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Our Lady of Peñafrancia

Many believe that the Holy Image its origin in a pineapple plant which since time immemorial grew abundantly in Francia, the place where the Sanctuary in her honor stands today. There is even a painting, purposely for commercial sale of the Holy Image, representing the Blessed Virgin as coming out of a pineapple fruit. The native word for pineapple is "piña". Peña de Francia sounds very much like Piña de Francia hence many believe that the Blessed Virgin must have really come from the pineapple fruit of France.

Peña de Francia, literally, is Rocky hill of France, where the Image of Our lady of Peñafrancia is believed to have been discovered by a hermit named Simon Vela.

The discovery of the Holy Image is a wonderful story of providence whose retelling will never fail to evoke a sense of wonderment and mystery in the hearts and minds of believers and cynics alike.

On September 4, 1401, in the city of Paris, capital of France, a child was born to pious and religious parents, Rolan and Barbara. He was christened Simon.

They were quite well off; their property was more than sufficient to maintain a family of four. Early in youth, however, Simon despised wealth although his parents could well afford his wishes. He was rather of a religious turn of mind and was wont to kneel before the altar of the household shrine to pray. He was no ordinary boy who, instead of taking part in boyish games and pranks, found delight in things spiritual. Nothing the religious bent of their child, the parents sent him to school at age of ten to study grammar and, alter, philosophy to prepare him for the priesthood. Not being bright, however, he was not able to finish his studies and was not ordained therefore to the priesthood. When he was old enough, his parents advised him to marry, but marriage offered no allurement to him as he made a vow to the Holy Virgin to devote his life to works of piety.

When his parents and his only sister died, Simon inherited all their property. To avoid trouble which he thought might ensue from his possession of such wealth, he sold his patrimony and donated the proceeds to the church, the poor and the destitute, and to charitable institutions. He then applied for a position as chamber boy in a convent of Franciscan church in Paris.

Simon frequented the church and would spend hours in prayer before the altar of the Virgin Mary. Many times, in his deep meditation, he would ask the Holy Virgin to inspire him what he might do to please her. Once, while he was absorbed in the spiritual contemplation of the beauty of the Holy Mother, he lost consciousness. His prayer then found its answer for he heard a clear voice that tried to rouse him from slumber: “Simon, wake up; be on the watch…. From now on your name will be Simon Vela. Go to Peña de Francia west of his country, and there you will find the shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

On the morning of the next day, Simon confessed what he had heard the night before to Father Ortuño, guardia of the convent. The wise father advised him not to divulge the secret to anyone for the priest feared that it might have been the voice of the temptation or the effervescence of a fevered mind. Apparently, Father Ortuño learned of Simon Vela’s losing consciousness, and may have thought that the voice and the message were but vapid figments of the imagination.

Several days after, Simon was praying as usual before the altar of the Holy Virgin, when he heard again the voice saying: “Simon, go to Peña de Francia and there you will find what you have been longing to see.” The next day he asked for the blessing of Father Ortuño and set out to search for the place called Peña de Francia.

For five (5) years Simon Vela traveled far and wide among caves, hills and mountains, in search of Peña de Francia but he could not find the place. He wanted to give up the search, and was in fact already on his way back to Paris, when one night he heard the same voice once more saying: “Simon, do not give up the search; do not give up what you have begun. Persevere and your labors will be recomposed.” This suddenly buoyed up his spirits and so he resumed his search the next day.

Simon went to the Church of Santiago de Galicia. And while he was passing the market place of Salamanca, he saw to men quarreling. One was seriously wounded and fell at Simon’s side. The offender was caught by the crowd who milled around them and he brazenly remarked: “Had I killed my enemy, I would have escaped to Peña de Francia where no one, not even the king, could find me.” Simon was overjoyed when he heard this for now he knew that such a place did actually exist.

Several hours afterwards he resumed his way to the church of San Martin. On his way he met a man selling charcoal. Simon asked the man where he came from a place called Peña de Francia. This was the second time that Simon heard the name of the place mentioned. He then begged the man to guide him to the place called Peña de Francia but for some reason the latter refused to do so.

Simon traced the road through which he thought the man has passed. He then reached a villa called San Martin de Castañar on May 14, 1434. He went to church and after the mass a man to kindly indicate where Peña de Francia was. The man took Simon Vela to a place some distance from the church and pointed to him a hill in the far distance saying that the hill was the Peña de Francia he was looking for. Simon was very grateful and thanked God for having found the man who showed him the place of his dream.

