The 2011 Visit of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, La Naval de Manila to Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba

From the usual titles of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, La Naval de Manila visits to Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba (Letran Calamba for short), it seems that the visit of the Image has taken place a number of times already.

* the tarpaulin put up for the La Naval Visit:

“Taunang Pagdalaw ng Mahal Nating Ina ng Santo Rosaryo
La Naval de Manila”

* the image of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary,
La Naval de Manila placed on the school lobby

* angels

* the image of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary,
La Naval de Manila at sunset

And this year’s visit attracted once again the devotees of the Image from around Calamba City. One slight change in this annual event is the entrance of the Image which is now from the back gate of the Colegio, close to Saint Albert the Great Convent. As I have only been recently acquainted on La Naval’s annual event, I shall share first some historical details regarding the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, La Naval de Manila which I obtained by reading through the souvenir booklet on the commemoration of the Coronation Centenary of La Naval (year 2007).

* Letran Calamba’s Tining Chorale group
performing during an activity for La Naval

* Tining’s choir director Mr. Lorenzo Gealogo

*(left) a member of Tining who rendered a solo performance;
(right) snapshots of Tining performance

Early accounts about the image of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, La Naval de Manila can be traced back to the devotion of the Filipinos to the Image during the threat of Protestant Dutch invaders in the Philippines, a devotion which exhibited the long existing faith of the early converted Filipino Roman Catholics to Mary as their intercessor.

* an image of the rosary made on Letran grounds

during the Living Rosary

* devotees trooping out of the main lobby
to join the procession after the closing rites

* the image of La Naval being escorted by devotees for the procession

The original image of La Naval was made in 1593 through the efforts of General General Luis Perez Dasmariñas to be given to the Dominicans in Manila. It came to my knowledge however that the La Naval image which visits Letran Calamba every year is already a replica.

The canonical coronation of the original La Naval image was held on October 5, 1907 after Pope Pius X responded positively to the request of the Dominicans to have the Image crowned as Patrona de Filipinas. Today the Image of La Naval is housed in Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City.