May, the Month of Mary
For centuries, the Catholic Church has set aside the entire month of May to honor Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, and Mother of the Church – not just a day but the entire month. In the Philippines, it is common for parishes during May to have daily recitations of the Rosary. Many erect a special altar with Mary’s blessed image which is venerated with offerings of flowers during the daily masses. Flores de Mayo is another devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary that is celebrated month long throughout May.
The month of May is also significant in the history of the devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia in Bicol. Its origin dates back to May 19, 1434. This was the day when Simón Vela, after many years of searching which began in France and later led to Spain, finally found the most holy image of the Blessed Mother carrying on her arms, the child Jesus, buried under rocks in Mt. Peña de Francia. The concealed cache also included other images and church bells hidden to prevent them from falling into the hands of invading Moors in the 12th century. The name of Peña de Francia, the mountain and the Sanctuary of Our Lady, makes historical reference to the French colonists who settled in the area after helping Spain in the expulsion of the Moors in the 12th century.
Vela y No Duermas
Born in France on September 4, 1384, Simón Rolan was a man who lived a good life. He was a Franciscan lay brother, endowed with a good heart and great devotion to Mother Mary. Coming from a wealthy family, he accumulated merit when he sold his entire estate and gave all proceeds to the Church and the needy. One time he was absorbed in deep contemplation of the Holy Mother, he lost ordinary consciousness and heard her speak in a clear voice: ” Simón, vela y no duermas! Stay awake and do not sleep! Go to Peña de Francia and search for my image. You will find it in a cave and once there, I will tell you what you must do.”
At first, Simón believed that Peña de Francia was in France, west of Paris. Thus, for five long years he searched every cave, hill and mountain between Paris and the sea, not thinking that perhaps “western regions” could mean southwest, in Spain. One day, about to give up and discouraged by the fruitless search, he heard the same voice again, ” Simón, vela y no duermas, stay awake and do not sleep, do not give up the search; do not give up what you have begun. Persevere. A great reward awaits a great sacrifice; your labors will be recompensed.” With his spirits lifted, he resumed his quest. He also changed his last name from Rolan to Vela, so that every time the sacred voice would summon him, he would hear heaven calling him by name to awaken.
Quest in Spain
Having given up on west of France, Simón resumed his quest along the Camino Frances, the pilgrim path from south of France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain on the west. He spoke with countless pilgrims along the way about Peña de Francia but to no avail. Abandoning the pilgrim route, his search eventually took him southwest to Salamanca, where at the local market he found a vendor selling coal from Mt. Peña de Francia. Elated by his discovery, he followed the man from a distance as he headed back to his home in the mountains. There with the help of good women from the village called San Martin del Castañar, he finally beheld the mountain which the divine Mother’s voice had told him about.
Earlier in 1423, in the village of Sequeros located in Mt. Peña de Francia range, there lived a young woman named Juana Hernández. She was called La Moza Santa, the holy youngster. On her death bed, she admonished the people: “Turn your faces to Mt. Peña de Francia and pray to the Virgin Mary. That’s where an image of her has been hidden for two hundred years. It will soon come to light and Our Lord will work many miracles through it. That glorious image must be shown to a man of good life.” She prophesied that in that same place, a new monastery would be built, a house where people from foreign lands with great devotion would seek the Mother of God and her blessed image.
Discovery at Mt. Peña de Francia
After a good hike from the village of San Martin de Castañar, Simón did find a cave at Mt. Peña de Francia. Tired from the day’s activities, he fell asleep hopeful that he was in the place promised him. Early the next day, he began searching in the cave but could not find anything. Distressed and discouraged, he prayed for strength and courage. Soon he heard the persistent voice sounding clearly through the cave: ” Simón, vela y no duermas; stay awake, do not sleep!” At a distance up the mountain, he saw a dazzling light filling the place with its brilliance. Trembling with joy, he approached it and there he found an apparition of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus in her arms sitting on a golden throne. He knelt before her and prayed with all the fervor of his soul: “Oh, Lady, the dream of my soul, the inspiration of men and women! Many years have I traveled far and wide to seek you and to drink in the beauty of your eyes! Do not forsake me, be my protection.”