Simon then set out for the place indicated and, after a long weary journey, came to a steep rocky hill. By this time his supply of provision had already been depleted and he was beginning to feel the pangs of hunger. The climb over the hill had considerably weakened him but he lost no heart for he knew deep within him that God had not forsaken him to a fruitless and useless search. And indeed how right he was for on the road otherwise abandoned he found a packet containing a loaf of bread and piece of meat. This relieved him so much until night overtook him and he sought shelter in a cave. Inside he prayed for guidance and soon he was lost in deep slumber.

Early in the morning of the next day, Simon began the search for the shrine in every cave where he had slept the night before. He felt distressed and discouraged for his seemed as distant as it was when he started. He knelt and prayed for strange and courage. And soon he heard the same voice he had heard before sounding clearly through the cave: “Simon, be awake: do not sleep.”

Simon continued the search with more zeal in the morning of the next day. At a distance on a rocky hill, he saw a glaring and dazzling light filling the place with its brilliance. Trembling with joy, he approached it and there he found the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus in her arms sittings on a golden throne. He Knelt before her and prayed with all the fervor of his soul. Overflowing with ineffable joy he said: “Oh, Lady, the dream of my soul, the inspiration of men and women! My labors are now ended. Many years have I traveled far and wide to seek you and to drink in the beauty of your eyes! Do not forsake me: be my protection.”

In sympathy for Simon, the Lady answered: “Simon, rejoice! Your constancy will be rewarded. Your dream will be realized. Your labors are now ended. Take heed and keep in your heart what I wish you to do. Dig in this spot and take what you can see and place it on the summit of this rocky hill. Build on this hill a beautiful dwelling. You are to begin it and others will come to finish it.. This must come to pass as it has been the wish of my child.” Then the Lady suddenly disappeared and Simon was left standing alone and rooted in the spot with wonder and awe.

On the morning of May, 1434, on the spot where the apparition of the Holy Virgin disappeared, Simon began the work of digging and excavating. He, however, heard the same voice again saying: “Simon, do not attempt to undertake that big task alone. Undertake it in the presence and with the help of two, three, or more persons.” Evidently this was to avert any doubt or suspicion from people as to a veracity of the miracle and the credibility of Simon. So Simon went to San Martin de Castañar, a nearby town from the spot, and asked five men to help him. They were Antonio Sanchez, the parish scribe of the place

These men thought that they were digging for hidden treasure but they were informed that they were going to dig for the objects worthier than world goods their hearts could cherish. They dug and dug, clearly following directions from divine inspiration, and, finally, on May 19,1434, after removing a huge stone, they found imbedded among the rocks, the most coveted image of the Holy Virgin with the Child in her arms.

Right then and there, all these men received special graces from the Lady. Simon Vela’s wound in the wound in the head was instantly cured; Pascual Sanchez’ defect in the eye disappeared; Juan Fernandez was relieved of a stomach trouble that has been nagging him for ten years; Antonio Fernandez who deaf began to hear; and, finally, Benito Sanchez’ finger which was defective from birth, recovered its normal stage. The official document of these miracles and this discovery, duly signed by those present and the Notary Public of the place, is reserved in the archives of San Martin de Castañar to serve as eloquent, if mute, witness to the past, present, and future generations of the veracity of this wonder

Contrary to what its name seems to indicate and the claim of some writers, therefore, the Peñafrancia devotion is not of French origin. It started in the place where the holy image was discovered and that is on the slopes of Sierra de Francia, a mountain range situated between Spain’s two famous provinces: Salamanca and Caceres.

It is a noteworthy coincidence that while the primitive image was found near Caceres in Spain, its most venerated reproduction has come to stay in the Archdiocese of Caceres.Which brings us to the story equally touching and wonderful as the story of the original image found in Caceres, Spain of the Virgin of Peñafrancia venerated in the Archdiocese of Caceres in a shrine located in a place locally named Francia.

Way back in the seventeenth century, a Spanish family came to the Philippines and settled in the port of Cavite. They were from San Martin de Castañar. They had a son named Miguel de Cobarrubias.

Miguel grew up under the influence of the Dominican Fathers of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila where he was an intern student in that venerable institution. He studied grammar, philosophy, and theology in preparation for the priesthood. He had with him an image of Our Lady of Peña de Francia and he had been since youth an ardent devotee of this miraculous image.

While he was a student in the university, he was a victim of frequent illness. In some cases he suffered from serious diseases. He used to complain of unexplained pains which often paralyzed his normal movements.Fortunately for him. However, he had this holy image to whom he would have recourse in moments of great pain, anguish, and adversity. He recalled that by putting the image on the part of his body that ailed him most, he would recover from his illness.

