By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff reporter
BADOC, Ilocos Norte—Residents
here sang and danced in joy as they chanted, “Viva La Virgen Milagrosa”
following the crowning of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary carrying infant
Jesus in her arms.
Pope Francis mandated the
crowning.
More than a liturgical
ritual, the people of Ilocos Norte, mostly composed of Catholics acknowledged
the significance of the pontifical coronation as a show of love and devotion to
Mary, revered as “queen of heaven and earth, a protector and inspiration” to
mankind.
For church historian like
Father Danilo Laeda, who is also a native of Badoc, he said Ilocos Norte’s devotion
to the miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin Mary began in the 1980s. Catholics
believed she chose her enshrinement at the St. John the Baptist Parish here.
Since then, several accounts
of miraculous healing started and the people of Badoc and Ilocos Norte exalted
for joy for the ultimate show of unity among government officials,
ecclesiastical dignitaries, and people from the different parishes and
provinces of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur to witness the May 31, 2018 pontifical
coronation.
According to Mr. Laeda, the
solemn coronation of the image of the Blessed Mother in 1980 and in 2018, or 37
years later, shows that the church recognizes the image as a center of
devotion.
“Both coronations in 1980 and
2018 are canonical, the first one of the Diocese of Laoag and the Metropolitan
See of Nueva Segovia with the presence of the late Archbishop Juan Sison and
our very own Bishop Edmundo Abaya. The second or the 2018 is the ultimate with
no less than the Holy See through Cardinal Robert Sara, the Prefect of the
Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the name
of the Holy Father Pope Francis giving the permission,” Mr. Laeda explained.
On May 31, 2018, Archbishops
Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Orlando Cardinal Quevedo led priests and
thousands of parishioners in a mass held at the St. John the Baptist Church.
On the same day at 9:00 am in
Rome, Father Ericson Josue, a native of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte who is currently
on a study mission in Rome, Italy also presided a thanksgiving mass at the
Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the Mother of all Marian Churches in
the world.
In his homily, Cardinal
Quevedo, who is a native of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte enjoined the God’s people of
Ilocos Norte to emulate in words and in deeds the example of La Virgen
Milagrosa.
“Hers is an example of a
God-fearing maiden of Israel. An example of servanthood, the lowly maiden, of
humility, of obedience to God’s will, of total love over son Jesus. In other
words, she is the prime example for us —of a genuine and faithful follower of
the Lord and a true disciple of her son,” Mr. Quevedo said.
He added these traits are
badly needed and deeply sought in this country today as criminality,
extrajudicial killings, illegal drugs, poverty and culture of impunity among
others continue to exist.
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