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Our Lady of Caysasay ( es, Nuestra Señora de Caysasay) is a
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
venerated at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay in Taal,
Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and Lag ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. The image, which depicts the
Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
, is believed to be one of the oldest in the country, having been found in 1603 by a man fishing in the
Pansipit River The Pansipit River is a short river located in the Batangas province of the Philippines. The river is the sole drainage outlet of Taal Lake, which empties to Balayan Bay. The river stretches some passing along the municipalities of Agoncillo, ...
. The subsequent
Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian ap ...
s documented by Spanish colonial church leaders were the first in the country; devotees today continue to attribute miracles to the Virgin."The disappearing lady & stories of faith and miracles"
Philippine Star. Retrieved on February 10, 2013.
The image was canonically crowned on December 8, 1954, and was later given the title the "Queen of the Archdiocese of Lipa". The feast day of Our Lady of Caysasay is celebrated every December 8 and 9.


Description

The wooden image, measuring about , shows the Virgin as tilting slightly forward, her hands clasped across her breasts below her right shoulder. One eye is slightly bigger than the other. It was found wearing a simple, red tunic gathered above its waist that billowed into huge folds around the ankles, and clad in a green shawl. The report and documentation of the apparitions of 1611-1619 and 1639, are unique in Philippine church annals as they are believed to be the first Marian apparitions in the Philippines. In those days, the country was under the autonomous Mexican vicariate; Fr. Casimiro Díaz, who reported the confirmation of the apparitions and miracles, was a deputy of the order's Mexican center.


History


Discovery

In the year 1603 in Caysasay, which was a small
barangay A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
of Taal, a fisherman called Juan Maningcad went out fishing. Instead of casting his net to the sea, he threw it into the nearby Pansipit River. When he drew in his net, he caught a small, wooden image of the
Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
less than a foot high. Though waterlogged, the image had a heavenly lustre, causing the pious Maningcad to prostrate himself and pray before the statue, which he brought home."Apparitions (1600 - 1699 A.D.)"
The Miracle Hunter. Retrieved on February 8, 2013.
The precise origin of the image and how it got to the river is unknown. One theory was that the image was cast into the sea off Batangas by the Spanish to pacify it during an expedition, and that it was somehow pushed upriver. Other opinions held that perhaps someone exploring the river had inadvertently dropped it, or that it came from China. News of the image began to spread until it reached the
parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
, Fray Juan Bautista Montoya, and the vicar that represented the reigning
King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
. They went to Maningcad's house to verify the story, and upon seeing the image, knelt down and venerated it."The Story of Our Lady of Caysasay"
Caysasay.com. Retrieved on February 8, 2013.


Disappearances

Doña María Espíritu, the widow of the town's judge, was assigned as the image's ''camarera'' or caretaker. She ordered a precious ''urna'' (a wooden, canopied shrine that sometimes has glass panes) to be made for the image and kept it in her home. Every evening, she noticed that the image went missing from its ''urna'', but then in the morning it would be back in its usual place. Worried, the widow told the story to the priest, who accompanied her back to her house and saw that the ''urna'' was empty. The ''urna'' suddenly opened and the image appeared before them. The priest decided to gather volunteers to keep vigil beside the image, and during the night they did see the ''urna'' open by itself, and the image leaving and coming back again.
The Miracle Hunter. Retrieved on February 8, 2013.
Finally, the priest decided that the villagers should now come with lighted candles and follow the image the next time it left. When this happened, the image led them to Caysasay, to the place where it was originally found. The priest decided to take the image to the Basilica of Saint Martin de Tours for safekeeping, but the image continued to leave the church until one day it disappeared and was nowhere to be found. Years later, two girls named María Bagohin and María Talain were gathering firewood, and saw the image reflected in the waters of a spring near where Juan Maningcad had found it. They looked up, and saw the image of the Lady of Caysasay on top of a tall ''
sampaguita ''Jasminum sambac'' (Arabian jasmine or Sambac jasmine) is a species of jasmine native to tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. It is cultivated in many places, especially West Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is ...
'' (''Jasminum sambac'') bush, flanked by two lit candles and guarded by several ''casay-casay'' (
Collared kingfisher The collared kingfisher (''Todiramphus chloris'') is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the white-collared kingfisher, black-masked kingfisher or mangrove kingfisher. It has ...
, ''Todiramphus chloris'') that abounded in the hillside area, thus called ''Caysasay'' by the Spaniards. The two reported what they saw to the parish priest, who with the people concluded that it was the Virgin's wish to stay in Caysasay. A makeshift chapel was built on the very spot where the image was found, and native devotion to the Our Lady of Caysasay had started even without official church sanction. Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde SJ in his ''Historia de Filipinas'' and other 18th century Spanish chroniclers put the year 1611 as when natives began reporting strange visions on the hillside. This was also the year, according to Fr. Pedro G. Galende, Director of the San Agustín Museum in
Intramuros Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-day I ...
, that the first makeshift church was reportedly built there.