This image was actually found on the cover of a book on the history of the Blessed Virgin of Peñafrancia and Miguel de Cobarrubias carried this book with him all around and even in his sleep. Sometimes relief from his illness would be delayed but Miguel, the fruitful devotee of the Lady, never lost heart for he believed that the Blessed Mother, ever solicitous and maternal, purposely delayed the cure to make him repent his sins better.

So many miracles were wrought upon the holy person of Miguel de Cabarrubias but he was always wont to exclaim: “all I can say is that I am the miracle of her miracles because I firmly believe that on many occasions, I owe my life to her.”

In gratitude for the many blessings he had received from the Virgin of Peñafrancia, Miguel de Cabarrubias vowed that, when he shall be in a financial position he would erect a stone church on the bank of the Pasig River in Manila in honor of the Blessed Virgin. He looked for a sculptor to make a replica of the image of Our Lady of Peña de Francia but it took him time before he was able to find one.

Meanwhile, after his studies in theologate, Bishop Andres Gonzales of then Diocese of Nueva of Caceres, ordered Miguel to proceed to Naga City to be ordained priest. He was later given a small parochial church, and six months afterwards, was made parish priest of the Cathedral Church and, subsequently, made the Provisor and Vicar-General of the bishopric of Nueva Caceres which, at that time, covered the entire Bicol Region in its ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

It is recalled that during his trip to Nueva Caceres, a very strong and furious typhoon developed that the was riding was almost on the brink of sinking. Everybody thought that would be their fateful end. Miguel, however, was confident that he was called to a further mission and so he invoked the help of his Patroness Virgin of Peñafrancia and, thanks to his prayer and devotion, the storm subsided and everybody reached the place safe and sound.

Many other miracles were experienced by Miguel de Cabarrubias through the intercession of the Virgin of Peñafrancia and all of these were documented in his letters of 1710, 1711, and 1717 which he sent to the Chaplain of Peñafrancia of San Martin de Castañar.

Having been given a ranking position in the diocese, Father Miguel knew that his stay in this place would be longer and he realized that it would render him incapable of fulfilling his vow in the place where he originally intended to build the stone church. He therefore asked permission from his superiors to build the promised church in Nueva Caceres. The permission was granted but the first difficulty was the location on which the church would be constructed. The solution to this problem proved to be an incident drawn by the hands of providence.

It is said that the cimmarones from the base of Mount Isarog came to see Father Miguel one day and begged him to build the church or ermita on a site which would be reached in less than thirty minutes from the poblacion. Accordingly the cimmarones who have been Christianized much earlier by the Francisca missionaries, Wanted a church where they could hear mass and receive the sacraments. This made Father Miguel very happy because it opened the way to the fulfillment of his vow.

Father Miguel then promptly had a chapel made of straw and other local materials erected in the site indicated by the cimmarones. This must have been around 1710. In addition, Father Miguel asked a local sculptor to carve a statue of the Virgin Mary patterned after the picture of Our Lady of Peñafrancia who has been very instrumental in the many miracles wrought upon the person of the Father Miguel. The image was made from a santol tree.

As a practice in those times, to serve as paint and wood preservative, the blood was used to color the statue. So a dog was caught, its feet body of the dog was afterwards thrown into the river nearby. Father Miguel, at this instant, remarked: “The Virgin will work her first miracle in Caceres. She will bring back to life that innocent animal that gave blood for her.” Upon hearing his words, those who ere around laughed sarcastically. To their surprise, however, the dog began to swim and upon reaching the bank fast to the house of his master. This miracle was also witnessed by some Dominican Fathers who were then vacationing as guests of Bishop Gonzales.

The news of this miracle spread like a prairie fire. It went from mouth to mouth and from town to town. People from all places and all walks of life, suffering from various ailments, mishaps, pains ad other misfortunes both spiritual and physical, began imploring her powerful intercession. And Our Lady of Peña de Francia did not disappoint them but only because they had put so much faith on her. In no time she was proclaimed as the foremost and miraculous Patroness of Bicolandia.

The official coronation of Our lady of Peñafrancia our Patroness of Bicolandia took place on September 2, 1924, offiaciated by the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Guillermo ______ their Apostolic to the Delegate. The image therefore of Our lady of Peñafrancia enshrined in her sanctuary in Calle Balatas is about 275 years old. It is an antique statue that has even become the object of desire for many an antique collector. On the morning of August 15, 1981, this miraculous image was stolen from her shrine at the Peñafrancia Church. The entire region was shocked by this news and every devotee of Our Ina could not believe that such a dastardly and sacrilegious act could be perpetuated. Immediately a network for the massive search of the image was military and civilians alike. In the course of following leads to the theft, a policeman was killed and a police lieutenant was wounded when the jeepney they were riding in were ambused by heavily armed men somewhere in Bolo Sur, Sipocot, Camarines Sur.

