Naga City and the southern Bicol region is rich with wealth of religious, cultural and historical footnotes that lure visitors and religious tours from far and wide.
Nowhere in the country, has spiritual fervor as devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia date back as far as Middle Ages but in Bicolandia, where missionaries brought Christianity, and in later years, foreign powers as Spain, America, and Japan sent invasion forces to Naga. Here in the land of coconut cream, pili nuts, and a unique way of cooking native dishes with coconut milk, oil and hot pepper, tourists are obliquely reminded of savory and hot New Orleans Creole Indian cuisine without the coconut milk. Augustinian friars came with Our Lady of Peñafrancia in the early 15th century. Naga City forms part of Archdiocese of Nueva Caceres together with Camarines Sur and dioceses in Legaspi, Sorsogon, Masbate, Virac, Daet, and the prelature of Libmanan in Bicol region. Peña de Francia, for whom the image is named, is a place west of Paris, where the original image and the local 272-year-old miraculous Lady of Peñafrancia bear stories of interesting voyages, one of them ending up in Naga City.
Simon, a child of extraordinary piety was born in Paris in the 1400’s to a wealthy family. When he was left as sole heir of his parents and sister, he sold his legacy, gave the proceeds to the poor, worked as a chamber boy or page of the Franciscans, and was a devotee of the Blessed Virgin. One day he was awakened from a sound sleep by the Virgin’s voice bidding him to go west of Paris and find her Shrine. “Go to Peña de Francia and you will find what you have been longing for’’ was the message from her, a message initially dismissed by a priest as a mere illusion of a boy’s imagination, but eventually, was accepted as a truth. Simon traveled far and wide, looking for Peña de Francia near Paris, a tedious, long journey that could have easily discouraged any traveler in those times without transport and good roads. But again, the Virgin came to him in his sleep, and asked him not to give up, but to persevere. Finally, on his way he met a man who informed him that Peña de Francia was on top of a steep and rocky hill between Salamanca and Caceres in Spain, west of Paris. Many times disappointed, he was down on food and supplies, was weak and hungry, but kept his unwavering faith and obedience to God. But the voice would not let him rest, “Simon, wake up. Do not sleep’’ she urged. As Simon trudged along, he saw a dazzling light and was transfixed as he found himself before the Blessed Virgin, seated on a golden throne with the Infant Jesus in her arms. The Lady then asked him to begin building on the hill a beautiful dwelling, and not to attempt to build it alone, for others shall help build it. As Simon went to San Martin de Castanar for help, he recruited five men, all with physical defects. They started to dig on the spot, and for years, they dug with great patience and perseverance. While at work, an image of the Blessed Virgin with the Child Jesus in her arms was found embedded in rocks. As they retrieved it, all their defects and ailments disappeared, the first of a long time of miracles yet to happen. Such miracles are physically documented and may be found at the archives of San Martin.
The Corrubias family from San Martin, migrated in the 17th century, to the Philippines and settled in Cavite. One of their children, much like Simon, wanted to be a priest, and studied at UST. A devotee of Mary, he always carried with him a book on Our Lady of Peñafrancia. While sick, suffering from one of his unexplained illnesses, he prayed for the Virgin’s help through her picture on the cover. Instantly, he was completely healed, and the miracle inspired and sealed his priestly vocation. In gratitude, Fr. Miguel de Corrubias, as a priest, initiated the construction of a chapel, and later, the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia was carved out of santol wood and patterned after the picture on the book cover. In those early times, dog’s blood was mixed with paint for wood preservative. A dog was caught, blood was extracted and used for that purpose, and when the dog was thrown into the river, Fr. Corrubias remarked that Mary would then perform her first miracle. True enough, the dog swam out of the water, revived and healthy. As news spread far and wide, the sick came to be healed, and the Virgin Mary did not disappoint them. Our Lady of Peñafrancia was crowned Patroness of Bicolandia in 1924. Once in later times, the image was stolen from her Shrine. After a year, in the midst of a roaring typhoon on her birthday in Sept. 8, 1982, the lost image was returned in Manila to Msgr. Florencio Yllana, former chaplain of the Peñafrancia Shrine. Today, “INA’’ or the Miraculous Image is enshrined in a much bigger and ornate Shrine, known as Basilica Minore, where multitudes and the sick come to worship and pray during fiestas, to keep alive the story of faith and obedience of Simon, the vocation of Fr. Corrubias and to bring the miracles of healing to the portals and gateways of modern times.
Historically, Naga, is site of military combats at earlier times. In 1898, guardia civil corporals Angeles and Plazo asked their soldiers to attack the Spanish officers quarters, routed them, fought the Spanish forces at the San Francisco convent, and pushed them to retreat to Iloilo. In 1900, American forces invaded Camarines Sur and Naga. Naga residents organized guerillas and fought the invaders. Led by Gen. Arejola, they set camp in Minalabac mountains until serious illnesses forced their surrender to the Americans after a year. In 1941, Naga was again put under siege by Japanese troops, but combined US and Filipino guerillas broke through Japanese forces to liberate 30 American prisoners. A few years later, local forces of Major Miranda attacked Japanese forces in Naga, as US planes bombed and strafed the city, and the US Army finally liberated the town. In 1948, Naga became a chartered city.
As one tours Naga today, one is impressed with three institutions clustered along E. Angeles Street. First is the Metropolitan Cathedral which took 15 years to build, and where the image of INA is placed here for a nine-day novena. Holy Rosary Seminary, one of the oldest schools in the country, and the Colegio de Santa Isabel, first college for women in the Orient, educated thousands of men and women from as far as Quezon and Leyte. Univ. of Nueva Caceres, the first university south of Luzon, over 9,000 students enroll for Law, Engineering, Commerce and Liberal Arts degrees. The Basilica Minore is the new beautiful home of Our Lady, where she is brought to after annual fluvial parades in her honor, while the Peñafrancia Shrine is her original home. The Peñafrancia Museum displays historic relics of Marian devotion. In 1993, with Dept. of Science and Technology, sci-tech education of young folks, professionals, teachers feature an array of interactive sci-tech gadgets, a skywatch gallery, a sci-cubbyhole for kids, and a cybercafé for Internet lovers. Plaza Rizal is famous center for debates, while Plaza Quince Martires, in honor of 15 Bicol martyrs of the Spanish regime, and at Plaza Quezon, fiesta parades are frequented by tourists. Plaza Barlin fronting the Metropolitan Cathedral, honors the first Filipino Bishop of the Catholic Church in the nation. Naga City Ecology park is a green and complete flora and fauna garden, while the Malabsay Falls Ecology Park, nested in the cool shoulders of Mt. Isarog, give tourists a nature respite and a wealth of nature. Hotel accommodations are good at the Villa Caceres and Lucky Fortune hotels and restaurants. Naga City is more modern today with streets and avenues lined by many modern franchises, stores and fast food outlets, clean environs and a warm, smiling friendly people. Visit Naga City to feel the spirits, the pulse and a history of a part of the beautiful south.
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