During the La Naval de Manila festivities, the highlight and finale of the event is the grand procession in the afternoon of the feast day. Here, thousands upon thousands of devotees accompany the miraculous image of Our Lady of La Naval and many other saints as they go around the streets of Quezon City, remembering the miracles done by God through what we believe came from Mama Mary's help. Here devotees commemorate the miraculous victory of our forces against the far more powerful Dutch in the battles of 1646. It's called the "procession de las processiones" and, while it does not have the overwhelming factor as the Quiapo fiesta, or the extravagance of the Sinulog (which I've never been to, hehe) it has a more solemn and disciplined atmosphere. All roads lead to Sto. Domingo church, where it all takes place.
Ever since I've attended this event since my first one in 2007, it's become something of a tradition of mine every year to attend it and something I always look forward to, even if the feast is far off. This year's however was nerve wracking since it was raining hard in the afternoon and I left my place while it was still raining. I even had to go through a flood on the way to Sto. Domingo when I took a tricycle (since I took a jeep to Sienna and then rode a tricycle to Sto. Domingo). When I came to the church, it was still raining, but not as hard and by that time, the weather was going to clear up. That was about 4:30 and even by then, the procession hasn't began. It finally started at almost 5 when the image of San Lorenzo Ruiz came out of the church compound. As the procession went on, the rains stopped although it drizzled a bit when the image of Our Lady came out, but despite that, thankfully there were no more rains. It goes to show that there are miracles and blessings even in the midst of the storms. The image of Our Lady of La Naval was already out at around quarter to 6.
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| Processional |
Left: San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Right: Letran band accompanying San Vicente Liem de la Paz
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| Sta. Magdalena de Nagasaki, San Juan Macias and San Martin de Porres |
Left: Images of the saints Right: San Vicente Ferrer
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| Sta. Catalina de Sena |
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| San Pedro Martir |
Left: Sto. Domingo de Guzman Right: St. Joseph, spouse of Mary
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| O Lumen ecclesiae... |
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| Estandartes of the Mysteries of the Rosary which go before the image of Our Lady of La Naval |
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| Dominican friars |
Now, here's Our Lady of La Naval...
I followed the procession until it reached Banawe and from there, I headed to Quezon Ave. There, the first few carozzas were heading back to Sto. Domingo. It is at Quezon ave where one could see how big the crowd was. From there, I stayed mostly near the footbridge at Banawe and went around, while waiting for Our Lady. When Our Lady came, I followed until the image came back to Sto. Domingo Church.
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| Thousands attend along Quezon Ave. Taken at Banawe ave |
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| Here comes Our Lady... |
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| Regina Sacratissimi Rosarii, ora pro nobis... |
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| La Gran Senora de Filipinas carrying her Son, Jesus... |
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| Thousands of devotees fill Quezon ave for the procession |
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| The Saints as they await for the Queen's return |
Back at Sto. Domingo, the images of the saints already took their place to welcome Our Lady. Thousands of people also gathered at the church to welcome her. To prepare for the image's return, radio anchor Jun Banaag (aka: Dr. Love), one of the emcees led the people in shouting "Mabuhay, birhen ng La Naval!". When the image came, roars and cheers came from the massive crowd, cameras clicked and people waved towels. I headed inside the church through one of the side entrances. The huge church was beyond standing room only. The atmosphere was incredible. Where I was wasn't a great spot since I could only see a bit of the baldachino but at least, I can see the activities at the sanctuary and had the effort to take pics when Our Lady was enthroned. The Sto. Domingo Grand choir led the people in the singing with their angelic voices. Leading the crowd in the act of consecration was Boots Anson-Roa. After words of thanks from the shrine's rector and Dr. Love, the event closed with the singing of Our Lady's hymn, the Despedida a la Virgen (you can listen to it in Youtube
here).
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| Our Lady of La Naval triumphantly enters the shrine... |
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| Our Lady arrives amidst cheers |
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| Mabuhay ang Birhen ng La Naval! |
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| Our Lady being returned to the baldachino as the choir sings "O Beata Mater" |
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| Our Lady enthroned once again. Viva la Virgen! |
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| Bro. Jun Banaag emceeing the event |
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| Boots Anson-Roa leads the act of consecration |
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| After the Despedida and the celebrations. |
Check out more of my photos
here
And with that, La Naval de Manila 2014 is officially over. So many things have happened and thank you Lord and Mama Mary for all the blessings. Hopefully, at next year's feast, I'll be there again and again in the years to come. 'Till then...
Viva la Virgen! Salamat Maria! Praise to the Lord!
Madre amorosa, prenda de amor, Adios! Adios!
(last lines of the Despedida a la Virgen)