It seemed that the search would be futile altogether and people almost resigned to the sorry fate of having lost a most beloved image. Most of the leads proved a haux. Meanwhile the approaching feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia necessitated an image to be borne during the translation and the colorful fluvial procession. One was made at the instant of church authorities and another image was donated by the First Lady.

A little over a year later, the region was shocked, with equal unbelief, with the news that the image has been returned to Rt. Rev. Msgr. Florencio Yllana, P.A.,Liaison Officer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and former Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia here in Naga City. On September 8, 1982, Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, the motorcade from Manila bearing the Image arrived in Naga City at the height of typhoon Ruping. The inclement weather did not deter thousands of devotees who braved the raging winds and the devastating floods to welcome the image of Our beloved Ina. At 10:00 in the evening of the same day, the image was safely enshrined at the Metropolitan Cathedral where a pontifical concelebrated mass offered in thanksgiving for the return and safe arrival of the image.

The image is now enshrined at the Basilica Minore at Calle Balatas in the City of Naga. She has returned to her flock and her people have gratefully built her a home worthy of her dignity, honor, and maternal position.

BASILICA MINORE DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DE PEÑA DE FRANCIA

The story of a church is always a story of divine providence for as the Psalmist has said: “If the Lord does not build a house, then in vain do the builders labor.” (Ps.127.1) A church, therefore, in addition to the purpose for which it was built which is invariably associated with thanksgiving, is in its very self a monument of gratitude. Gratitude to God who has deemed it worthy to bless the worth of human hand by bringing it to completion. Gratitude also for the people through whose kindness and generosity that church has become a reality.

A church is also a great work of faith and its story therefore is also a story of faith. The reality that is a church stands as an exultation of the triump of faith over all the obstacles that would have otherwise shattered the realization of such project. A church is a lesson in faith to show how people can rise above their difficulties to attempt at what seems impossible and to prove that it id not.

The story behind the Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia is all these and more. For the Basilica is a house of God where people come to worship – to fulfill those duties of reverence and honor which belong to God in the highest order - to adore Him, because He is our Creator and Lord; to thank Him for His gifts, for life, food, home, country, and all there is; and finally, to come to Him and to ask Him all our needs. How beautiful indeed it is think of the many people who will come to the Basilica to pray and listen to the Word of God, to seek comfort after a weary day, to find peace for a troubled heart, or to feel the love of a caring God. Here the people will come to receive blessings from the almighty Father. And here the people will come together as one community praying for one another, confirming one another the love that Jesus Christ Himself has shown.

There is a dimension to the story of our Basilica which echoes fondly the words of the Psalmist: (Ps.132)

“Lord, do not forget David and all

the hardships he endured.”

Remember, Lord, what he promised.

The vow he made to you –

The mighty God of Jacob:

I will not go home nor go to bed;

I will not rest or sleep,

Until I provide a place for the Lord,

A home for the mighty God of Jacob!”

the history of our Basilica Minore is the history of the fulfillment of a vow which cannot be dissociated from the history of our devotion to the Virgin. For the material edifice that rises in Calle Balatas is but the external expression of the internal devotion that lurks in the heart of the people of an entire region.

As a matter of fact, even the original Shrine to the Virgin of Peña de Francia in Spain, is the fruit of zealous devotion to the Blessed Mother by a holy man named Simon Vela. Our Lady who appeared to him asked that a beautiful dwelling be built in her honor as it is the wish of the Child Jesus. In fulfillment of this behest, Simon Vela built a small chapel for the shrine. He thought, however, that sooner or later a bigger church would be needed for the accommodation of devout pilgrims. The cornerstone was laid but funds were needed to bring the work to completion. King John 11 of Spain generously furnished funds the church., and Pope Martin V gave permission to the Dominican Fathers to build a convent, with them as the guardians of the sacred shrine.

Today that sanctuary of the miraculous image and the Dominican Convent still stand on the slopes of Sierra de Francia in Spain. Our own shrine possesses a somewhat parallel story. Miguel de Cobarubbias, a holy priest of then Diocese of Nueva Caceres, and a fervent devotee of the Blessed Mother, made a vow when he was a young man. He was sickly during his student days at the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas in Manila. Because of his devotion to the Virgin of Peñafrancia, however, he was always relieved of whatever ailment he had through the maternal intercession of the Blessed Mother. Accordingly, by placing the pictures of Peñafrancia over the part that pained him, he was relieved. In gratitude therefore for all these blessings he vowed that, at anytime he would have enough money, he will erect a stone on the banks of the Pasig River in honor of the Blessed Virgin.

