By MA. GLAIZA LEE
The fluvial parade along Pansipit River.(Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA)
MANILA, Philippines — For fisherman Juan Maningkad, that fateful day in 1603 was just another opportunity to cast his net into the Pansipit River in Taal, Batangas and catch whatever he could for his family’s consumption. Little did he imagine that his innocent daily routine of fishing early in the morning would change not only his life, but also the whole town’s.
As he began to pull his net out of the river, Juan felt it was a little heavier than usual. He thought to himself that perhaps it was his lucky day because he had enough catch which he could sell and make some money for the family.
When the net reached the surface, he was astounded when he saw a 12-inch tall image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was so beautiful, with a heavenly halo emanating from the very heart of the image. Although it was soaked in the water, the image retained a heavenly luster, with its face clean and devoid of any dirt.
No one knew how the image got into the river. Legend has it that the image was thrown into the ocean by one of the Spaniards to pacify a raging storm that caught them while on an expedition. Some said it was perhaps dropped by someone exploring the river; while others believed that the image came from China, brought by the Chinese merchants trading on Philippine shores.
Quite a pious man, Juan humbly fell down on his knees, prayed to God and venerated the image. Then, he brought the image home.
Like wildfire, the news of the image’s discovery spread throughout the whole village and people came to pay homage to it. And soon enough, the town authorities and the Vicar who represented the King of Spain learned about it and went to Juan’s house to verify the story.
When the story was confirmed to be true, the town officials thought that it was better to transfer the image to a safe place near the Taal church. They decided to move it to the house of Doña Maria Espiritu, the widow of the town’s judge, who ordered the creation of a special urn where the image could be placed for safekeeping.
But then, strange things began to happen.
For the next consecutive nights, Doña Maria would find that the urn’s lid had been removed and the image wasn’t there. But in the morning, after the sun had risen, she would find the missing image inside the urn again.
When she first noticed this strange incident, Doña Maria would order all her servants to look for the missing image. But alas, even if they had searched every nook and cranny of the house, even as a far as the garden, they couldn’t find the image. And when they were finally too exhausted and had already given up, Doña Maria would find it back in the urn as the dawn was breaking on the horizon.
Worried and perhaps a little disturbed, Doña Maria reported the matter to the parish priest who decided to investigate the mysterious incident. He asked some volunteers to keep vigil beside the urn. The volunteers kept their eyes glued to the urn, fighting to stop their eyes from blinking, so as to not miss anything.
When the clock struck midnight, the volunteers couldn’t believe their eyes – the urn opened by itself and out came the beautiful image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They were too astounded that they couldn’t move their feet even if they wanted to follow the image. As dawn arrived, they saw the image returning to the urn.
The people reported the incident to the priest, and he ordered the villagers to follow the image next time it left. And that was exactly what they did.
Holding lighted candles, the villagers followed the image. It led them to Caysasay, the town where the fisherman originally found the image. The town was named after the kingfisher, which the locals called casay-casay. But the Spaniards mispronounced it as caysasay; hence, the name of the town.
The priest decided to bring the image to the church for safekeeping. But the same incident happened. And soon, the image completely disappeared. No matter how far and extensively they searched, they couldn’t find the image anymore. It seemed like it had disappeared forever.
Several years later, in 1611, while Catalina Talayn and her companion were gathering firewood and fetching water near the place where Juan Maningkad found the image, they noticed a bright reflection amidst the shadows of some trees’ branches. The two women went near it. Catalina saw a small object, radiating astounding brilliance from a hollow in the rocky part of the town. Bewildered, she rushed to her companion, and they both fled in fear to the town of Taal.
Based on the study of historian Jose M. Cruz, S.J., the church officials later interrogated Catalina and her companion, but the girls told them that they could not clearly identify what Catalina really saw.
Later that year, on the same spot where Catalina saw the brilliant object, Maria Bagohin and Maria Talain saw the same apparition. They saw a blurred reflection in the spring where the townsfolk fetched water. As they got nearer and nearer, the reflection became clearer. It was that of the image which had been lost several years ago. When they looked up, the two saw the image on the branch of a tall sampaguita bush.
Two candles were illuminating it, like a spotlight on a stage, while the kingfishers seemed like guards standing over the image. The two women hurried back to town and reported it to the parish priest, who concluded that the Blessed Virgin Mary really wanted to stay in Caysasay.
So, they decided to build a church on the very sport where the image was originally found. The image later became known as the Our Lady of Caysasay.
But the mysteries and miracles didn’t stop there. When the people learned about the story of the image of the Lady, they would flock to the hill. Juana Tangui, a native servant girl of one of the wealthiest and prominent people in that town, heard about the news and decided to see for herself.
The native servant was suffering from a burning sensation in her eyes. She had already used several remedies she could think of, but still she was not cured. For the longest time, her ailment had been causing her discomfort and pain.
Armed with her strong faith, Juana, accompanied by her master’s daughter, went to the hill and bathed in the stream which people believed to be miraculous and could heal any ailment.
While bathing, Juana noticed a shadow by her side and felt as if someone was holding and turning her around. When she turned, Juana saw a brilliant light, but she dared not go to investigate. Later when she told the villagers what she saw, they urged her to visit the area again and verify the vision.
Following their advice, Juana and her master’s daughter went to the area. She left the little girl in a certain place and moved forward. There, she saw the image of the Lady, “almost two palm measurements in height, dressed in white, with a crown on her head and a cross on her forehead.” (Reported by Fr. Pedro Galende, O.S.A, in his book “Angels in Stone: Augustinian Churches in the Philippines.”)
When Juana moved closer, the Lady spoke to her, thanking her for remembering and ordering her to wear the belt of the Confradia on her next visit. She didn’t tell anyone about it, until she met Fr. Juan Bautista Montoya of the Taal Convent who immediately gave her the belt. Juana immediately returned to the place, knelt before the Virgin Mary and talked to her.
She asked the Lady how she could prove to the people that the Lady had really spoken to her. The Lady told her that the rosaries that Juana brought with her would be the proof and the Blessed Mary proceeded to touch the religious items. When Juana distributed the rosaries, the people could distinguish a fragrance so perfect and extraordinary emanating from them.
This was believed to be the first recorded Marian apparition in the country. In 1954, the Lady was canonically crowned and given the title “Queen of the Archdiocese of Lipa.”
The town of Taal celebrates the feast of the Lady every year during the month of December. The feast would begin with a nine-day novena that would usually end on December 7. The next day, December 8, a mass would be held in the Our Lady of Caysasay Church in Barrio Labac, after which the image would be paraded through the barrios of Labac, Tatlong Maria and Seiran.
When the image arrives at the Pansipit River area, it would be transferred to a float, to be carried by the devotees on the river. Along the river banks, people would gather to witness the fluvial parade.
When the parade reaches Nagpuloc, the image would be again transferred to a carosa and the parade would continue towards the Basilica of Taal. Devotees would often follow the carosa, while praying the rosary. The procession ends in the basilica, with a luwa or declamation in honor of the Virgin Mary
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