Apparition to Catalina Talain

A series of apparitions by the Blessed Virgin Mary were first reported at the rocky hillside of Caysasay. According to a church inquiry, a vision appeared to a native servant girl, Catalina Talain, who had gone up the hillside with a companion to gather firewood and fetch some water. The unexpected vision of something small in stature but radiating extraordinary brilliance from a hollow in the rocky landscape so bewildered the girl that she ran to tell her companion, and both fled terrified back to the town of Taal, by the shore of the lake. From the cave near the spring was found the image of the Blessed Virgin—the same image that was fished out of the river almost a decade earlier and mysteriously disappeared. Historian José M. Cruz, S.J. reviewed original
microfilm Microforms are scaled-down reproductions of documents, typically either films or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original document size. F ...
documents of the inquiry into the apparitions, which he dated to 1619. He reported that Church officials interrogated Talain, but she told them she could not clearly identify what she saw. The sparseness of her report, however, convinced Cruz that Talain was not fabricating the story; he noted in his study on the events that in 17th-century Philippines, a servant girl like Talain had much to gain from associating herself with God or the saints.


Apparition to Juana Tangui

The apparition of the Lady of Caysasay to Juana Tangui was a more documented report. Fr. Casimiro Díaz, a representative of the Mexican vicar, in his 18th century ''Conquista de las Islas Filipinas'' (Part II), gave a detailed account: After this unusual phenomenon had been witnessed, which had never before been seen or heard of in that sitio, some natives, both men and women, decided to see what it really was. They saw a vision of the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...
, just a little taller than the size of one open hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle finger, dressed in white, with a crown on her head, and in her arms was the Infant Jesus, who also wore a crown. Miraculous healing powers were attributed to the waters from the spring. More than 30 people declared they saw visions of the Lady at Caysasay. Word got around and many people flocked to the area.Policarpio, Lulu
"Our Lady of Caysasay"
Totus Tuus Maria. Retrieved on February 10, 2013.
The news reached a native named Juana Tangui, from the town of
Bauan Bauan, officially the Municipality of Bauan ( tgl, Bayan ng Bauan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 90,819 people. History Religious attribution and mi ...
who was the servant of Don Juan Mangabot, one of the town's prominent natives. She was a simple woman who led a devout life who had been suffering for a long time from a burning sensation in the eyes leaving her almost blind. Her eyes could not be healed by the many remedies that had been applied to it. She was resolved to go to the rock where people said that the Blessed Virgin appeared. She went accompanied by one of her master's daughters to that place where the ray of light was first seen. She had also heard that everyone who took a bath in the small stream was cured of any sickness of which they may have been suffering. For this reason she bathed in the stream, in the company of nine or ten other people doing the same. During the entire time of her bath, she noticed an unusual shadow by her side, though there was neither sun nor moon that could cause it, since it was already evening, and it was very dark. After some time she felt that someone was holding her and turning her body. When she turned to the place toward which she was being turned, she saw a great light, like that coming from an enormous lighted candle, which caused her great wonder. But she did not dare to move forward in order to examine what she had seen. She went to a nearby field where she recounted what had happened to some native women. But they told her to return and to examine closely what it was. Since she said that she could not see very well, on account of her eye disease, they offered a young servant to accompany her to that place. (The recent account of Fr. Cruz is similar but says it was a young servant boy that was sent back with Juana.) Upon their arrival at the spot, she made the girl kneel down. Juana walked further and saw a very bright light and the image of our Lady, almost two palm measurements in height, dressed in white, with a crown on her head and a cross on her forehead. The image seemed to be alive, as it was moving and blinking. When the native woman moved closer to her, the image spoke to her, thanking her for remembering her and coming back to see her. Juana declared that the apparition told her, The native woman returned to the town, and did not tell anyone about what had happened until she had spoken with Fr. Juan Bautista Montoya, the prior of the Taal Convent. She asked him reverentially for the belt of the Confraternity. After spending eight days in
confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
, the prior gave the customary belt to her. She returned to the place where the Blessed Virgin had spoken to her. In addition to herself, she brought with her eight or nine people, among them the wife of her master, Doña Juliana Dimoyaguín and other prominent residents, whose declarations appear in the accounts published about the event. They returned to the same place where the girl who had accompanied her the first time had knelt down. She moved forward to the same spot where she had been a few days before, and she saw once more, clearly and distinctly, the Blessed Virgin. After making a deep bow, Juana knelt in her presence. The Virgin told her that she was much more pleased with her than before, because she was wearing the belt of the Confraternity. The devout native asked the Virgin directly what sign she should carry so that people would believe that she had spoken to and been in the company of the Virgin. The Virgin responded by asking for Juana's rosary and belt, telling her that it was a sufficient sign for her to touch them. Juana gave the Queen of Heaven her belt and her rosary, together with the rosaries that her companions had taken care to bring with them. The Virgin accepted them and then returned them to the said Juana Tangui. The women who received the rosaries declared that the fragrance that emanated from them elevated their souls. Moreover, Juana's eyes were healed, her eyesight restored.


