Friday, August 24, 2012

Architecture of Manaoag Church.


The church is Spanish-Romanesque sprinkled with a little touch of German and Italian Renaissance architectural composition. A big octagonal dome surmounts at the point where the nave and the transepts converge forming a cruciform contour.At the center of convergence of the church is the image of Our Lady of Manaoag where it appears floating in the middle of a wooden altar. Our Lady of Manaoag is flanked left to right by two well known saints. To the left, it is Saint Dominique of Guzman and to the right, she appears to be guarded by Saint Francis of Asissi. Behind the altar is a mini-chapel where visitors go to touch the image’s mantle.
The Main Features of the facade of the church, on each pilaster at the lower section are topped by the statues of St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Margaret of Hungary, St. Catherine of Sienna and St. Dominic of Guzman. The doors of the main entrance are decorated with an engraved Dominican insignia. Set between the church and the convent, the bell tower measures approximately 32 feet in height whose summit is cappped by a white cross.
Several improvements were done on this church until it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1832. the church was reconstructed, improved and was damaged again during the World War II.
The Church's three-level facade has superimposed piers on the first and second levels with the third level designed as a small temple. It houses the image of Nuestra Señora de Manaog or Apo Baket.
This shrine which shelters the image of Our Lady of the Rosary has stood for centuries, enduring degradation brought about by time. The parish though, has maintained the structure by restoring it once in a while. For its Diamond Anniversary, the church underwent repainting.

Wall of Miracles


The giant wall paintings of the church depict the more famous miracles attributed to the Lady of Manoag. One reveals the story of a sick child from Binmaley who died on the way to the Lady's shrine. His dead body was nevertheless brought to the shrine before the feet of Our Lady and there it was brought back to life to the joy of his parents.
One other well known miracle is what happened to a man from Dagupan whose throat was infected from a fishbone he swallowed. He was cured when water that was used to wash her hands was poured into the dying man's lips.
Aside from curative intercessions, the Lady is known for protecting crops. It is said that she saved Pangasinan and other northern provinces from the locust of 1698. Folks have retold of the days during which they tried to protect the rice fields from swarms of locusts that come darkening the sky. They finally sought for the Lady's help. A procession was made to the fields. When they laid her image down in the midst of the devastation, the locusts began to exterminate each other in an incomprehensible way. This ferocity went on for five days until not a single locust could be found.
The Lady's rain miracles which are known to happen even at present first transpired in the drought of 1706. The stories during that year's dry season describe dried seedlings parched under a cloudless sky. For months, the people of Manaoag hopefully waited for rain. But it did not come. They called on their last recourse, the Lady of Manaoag. During the first day of the novena and procession, right after she was brought back to the church, from the outskirt of the town, clouds gathered about the sky and dimmed the stars. A downpour soon fell and continued for days.
The Virgin has assured the people of Manaoag of her protection on several occasions. During the early times when mountain tribes used to burn Christian villages, Manaoag was not spared. It was set on fire. The church with its thatched roof was the last refuge of the people. But the leader of the pillagers, climbed over the fence and shot lighted arrows to all parts of the church. Not a single flame, however, set it on fire. This miraculous event was repeated during the World War II. In spite of several bombs that found their way into the church, not one of them exploded thus keeping the shrine intact.
People are fond of relating one incident that happened in 1697. It was Easter Sunday when a fire of unknown origin razed the town and reached the church. The Father Vicar went inside and snatched the Lady from the sacristy. Addressing her, he made this remark: Blessed Lady, if you do not spare the church from fire, I will hurl myself into the flames with you so that the two of us may be consumed with it. The flames in the sacristy suddenly died out. But when the Vicar tried to put the Lady's image back to its place, he could not budge it. It took then four men to carry her back to her throne.
Several plans to make a new site for her church never materialized. Somehow, in many varying ways, the Lady has expressed her refusal. The most remarkable story was that of the church which was built near the banks of the Baloquing river. According to the story, when the morning of the transfer came, some parishioners who were sent by the Vicar to make the place ready were stupefied with what they saw: nothing. Nothing was left of the structure except four pillars starkly standing amidst clear ground. No trace of the other parts. The parishioners reported what they saw and the Vicar decided to go there himself. Humbled by the truth of what the people told him, the Vicar knelt, asked forgiveness and vowed never to attempt to transfer the site of her shrine again.