This did not materialize, however, as most of his life as a priest, he spent in Nueva Caceres upon the request of Bishop Andes Gonzales. Seeing that this arrangement practically rendered impossible the fulfillment, in the original place he intended, of the vow he made, Father Miguel then decided to build the church instead in Nueva Caceres. The permission was granted but there was the immediate problem of the location for the church.

By fluke of divine providence, a group of cimmarones living around the base of Mount Isarog, came to see Father Miguel one day to beg him to build a church where they could hear mass and receive the sacraments daily. The place was specified by the cimmarones to be less than thirty minutes away from the poblacion. This is the site where the original shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, now the Parish of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, stands today.

The first chapel was made of Cogon grass and other local materials. It was a simple structure but by no means lowly. Perhaps nobody at that time must dreamt, not even Father Miguel, that such a chapel built for the cimmarones, would someday be the pet rendezvous of thousands and thousands of souls of the Bicol Region and other places. Perhaps also it was part of some grand and mysterious design that a humble beginning should usher in magnificent outcome. When the ermita, as a chapel was locally called, was finished, a procession of the Holy Image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia was made about the place. This is the beginning of an annual tradition that has existed up to the present time. The festivities of the Peñafrancia in September are in commemoration of the sanctification of the image and thanksgiving for the completion of the chapel over two and a half centuries ago. To date these festivities have continued and remain the only regional fiesta in the entire country.

A few months later, Father Miguel went to visit Manila where he lost the sight of his left eye. He consulted the doctors of the city with no positive effect. He then promised to come back to Naga to construct a stone church and to make the devotion to the Blessed Virgin more widely known among the Bicol folks. In an instant he recovered his eyesight so he came back here.

On his return the stone church was begun. Men and women worked voluntarily. As the progress of the work continued, Father Miguel fell seriously ill again and many thought that it was his end. He then promised to live permanently in the place where he was constructing the stone church and after five months of stay he recovered.

Sad to say, Father Miguel did not live long enough to see the completion of the stone church he dreamt for his beloved Mother and Patroness. Lack of funds prohibited the early completion of the church but true to his promise, Father Miguel remained in Nueva Caceres for some time and acted as Provisor and Vicar General of the Diocese under Bishop Domingo de Valencia. In 1719, Bishop Valencia died and he was succeeded by Bishop Felipe de Molina in 1723. Sometime before this, Father Miguel went to Manila and there he was believed to have died.

There are some interesting stories related to the construction of the stone church initiated by Father Miguel to the Dominican Convent of Peña de Francia in Salamanca, Spain. Together with this letter brought there by Fray Domingo de Sena, O.P., in 1712 was a golden necklace as gift of Father Miguel to the convent.

According to the accounts of Fray Sena, in the construction of the new church for the Peñafrancia, many men and women contributed their labor without remuneration. One day, nineteen women were spinning the fibers of a thick piece of the cortex of the coconut trunk. Nearby a group of men who were doing the same thing saw that the nineteen women were being helped by many other women dressed in white one whom dressed in white one of whom they recognized. She may have been our Lady.

On another occasion, the labor overseer of foreman, saw many unknown persons helping the laborers who were working in the lime-kiln with materials for the walls of the church. This man also saw the women who had joined the nineteen who were spinning, and he confirmed that the number of the former greatly exceeded the number of female residents of the place where the church was constructed.

The church of stone and mortar which remains extant until now was built by Bishop Isidro Arevalo around the year 1750. This is corroborated by Bishop Francisco Gainza by the fact that the coat-of –arms of Bishop Arevalo is engraved in theupper part of the western side of the door of the main body of the church. For many years this church located at Peñafrancia Avenue it was the only center of the intense devotion of the Bicol People to the Blessed Mother. Until another shrine became necessary for the growing number of people who flock to show devotion to her. Until a Basilica was built as an offering of the grateful people to a beloved Mother.

Old people say that the original façade of this stone church was donated by the Chinese Community of Naga City. The Chinese were, and have always been, ardent devotees of the Virgin. As a consequence the façade of this stone church was replete with Chinese art, with pots, jars, and other Chinese designs engraved on it. In addition to this they have always shouldered the expenses of the “pagoda used for fluvial processions and their children were usually baptized in the shrine.

Between 876 and 1877, Monsignor Francisco Gainza, Venerable Bishop of Nueva Caceres, improved and enlarged the stone church built of Bishop Arevalo. He made the shrine five meters longers on the front and constructed the present façade we see today which is more simple and imposing.