Deliverance of the town

By 1732, the town of Taal became the prosperous capital of the Batangas province. The town center of Taal was then located along the shore of
Taal Lake Taal Lake ( tl, Lawa ng Taal, ), formerly known as Bombón Lake, is a freshwater caldera lake in the province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills Taal Volcano, a large volcanic caldera formed by very large ...
(then known as Lake Bombon). Its prosperity came from provisioning the
Manila galleon fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire) ...
s plying between
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
and
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
. These
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...
s also found protection from
typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
s at Taal Lake, which was then saline and open to the sea through the
navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against dir ...
Pansipit River The Pansipit River is a short river located in the Batangas province of the Philippines. The river is the sole drainage outlet of Taal Lake, which empties to Balayan Bay. The river stretches some passing along the municipalities of Agoncillo, ...
.Herre, Albert (1927)
"The Fisheries of Taal Lake and Lake Naujan"
pp. 288-289. Philippine Journal of Science.
They honoured the Lady of Caysasay with cannon fire as they passed in front of her shrine located close to the river."History of Taal's activity to 1911 as described by Fr. Saderra Maso - 1749"
Taal - A Decade Volcano. Retrieved on February 10, 2013.
The most violent eruption of the Taal Volcano occurred in 1754 lasting more than eight months. The
ejecta Ejecta (from the Latin: "things thrown out", singular ejectum) are particles ejected from an area. In volcanology, in particular, the term refers to particles including pyroclastic materials (tephra) that came out of a volcanic explosion and magma ...
from the volcano devastated the towns around the lake covering them with layers of deposits. The townspeople of Taal, together with their parish priest, fled from their capital and sought refuge at the Church of Our Lady of Caysasay. Layers of ejecta and deposits blocked the entrance of Pansipit River, which eventually raised the water of the lake, permanently flooding parts of Tanauan, Lipa, Sala, Bauan and Taal. All five towns relocated to higher ground, away from the volcano and lake. The present town center of Taal was established on a hillside near the Caysasay Shrine, overlooking
Balayan Bay Balayan Bay is a large bay of Luzon Island in the Philippines. It is part of the Verde Island Passage and its entire shore is in the province of Batangas. The bay is between wide. It is separated from the South China Sea to the west by the Cala ...
. The townspeople believed that the image saved the town of Taal during eruptions of Taal Volcano. The old town center is now the present
San Nicolas, Batangas San Nicolas, officially the Municipality of San Nicolas ( tgl, Bayan ng San Nicolas), is a 5th class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 23,908 people. It is the smallest m ...
. Eventually, a considerably narrower and shallower Pansipit River was formed from the volcanic deposits rendering it impassable for large ships. Bombon Lake, later renamed as
Taal Lake Taal Lake ( tl, Lawa ng Taal, ), formerly known as Bombón Lake, is a freshwater caldera lake in the province of Batangas, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The lake fills Taal Volcano, a large volcanic caldera formed by very large ...
, slowly transformed from saline to a freshwater lake.


