Our Lady of the Candles

Our Lady of the Candles
Nuestra Señora de la Purificación y Candelaria

The icon enshrined on the balcony of Jaro Cathedral.
Location Jaro, Iloilo Philippines
Date April 1587[1]
Witness Don Cristobal Mercado
Type Limestone
Holy See approval 21 February 1981 by Pope John Paul II
Shrine National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles
Patronage Jaro, Iloilo, Western Visayas

Our Lady of the Candles (Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria; formally: Nuestra Señora de la Purificación y Candelaria) is a Marian title and image venerated by Filipino Catholics in the Western Visayas. The image, which is enshrined in the balcony of Jaro Cathedral, is locally known as the patroness of Jaro District of Iloilo City and the whole of Western Visayas region.[2] [3]

The feast day of Our Lady of the Candles is on Candlemas (2 February), and is celebrated in Iloilo City with Tridentine Masses, a grand procession, and numerous other parades.

Description

The title commemorates Mary's ritual purification during the Presentation of Jesus. Halakha (Jewish law) ordered that firstborn sons be redeemed at the Temple in Jerusalem when they are 40 days old. The mother, who expelled blood during the birth, was considered unclean for a week and 33 days thereafter, necessitating her purification at the same time the child is redeemed.[4]

The 16th-century limestone statue depicts Mary and the Child Jesus carrying tapers in their right hands. It is customarily vested in gold cloth; crowns adorn mother and son, the latter holding a globus cruciger in his left hand. The candle held by the image enshrined in the cathedral's façade is today tipped with a red electrical bulb.

History

Tradition recounts the statue's first appearance in 1587, where a group of fishermen found it floating in the Iloilo River yet could not lift it due to its heavy weight. When the fishermen decided to bring it to Jaro, the image became easier to carry. The statue was initially placed in a small niche near the apex of the local church's central spire. Folklore speaks of the statue's recorded growth in size over the centuries, to the point that it was transferred to the balcony. The image's shrine is accessible today by a flight of steps attached to the cathedral's northeastern façade.

The statue received Papal sanction from Pope John Paul II, who personally canonically crowned the statue on 21 February 1981 during his first Apostolic Visit to the Philippines declaring it the patroness of Western Visayas.[5] [6] It is thus the only Marian statue in the Philippines personally crowned by a Pope and saint.

National Shrine

Main article: Jaro Cathedral

Pope Pius IX authorised the canonical erection of the Diocese of Jaro on 25 May 1865. Bishop Mariano Cuartero, OP took possession of the diocese in 1868, and later partitioned it into nine dioceses. In 1874, Bishop Cuartero had the cathedral, dedicated to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, built on the site.[4][7][8]

The original edifice was among dozens of churches destroyed by the Lady Caycay earthquake, an 8.2 surface wave magnitude tremor which struck Panay Island on 25 January 1948. Pope Pius XII elevated Jaro to an archdiocese on 29 June 1951 via a papal bull,[1] and the cathedral was fully restored by 1956 under José María Cuenco, the first Archbishop of Jaro.

In January 2012, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines approved "National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles" as an additional name for the cathedral.

Confraternity

The shrine has a mixed-sex, lay confraternity called Cofradia de la Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, which is authorised by the Archdiocese of Jaro.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Archdiocese of Jaro". Claretianpublications.com. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  2. ↑ "About Our Lady of Candles National Shrine". Our Lady of Candles National Shrine.
  3. ↑ "Jaro Cathedral to be declared National Marian Shrine". CBCP News. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  4. 1 2 Rosal, Joy. "Viva la Candelaria de Jaro". Thenewstoday.info. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  5. ↑ "About Our Lady of Candles National Shrine". Our Lady of Candles National Shrine.
  6. ↑ "Jaro cathedral to be declared Marian shrine Feb. 2 | GMA News Online". Gmanetwork.com. 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  7. ↑ Barcelona, Mary Anne. Ynang Maria: A Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines. Edited by Consuelo B. Estepa, Ph.D. Pasig City: Anvil Publishing, Inc, 2004.
  8. ↑ viena mae banebane says: (2010-11-19). "Jaro Cathedral: Our Lady of Candles Parish Church, Iloilo | Philippines Travel Guide". Markmaranga.com. Retrieved 2012-02-10.

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