Aside from being the home of Our Ina, the shrine also served as a home for two religious congregations that have very strong Marian character. On October 10, 1949, five Carmelite sisters began a Monastery in Naga City in the convent adjacent to the shrine. This was to be the Carmelite Monastery for six years where most of the sisters now in the Concepcion Monastery spent their postulant and novices years. On February 2, 1982, the Daughters of Mary of the Church, transferred to the same convent formerly occupied by the Carmelite Sisters, and since then it has become their Mother House and Formation Center.

The idea to built a Basilica was conceived by the First Archbishop of Caceres, the beloved Pedro P. Santos, of happy memory. Archbishop Santos was a builder and he was revered for his holiness. Seeing the expanding circle of the devotees and pilgrims, he decided to gift Our Lady of Peñafrancia with a Basilica. This was in the year 1960. Archbishop Santos was installed as Archbishop of Caceres on September 16, 1938.

It should be mentioned here that previous to the plan to build another edifice, a Basilica, there was already in 1949 a move by Archbishop Santos to request the Sacred Congregation of Rites to grant the title of Basilica to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. Apparently this was not granted as the Sacred Congregation in a letter dated July 1, 1949 and signed by Archbishop Marinci, Secretary of the Congregation, found the application letter lacking in certain details necessary for the proper examination of the petition. The letter requested Archbishop Santos to furnish the Sacred Congregation – “(1.) de temple antiquitate, amplitude et artes decore; (2.) de eius consecrationner; (3.) de clero eidem addicto; (4.) necessaries ad oeconomicas impensas sustinendas; et (5.) de reliquiis, saltem insignibus, quibus ecclesia est praedita “ – (1.) the antiquity of the temple, amplitude, and aristic designs; (2.) its consecration; (3.) the clergy connected to it; (4.) the necessary means to support it; and (5.) the relics, or insignias, by which the church is adorned.

It is not known whether Archbishop Santos subsequently pursued this idea but it is clear to us that his request to have the old shrine granted the title of Basilica did not materialize.

And so we come to the year 1960 when Archbishop Santos was again toying with the idea of a Basilica for Our lady of Peñafrancia. This time many other people shared the dream with the good Archbishop. The Association of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, approved to be organized by Bishop Jorge Imperial Barlin by vrue of a degree he issued on September 18, 1908, and in charge of spreading the devotion and upkeep of the shrine, expressed the same sentiments and they proposed not only a title for the old shrine but, as a matter of fact, a new edifice, a new Basilica of Our Lady of Peñafrancia . Archbishop Santos then, with the help of his co-adjutor bishop who later succeede him as Archbishop of Caceres, Archbishop of Caceres, Archbishop Emeritus Teopisto Alberto, started to scout for the place for the new church and home for the Ina. He was able to secure a donation of about three hectares from Mr.& Mrs. Macario Mariano at Barrio Balatas across the Naga River from the old Peñafrancia church.

It was not so easy to begin, however, for there were many preparation necessary aside from the financial considerations entailed in such a huge project. It was no ordinary church they were building. It was to be a Basilica and this meant something more.

The Sacred Congregation of Rites in its degree, “Domus Dei.” Of June 6 1968, prescribed certain conditions relative to the granting of the title Minor Basilica. This is to show how much the church is concerned with the house of God in its adornment and beauty. Thus, in accord with the conditions of time, place, and the various people, the church has continually issued norms needed to ensure respect for places of worship and to enhance their dignity.

The conferment of the title of Minor Basilica – intended to link the churches of this more closely to the Chair of Peter and make them centers of special liturgical and pastoral ministry – is a favor bestowed by Popes for the last two centuries on the more celebrated churches. It is also a title of recognition for the church has seen how much Christian faith and devotion have contributed to making the churches built in the course of centuries beautiful and worthy.

Due to all these, the steps that had to be taken to realize the dream of a Basilica, had to be cautious. For one of the main conditions in order that the church may be worthy of the title is that it should be notable in size and beauty and its design must conform to liturgical laws. The other conditions were already satisfied like that it must enjoy a certain prestige in the diocese because it houses a celebrated image which receives a special veneration in the place and that church should serve a central source of pastoral and religious life.

At this point in time there were varied reactions to the idea of building anew edifice for the Blessed Mother. Some were out rightly challenged by the idea and they wanted to immediately get the balls rolling so the fund raising campaign could begin. Others did not buy the idea so easily and were in fact a bit opposed to it. They cited the added cost it would entail, the tradition of the people to congregate in the old shrine, and proposed as an alternative the full scale improvement and renovation of the old shrine which the devotion of the Bicolano to the Peñafrancia has gravitated for centuries. And so the project was not spared of the difficulties that usually accompany the beginning of the great undertaking.