Solemn coronation

On December 8, 1954, two hundred years after the great Taal eruption, the image of Our Lady of Caysasay was canonically crowned at the Basilica of San Martin de Tours in
Taal, Batangas Taal (), officially the Municipality of Taal ( tgl, Bayan ng Taal), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 61,460 people. Taal is famous for its old ances ...
by Spanish Cardinal Fernando Quiroga, representing
Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. ...
.


Well of Saint Lucy

This old spring-fed well where María Bagohin and María Talain saw the reflection of the Virgin of Caysasay is known as the ''Balón ng Sta. Lucía'' (Well of
Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ...
), which was where the public devotion to the Virgin of Caysasay was initially centred. A beautifully carved coral stone arch with a
bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
of the Virgin on the facade was constructed over the spring on the slope of a hill near the church, forming twin wells. The exact reason for St Lucy's name being attached to the spring has been lost, as was the date of its construction. The site of the wells is known as "''Banál na Poók''" ("sacred place"), and vestiges of the spring running close to the wells are known as "''Banal na Tubig''" ( sacred water)."Well of Sta. Lucia"
Taal, Heritage Town. Retrieved on February 10, 2013.
The well is accessed from the Saint
Lorenzo Ruiz Lorenzo Ruiz ( fil, Lorenzo Ruiz ng Maynila; zh, link=no, 李樂倫; es, link=no, Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila; November 28, 1594 – September 29, 1637), also called Saint Lorenzo of Manila, is a Filipino saint venerated in the Catholic Church. ...
Steps behind the Caysasay Church. An inconspicuous narrow walkway from the Steps takes visitors to the well. To the townsfolk, the apparition had empowered the spring with healing powers. Continues Fr. Díaz:


Syncretism

Our Lady of Caysasay is identified by some
Chinese Filipino Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mostly of southern Fujianese ancestry, where the majority are born ...
s with the
Sea Goddess A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Anoth ...
Ma-cho. Both are considered emanations of each other, with the images of Our Lady of Antipolo and Our Lady of the Abandoned as additional emanations, as all four are related to water and/or travel.


In popular media

In 2005, a
musical play Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
titled ''Mapághimaláng Birhen ng Caysasay'' (Miraculous Virgin of Caysasay) was staged in July 2005 at the
Cultural Center of the Philippines The Cultural Center of the Philippines ( fil, Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas, or CCP) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established to preserve, develop and promote arts and culture in the Philippines.Presidential Decree No. ...
in Manila. The religious play was written and directed by Nestor U. Torre with music by noted Filipino composer
Ryan Cayabyab Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab (born ; May 4, 1954), known professionally as Ryan Cayabyab, is a Filipino musician, composer and conductor. He was the Executive and Artistic Director for several years for the defunct San Miguel Foundatio ...
. It focuses on the 1639 miracle on Chinese artisan named Hay Bing who was brought to life after he was
decapitated Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...
. After its initial run, a touring production took the musical to the outskirts of the capital city including Batangas province.(2006-02-22)
"Musical immortalizes Our Lady of Caysasay"
Malaya (Newspaper). Retrieved on February 10, 2013.


See also

* Our Lady of Camarin, a Guamanian statue also found by a fisherman * Our Lady of Salambao, also found in a net and a focus of the Obando Fertility Rites


References

*''Taal'', p. 95, Filipiniana Section, Teodoro M. Kalaw Memorial Library, Lipa City, Batangas * Barcelona, Mary Anne (2004). ''Ynang Maria: A Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines''. Edited by Consuelo B. Estepa, Ph.D. Anvil Publishing, Inc, Pasig.


External links


''Mapaghimalang Birhen ng Caysasay''
the musical play about the Lady of Caysasay
Caysasay Fluvial Procession 1

Caysasay Fluvial Procession 2

Luwa sa Birhen ng Caysasay
{{coord, 13, 52, 55.5, N, 120, 55, 12.7, E, region:PH_type:landmark, display=title Catholic Church in the Philippines Religion in Batangas Taal, Batangas Titles of Mary Marian apparitions Statues of the Virgin Mary Marian devotions