The Lady answered: ” Simón, rejoice! Your constancy will be rewarded. Your dream will be realized. Your labors are now ended. Take heed and keep in your heart what I wish you to do. Dig in this spot and take what you can see and place it on the summit of this rocky hill. Build on this hill a beautiful dwelling. You are to begin it and others will come to finish it. This must come to pass as it has been the wish of my child.” Then the Lady suddenly disappeared, and Simon was left alone and stood in wonder and awe.
The next morning Simón began digging and excavating. Soon, he heard the same voice again saying: ” Simón, vela y no duermas! Do not attempt to undertake this big task alone. Undertake it in the presence and with the help of two, three, or more people.” Evidently, this was to avert any doubt or suspicion from people as to the veracity of the miracle and ascertain his credibility. Thus, Simon went back to San Martin del Castañar to look for help. He found a group of four men who remembered hearing about La Moza Santa, the holy youngster who prophesied about finding the holy treasure hidden in their mountain. They agreed to help and, for three days, they dug until finally, on May 19,1434, after removing a huge stone, they found buried under the rocks the most holy image of Mother Mary.
Special Graces and Miracles
Right then and there, all five men received special graces from the Lady. Simón Vela, who suffered a head wound during the excavations was instantly cured; Pascual Sanchez’s defect in the eye disappeared; Juan Fernandez was relieved of a stomach trouble that had been nagging him for ten years; Antonio Fernandez, who had been deaf could hear; and Benito Sanchez’ crippled finger was healed. The official document of these miracles and this discovery, duly signed by those present and a Notary Public, has been preserved in the archives of San Martin de Castañar.
Miracles of healing happened immediately after the finding of the image, people started coming over to pay homage and pray to the Blessed Mother whom people began to address as the Lady of Peña de Francia. Simón built a chapel to house the image then later, with the blessing of King Juan II of Spain and Pope Martin V, a bigger Church with a convent was built on the plains at the top of Mt. Peña de Francia that was given to the Dominicans for supervision and care.
Miguel de Cubarruvias
In the 17th century, a Spanish family from San Martin del Castañar, the village near Mt. Peña de Francia, came to live in Cavite. They had a son named Miguel Robles de Covarrubias. He studied grammar and later finished Theology at the Universidad de Sto. Tomas. Prone to sickness, his devotion to Our Lady brought him comfort and recourse in his moments of pain and anguish. He possessed a stampita of the Blessed Virgin, as found by Simón Vela in Mt. Peña de Francia, which we would place on the part of his body that ailed him most. Recovering from his illness, he said, “All I could say is that I am the miracle of her miracles.”
While studying in Sto. Tomas, Miguel was called to Nueva Caceres by the Bishop Andres de Gonzales. The journey was perilous as a strong storm developed. He invoked the help of the Virgin of Peña de Francia, and thanks to his prayer and devotion, the storm subsided and he reached his destination safe and sound. Some months after his stay, Bishop de Gonzales conferred upon him the sacrament of priesthood and persuaded him to stay. He was subsequently named Parish Priest of Nueva Caceres (now Naga) and Vicar General of the whole Diocese.
Because of his devotion to the Virgin of Peña de Francia, Miguel wanted to build a chapel in her honor. That desire however would be fulfilled, not on the banks of Pasig River as he originally planned, but in Nueva Caceres. Providentially, a group of agtas or cimarrones from Mt. Isarog came to see Bishop de Gonzales one day and asked for a chapel to built for their spiritual needs in a place accessible to them. Miguel immediately built the chapel, a simple structure of nipa and bamboo, near the site in Naga City where eventually the stone Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia would be constructed years after his death in 1723.
— JVDJ
References:
- The History of Our Lady of Peñafrancia by the Archdiocese of Caceres
- La Virgen Morena by Ella Rozett, http://www.interfaithmary.net
- Website of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Peña de Francia
- The History of Peñafrancia by Rev. Dr. Florencio C. Yllana