Ascension feast at Villa Escudero

Villa Escudero Resort and Plantations in San Pablo City, Laguna will mark the “Pista ng Pak-akyat’’ or the Feast of the Ascension on May 12 with a colorful liturgical and traditional celebration.

The celebration starts with a High Mass at the Villa Escudero Chapel at 9 a.m. The University of Santo Tomas Symphony Orchestra under Prof. Hermie Ranera and the Coro Tomasino directed by Prof. Dick Mazo will perform the Pope’s Mass by Fr. Manuel Maramba of the UST Conservatory of Music and the Adonay Mass by Marcelo de Adonay, a late 19th century Filipino church organist and sacred music composer.

After the Mass, the image of the Risen Christ will be processed in the resort compound and loaded in the barge at the river for a fluvial procession along with bancas and bamboo rafts.

The image will then be enthroned at the altar of the pavilion amidst the rendering of the “bati,’’ a traditional Tagalog liturgical Easter dance with the musical accompaniment of the UST Symphony Band.

The Feast of the Ascencion is celebrated by Christendom, especially by Roman Catholics as the day Jesus Christ ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection.

The Pista ng Pak-akyat, observed by the Escudero family for more than a century now, is one of the most colorful and meaningful celebrations of the feast, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the Southern Tagalog region.

Don Conrado Escudero, owner of the plush resort, is also noted for spearheading the Good Friday processions and Easter Sunday events featuring centuries -old statues executed by the finest Spanish-era Filipino sculptors.