Devotees


Hundreds flock everyday, lining up for hours just to get slight contact with the famed “miraculous robes”. Her mantle is visible and can be touched only through a small partition, small enough for hands to fit.
Devotees visit the Manaoag shrine throughout the year, but most often during April and May. People from all walks of life and almost all parts of the country flock to the shrine either to thank the Virgin for favors received through her intercession or to petition her once more for more favors or graces, or simply to honor her.
The Feast of the Lady of the Most Holy Rosary popularly known as Señora de Manaoag, is celebrated on the third Wednesday after Easter Sunday.

Regalia and Security.


The original icon of Our Lady of Manaoag is considered priceless, as is its bejewelled crown. There have been several attempts to burglarise the Manaoag Shrine due to the jewels sewn into the icon's dress and regalia.
Several golden crowns and haloes are deposited at the shrine's museum, which were donated by both Filipino and foreign devotees. An expensive collection of liturgical vestments that have been used by the image and the Dominican priests are also on display. A large array of lavishly elegantperfumes is likewise showcased; these were donated by devotees and pilgrims from around the world as ex votos or presents to the image.
The image of is fully secured with bulletproof glass panels enclosing it on three sides above the old high altar. The archdiocese, reckoning the Filipino custom of touching a venerated image or its clothing, constructed a staircase that rises to the second floor behind the altar. This touching gallery has pews, and people queue to kneel at the alcove behind the image's shrine. Supplicants place their hands through bars and touch the lower part of the image's mantle, and may deposit prayers in a small box on the kneeler's surface. After touching the mantle and praying, devotees pass through the religious souvenir shop on their way out.

Our Lady of Manaoag


Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag (FilipinoAng Aming Ina Ng ManaoagSpanishNuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario de Manaoag(Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag); is a 17th-century Roman Catholic ivory image of the Blessed Virgin Mary placed in the high altar of a shrine in ManaoagPangasinan Philippines. Under that invocation, Mary the mother of Jesus is locally venerated as the patroness of the town and is often referred to in both the Pangasinense and Ilocano dialect as Apo Baket (English: "Venerable Madam")[1].
The image is one of the most venerated Marian images in the country, and held by believers to possess healing powers as patroness of the sick, the helpless and the needy. The Manaoag Shrine is located approximately 200 kilometres north of Manila, and is administered by the Dominican Orderunder the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. Today, it is an active parish serving Manaoag and the surrounding towns.

Miracles!!


Our Lady of Manaoag has a long history of renowned miraculous and pious events, with some of the earliest are replicated in the murals within the church, These include the miraculous sparing of the town from a wildfire, the origin of the basilica and the parish, and the original apparition. Devotees visiting the shrine usually pray for good health or cure for diseases, among other intentions.
One story recounts how in the early days of Spanish colonisation, animist mountain tribes burnt down newly-converted Christian villages. The town of Manaoag was among the settlements set afire, and the initial thatch-roofed church was the locals' last refuge. The leader of the pillagers climbed over the compound's crude fence and shot flaming arrows into all parts of the church, but the building miraculously did not ignite.
The statue's miraculous powers became famous in the 1940s. During World War II, the Japanese dropped several bombs within the church's vicinity, with the structure itself suffering moderate damage. Four bombs were released above the church, with three landing on the plaza and the façade, destroying both. The last bomb fell in the church sanctuary, but it remained intact and did not explode.

Services of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary Manaoag.


The feast of Our Lady of Manaoag is on the third Wednesday after Easter. It also celebrates the universal feast day of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary every first Sunday of October.
Every year, thousands of pilgrims continue to flock to the Manaoag Shrine. The 4 a.m. procession and dawn rosary every first Saturday before the 5 a.m. Mass is well-attended by pilgrims mostly from Metro Manila and from Regions I (Ilocos), II (Cagayan Valley), and III (Central Luzon). There are staunch devotees coming from Metro Manila who remarkably hear Mass every week.
The blessing of religious articles and vehicles is performed at the back of the church grounds after every Mass. Holy water is dispensed free to those with receptacles ready. Masses for petitions and thanksgiving may be offered during the regular schedule, while Masses for the dead may be offered on any Friday.