The persistence of the devotion to La Naval de Manila

ON a beautiful day in 1907, a spectacular religious celebration happened in old Intramuros. Barely nine years after the Philippine revolution, the bitter adversaries — Filipinos, Spaniards, and Americans — discarded the animosity that had consumed them and became one praying community as they paid homage to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On that day, the image of Mary as Our Lady of the Rosary (now popularly known as La Naval de Manila) was canonically crowned. This was the same image borne on the shoulders of the combined Filipino-Spanish forces in 1646, when they walked barefoot in procession to thank God for a battle fought and won.

Historical records show that the Filipino and Spanish soldiers, aboard rickety warships, armed with inferior firepower, successfully repulsed several attempts of a far superior Dutch fleet that had wanted to invade the country. Had the Dutch won, the country would have become a Protestant nation.

In 1662, the Archdiocese of Manila declared that those naval victories were achieved, not only because of the courage and ingenuity of the FilipinoSpanish forces, but because of their faith in God and in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Every year hence, we devotees of the La Naval de Manila re-enact the procession which began in 1646. In time, the image of Our Lady of the Rosary has ceased to be a mere statue and a reminder of those naval victories. For us, devotees, praying the Rosary and venerating the image of La Naval de Manila has evolved into a symbol of the innate goodness of the Filipino character, the redeeming aspects of our culture, and the compelling power of faith.

This was what the late Benigno Aquino Jr. realized when he was kept in solitary confinement in Fort Bonifacio on charges of treason and subversion. He wrote:

“In that prison where my sole companion was darkness and grief, I groped for anything which can relieve me of my depression. I discovered that I had the Rosary in my pocket. In my desperation, I started to pray the sorrowful mysteries. Suddenly, Jesus seemed so near; I could almost touch him. In the mysteries of the Rosary, I saw Jesus as a God-man who preached nothing but love but was rewarded with suffering and death by the very same people whom he loved.”

In 1983, minutes before he was assassinated, he was clutching the Rosary. No doubt, this gave him the courage to give up his life for us Filipinos whom he described as “worth dying for.”

This afternoon, at 5 o’clock, rain or shine, we will once again bear the image of La Naval de Manila in a procession while we pray the Rosary. We have more reasons to invoke God’s help today because the insidious enemy that threaten to plunge us into hopelessness and despair is no longer lurking outside. It is within us – our tendency towards selfishness, rampant factionalism, and collective apathy.

La Naval de Manila, reminds us that we have what it takes to overcome these, if only we could get our act together, and draw strength from our most precious resource — our faith in God’s abiding providence and in Mary’s constant patronage and solicitude.