the parish office at the right side of the main entrance of the church; at the Shrine Museum; or at the back of the church beside the religious store at the entrance of the Candle Gallery. Mass offerings and donations may be offered also through its website.
The church formerly also broadcasts and livestreams masses, services at the shrine and religious programming from their website from radyomanaoag.com and manaoagshrine.org, both of which are no longer active. Archived 2013-05-12 at the Wayback Machine.
In Guam
A replica of the image of Our Lady of Manaoag was donated by a devotee and traveled to the United States unincorporated territory of Guam on 17 August 2012. The statue was enshrined at the Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua in Tamuning, Guam where a dedication rite was held the following day, attended by Filipino-Guamanian Catholics.[10] The statue traveled as a paid passenger aboard a United Airlines flight.[11]
See also
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Back to citation occurrence 1.2 Back to citation occurrence 1.3 Back to citation occurrence 1.4 Back to citation occurrence 1.5 Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag: The Minor Basilica of Manaoag — Official Catholic source supporting eventTradition, witness, shrine, canonicalCoronation, basilica, publicDevotion, dates.
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Back to citation occurrence 2.3 Back to citation occurrence 2.4 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 1978 norms on presumed apparitions and revelations — The earlier procedural norms under which many historical favorable judgments and permissions of public devotion were made.
- Back to citation Esmaquel II, Paterno (2015-02-22). "Manaoag: Why Filipinos cry before 'Apo Baket'". RAPPLER. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
- Back to citation Franciscus, Papam. Sigillium Vaticanus, Cardinalem Pietro Parolin. Vatican Secretary of State. Vatican Secret Archives.
- Back to citation https://www.facebook.com/pages/Our-Lady-of-Manaoag/120437460753?sk=info
- Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena — The current law governing investigation and the six possible prudential conclusions, including the exact limits of a nihil obstat.
- Back to citation occurrence 7.0 Back to citation occurrence 7.1 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 65–67 — Catholic doctrine on the definitive fullness of Revelation in Christ and the subordinate role of private revelations.
- Back to citation Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum — The dogmatic constitution on Revelation in Christ and its transmission in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.
- Back to citation "Our Lady's Welcome" Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. Shrine of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag. Retrieved on 2014-01-03
- Back to citation (2012-08-24). "Pinoys in Guam join dedication rites of Our Lady of Manaoag statue". GMA News Online. Retrieved on 2014-01-05.
- Back to citation Darang, Josephine (2012-09-12). "Filipinos in Guam welcome Our Lady of Manaoag; Kapampangans in Los Angeles". Inquirer.net. Retrieved on 2014-01-05.
External links
- Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag Official Website Archived 2020-10-30 at the Wayback Machine