In 1965, Archbishop Santos died, and he was succeeded by Archbishop Teopisto Alberto. This somehow affected the momentum of the project. Also, the emphasis of the church at this time on social action and the material development of depressed areas. It was only after Martial Law when the idea of the Basilica was again resuscitated through the initiative of Archbishop Alberto and the cooperation of the Association of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. Several meetings of the association were called by its president, the late Dame Damiana Ravaerna, and presided by the vice-president Engr. Pedro Serranzana. The rector of the shrine then was Bishop Concordio Sarte fresh from his studies abroad. Discussions about funding and committees assigned to different areas in Naga City were organized and it was decided to increase its membership for purpose of more manpower in funding and soliciting patrons for the Basilica.

As in 1960 so was it in 1976 that opposition to the construction was expressed outside as well as inside the association and other sectors of the community. Some claimed that the location is too far and inaccessible; others that the financing too hard and untimely due to the economic crisis; and still others that the old shrine could be just enlarged at least cost and should be preserved as traditionally and historically significant.

Still the plan went through however. Archbishop Alberto succinctly put all doubts and trepidation when he said during the September Peñafrancia Festival in 1976: “In our pilgrimage of faith during these festivities in Mary’s honor, we remember that we honor no less than a mother. We build a Basilica to give her a larger home.” Echoing the same sentiments but speaking in a more poetic tone, the late Bishop Pacis of Legaspi said: “The Basilica is a collective dream of our people in love with their patroness..”

And so on April 18, 1976, at 4:00 in the afternoon, the cornerstone of the present Basilica was laid and blessed. Sponsors headed by His Eminence, Jaime Cardinal Sin, and His Grace Most Rev. Teopisto Alberto, the clergy, and lay sponsors from Naga, all over the Bicol region, and from the Manila, and other parts of the Philippines offered the funding for the first phase of the construction. A mass was celebrated at the Peñafrancia Kiosk and this was followed by a procession to the Basilica site. Archbishop Alberto, together with other Bishop concelebrants – Bishops Arcilla of Soesogon, Iligan of Masbate, Velasco of the Chinese in the Philippines, and Sarte then Auxilliary Bishop of Caceres and Rector of the Peñafrancia Shrine – one afeter another, sprinkled the foundation with holy water and prayed over it while the congregation at the background intoned vibrantly the melodious “Resuene Vibrante,” Hymn to the Patroness of Bicol.

After the laying of the cornerstone, there was a quiet interval although funds continued to trick in from the solicitations of the members of the association and voluntary contributions from the community and the parishes. Mention should be made of Rt. Rev. Msgr. Antonio Reganit, D.P., a retired priest of Caceres who has taken to the Shrine as his home. Day in and day out he sat at the door of the old shrine asking for donations to the basilica and his contribution to the project on the a daily basis should be to the tune of thousands of pesos. Such a remarkable offering of an old priest to a beloved patroness. Monsignor Reganit has continued sitting in the same place of the old shrine where he had sat for the last ten years until today.

Piles of gravel, sand, iron bars and thousands of bags of cement piled up at the basilica site. A fence was built around the compound in 1978. Meanwhile, Bishop Sarte, was transferred to the Diocese of Sorsogon.

Such was the quite sorry situation of the project when in 1978 the Rev. Fr. Sofio G. Balce, S.T.D., a thirty seven year old priest, just back from Rome for his doctoral studies, was assigned as Rector of the Shrine and Pastor of the Peñafrancia Parish. Immediately he launched the Operation Peñafrancia Basilica. The machinery for the collection of funds was systemized and revitalized.

The first fund raising activity was the campaign for pledges of one thousand pesos each per donor and the solicitation of voluntary contributions. In addition to this the Peñafrancia Mayflower Festival was conceived and this proved to be another very vital source of funds for the construction of the Basilica. In the summer of 1980, the first phase of the Basilica was blessed.

From then on was no turning back. Construction went on an almost fevered pitch. Funds kept coming as though they were poured from some recibarios in heaven. People saw and identified themselves with the great dream and offering for the Ina. Phase 11 was finished and followed Phase 111 until Phase 1V when the entire basilica was finally completed in 1982 with the help of the Marcos Foundation.

Meanwhile on July 12, 1980, His excellency, Most Rev. Sofio G. Balce,D.D. was installed Auxiliary Bishop of Caceres. This signal honor was partly due him in recognition for his outstanding efforts in the construction of the Basilica which, at that time, truly become in the words of the late Bishop Pacis: “The collective dream of our people in love with their patroness.”

