THERE is no doubt that, for centuries now, our society lives within the structures of the Catholic Church. All the 81 provinces, 144 cities and 1,490 towns in the country have churches right at the middle of our social, economic and political life.
Even our historical past had its early beginnings with the church as the starting point when the country was created into a cohesive nation.
A recent publication of Calidad Humana, the project of former Ambassador of Chile Roberto Mayorga, depicted the truth that the Filipino identity is parallel to the Calidad Humana of early Chilean society.
Calidad Humana referred to this Filipino identity as the kabutihang loob of the Filipino society. Kabutihang loob is an authentic Filipino expression of relationships with his fellowmen and country. At present, nevertheless, there are reasons to fear that Filipino society is experiencing the gradual extinction of these old authentic values of the Filipino society, said Ernesto R. Gonzales, a noted historian and economist.
A perfect example today of our historical past is the quiet town of Piat in Cagayan Valley, where, for centuries now, thousands of devotees, tourists and pilgrims flock to venerate and celebrate every July 2 the Feast of Our Lady of Piat, one of the world’s most worshipped and miraculous Marian images of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Known as the Black Virgin Mary, the Our Lady of Piat was sculptured in Macau, then a colony of Portugal, upon the request of Dominican missionaries and was eventually brought to the Philippines in 1604 and placed in Lal-lo, Cagayan, then the Episcopal See of Nueva Segovia.
From Lal-lo, the image was brought to Piat in 1622 and enshrined in one of the two altars of the Church of Santo Domingo. As a testament to the love and devotion to the Our Lady of Piat, Fr. Juan de Santa Ana sent the image to Tuguegarao in the same year and ordered a “more beautiful” version from Manila to replace the image.
The move was met with public protest, and the people demanded that the original image be returned to them. Father Santa Ana relented and returned the image.
However, a dispute arose between the people of Piat and Tuao as to where the sanctuary should be constructed. A solomonic solution was found when it was agreed to have the sanctuary built between Piat and Tuao.
Construction was completed in 1623 and on December 26, the image of Our Lady of Piat was brought in solemn procession from the parish of Santo Domingo to its new sanctuary.
“History tells us,” Gonzales said, “that the church was also in the hub of our struggles for freedom and self-determination as a free people of God. This church became the source of our spiritual strength; the beacon of revolutions and change in our country’s past and present; and is still the source of our values and identity as one nation who loves her God and people.”
One member of the local aristocracies of Piat, Doña Ines Maguilabbun, took upon herself the responsibility of camarera (caretaker) to the Our Lady of Piat. It was she who introduced the pious custom of keeping a votive light burning day and night before the image, a practice kept up to this date.
In the 1700s the people built a more spacious church of more durable materials on a hill about a mile from the parish church of Santo Domingo. The present sanctuary was built by Rev. Fr. Diego Pinero and later restored by Fr. Jose Gurumeta in 1875.
On June 22, 1999, the sanctuary was elevated as a basílica minore (minor basilica) by the Vatican through rites officiated by the Vatican’s representative, Antonio María Cardinal Javierre Ortas. It was the first basílica minore in the region and the fourth in the Philippines.
The Our Lady of Piat is known for its many miracles spanning since its arrival.
One such popular miracle described in Wikipedia was in 1624 in the Itawes agricultural region, an area often experiencing severe droughts, when not a single drop of water had fallen for months as farmers tirelessly planted their seeds in vain. Fathers Juan de Santa Ana and Andres de Haro, vicars of Piat and Tuao, respectively, organized a procession and rogation, imploring from heaven the much- needed rain
“But they were afraid,” said the Wikipedia, “that the new Christians might falter in their faith or lose their trust in the power of prayer if the much-wanted result were not achieved.” As the two fathers insisted that the people repent from their sins during the procession, rains began to pour, first over Piat and then over Tuao, lasting for three days. That year the region saw an abundant harvest of crops.
Among other miracles attributed to the Miraculous Lady were the boy who recovered from insanity; the devastating flood when the Itawes riverbank overflowed but did not damage the shrine; the man freed from the grip of an attacking crocodile; and the child cured from leprosy after praying for help.
The feast of the 411-year-old miraculous icon starts every last week of June with the Sambali Festival, a religious and cultural rite which includes a novena, sports tournament, beauty contest, cultural dances and other indigenous presentations.
On July 1 Archbishop Sergio L. Utleg of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao will celebrate a Mass at 5 p.m., followed by a procession, and it will be ended on July 2 by a succession of Masses from 2 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@gmail.com.