On May 22, 1982, the solemn Inauguration and Dedication of the Peñafrancia Basilica was held with His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila, as officiating prelate, and in attendance the late Julio Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop of Cebu.

There was definitely something lacking in the Basilica. Although people have taken to calling it Basilica, nevertheless, such appellation was arbitrary and unofficial. A church to be called a Basilica should be so declared by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship. There were some constraints why the application for the title were not immediately undertaken. And this last hinged on certain condition imposed by the Sacred Congregation relative to the granting of the title of Minor Basilica.

The Church should serve as a central source of the pastoral and religious life. The liturgy and above all the celebration of the eucharist must be carried out to perfection as an example for another churches in the observance of the liturgical laws in the faithful’s active participants. There is to be a choir and a director of music to ensure the faithful’s participation. Priests are to be assigned to the church in sufficient numbers and confessors are to be available at set times to meet the needs of penitents. Preaching is to be frequent, not just limited on Sundays, or holydays of obligation. In the Basilica special courses and programs, series of conferences, and other such programs are to be conducted to further the religious formation of he faithful. The façade should carry the coat-of-arms of the Holy Father or the Apostolic Sec.

These are the main reasons why for a time there was no move to request for the title of Basilica Minor to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. A rectory had to be built and a purpose complex also in order to provide accommodations for priests to take care of the needs of the pilgrims and devotees who go to the Basilica. Also rooms and halls are necessary for continuing formation of the faithful. Realizing this effort was spared by Archbishop Alberto and Bishop Balce to start the construction of a complex at the back of the Basilica. Until now, however, it is still in the process of completion. What transpired between the laying of the cornerstone of the complex and the present state of affairs is now a part of cherished memory and history.

On January 18, 1984, a new Archbishop was installed in Caceres, to succeed Archbishop Alberto who resigned due to old age, and after a glorious reign of some 18 years, in October 1980. The new Archbishop. Most Rev. Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P.,D.D.,was very pleased with the Basilica and the complex slowly rising behind it. There was some uneasiness inside him, however, and that was due to the fact that we have been calling our shrine a Basilica without proper blessing and approval from the Sacred Congregation. He was aware of the intensity of the devotion of the people to the blessed Mother. He knew fully well the beautiful and miraculous history of the antique image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia enshrined in the Basilica. He was convinced that such devotion should be duly recognized by granting officially the title of Minor Basilica to the magnificient edifice that the people have built as a manifestation of their fervent devotion.

In no time, Archbishop Legaspi created an Ad Hoc Committee to work on the petition for the granting of the title of Basilica. The committee was composed of the late Rev. Fr.William Rejante, Rev. Fr. Noriel Priela. Anf Rev. FR. Luis Chito Valenciano. The petiion was finished in the middle of 1984 and was personally brought to Rome by Bishop Sofio Balce.

The final draft of the petition was written in impeccable Latin by thelate Father Rejante. Bishop Balce narrates how much the Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, Augustinus Cardinal Mayer, was impressed by the petition being written in the official language of the Church.

On May 22, 1985, Archbishop Legaspi received the official communication from the Monsignor Tommaso Caputo, charge de Affairs a.i. of the Apostolic Nunciature in the Philippines, transmitting the decree from the Sacred Congregation for the Divine Worship concerning the concession of the title of Minor Basilica to the “Church of Nuestra Señora de Peña de Francia in the Locality of Balatas, in the City of Naga, Republic of the Philippines.” The decree was dated May 2, 1985 and signed by Augustinus Cardinal Mayer, Pro-Prefect of the Congregation, and Archbishop Verilius Noe, Secretary of the Congregation.

At last we now have a Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Francia.

The dream of the holy men named Father Miguel de Carrubias has finally attained its highest fulfillment. The once cogon chapel or ermita is now a magnificent Basilica. We all have reasons to rejoice for above all this means a recognition of our outstanding devotion and love as a people for the Blessed Mother. This title above all is a signal honor for all of us who, in his heart, cherishes ardent love for Our Ina.

With the granting of the title of Basilica Minore, we shall gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions by visiting the Basilica on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul Apostles, on the feast of the titular Our Lady of Peñafrancia, on the feast of the Dedication of the Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, and on a day chosen by us at will during the year.

With this concession we become the title Basilica Minore in the country – the four others being the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, the Basilica of the Santo Niño in Cebu, and, the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad in Agoo.

We shall come together as one people on the Solemn Elevation of the Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Peña de Francia and we shall invoke this prayer of the Psalmist:

“Come to this Temple, Lord,

with the Covenant Box –

symbol of your power . . .

And stay here forever!!!