An old photo of what could have been the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary which was among the three images given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan as baptismal gift to the Cebuanos in 1521. The Marian image has been missing since the World War II.
Where in the world is the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary?
That’s what the Augustinian fathers of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño want to know since the image is one of three religious icons given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan to the Cebuanos in 1521.
Fr. Ric Anthony Reyes, OSA, spokesperson of the basilica, said the last information they received about the Marian image was that it was lost during World War II which devastated parts of Cebu from 1939 to 1945.
“Until now, we do not have any traces as to where this image went. We’re hoping to find it because it would be beautiful to have all three important, historic icons at the basilica,” he told Cebu Daily News.
The small image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, believed to have the title of Virgen de la Cotta (Virgin of the Fort), was given as a baptismal gift by Magellan to the Cebuano natives shortly after the Spanish fleet first arrived in Cebu.
Our Lady of Remedies
Based on research, the wooden image carved in Flanders, Belgium like the Sto. Niño de Cebu, was found floating inside a well at Fort San Pedro sometime in the 1970s.
It was subsequently enthroned at the fort and since many cures were attributed to the Marian icon, it was given the name “Nuestra Señora delos Remedios (Our Lady of Remedies).”
Her feast day was then celebrated every December 18.
In the mid 1900s, the image was transferred to a chapel inside the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the seat of the Cebu Archdiocese.
During World War II, part of the cathedral was bombed.
The Marian image was reportedly spared although there were no concrete evidence to it.
Two images of the Nuestra Señora delos Remedios were later made to continue the devotion inside the Fort San Pedro and the cathedral.
Two interpretations
Reyes said there were unverified stories that the original image is now under the care of one of the families in Cebu.
“But I cannot give credence to that because we don’t have strong evidence. We just could not make historical accusations if we do not have the evidence. We just give the benefit of the doubt that it was really lost during the war,” he said.
Based on the accounts of Antonio Pigafetta, the chronicler of Magellan’s expedition, an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was indeed given to the Cebuanos.
Reyes said there were two interpretations on the features of the Marian image.
“A French interpretation of Pigafetta’s account says that the image was purely that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On the other hand, the Italian interpretation says what was given by Magellan was an image of the Virgin Mary carrying the child Jesus,” he said.
Contrary to previous reports, the image given by Magellan was not that of the Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu.
Sculptural rendition
Fr. Romeo “Dodong” Desuyo of the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu said their Marian image was carved from tugas or molave, a hardwood found in tropical countries such as the Philippines.
Another sign that the image was done by a Filipino is the suksok at the back of the image, a distinct feature of Filipino sculptural rendition of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a “Grand Filipina” with a long skirt that needed to be tucked at the back of the waist.
When Magellan set foot on Cebuano shores, Desuyo said there was no Our Lady of Guadalupe yet.
He said it was only in 1531 or 10 years after the Portuguese explorer arrived in Cebu that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico.
If the Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu image is used to accompany the Sto. Niño de Cebu during the annual traslacion and fluvial processions every January, the priest said it is not to symbolize Magellan’s baptismal gift.
Rather it is in its capacity as the principal patroness of the entire island of Cebu.
500th anniversary
Fr. Reyes said finding the original Marian image given by Magellan is important in light of the Catholic Church’s preparations for the 500th anniversary of the Magellan expedition and the Christianization of the Philippine faith in 2021.
“We will truly be happy if we get that image back because it will complete the picture of history, our sense of religiosity, and being devotees of the Blessed Mother,” he said.
Aside from the Marian image, Magellan also gave Cebu’s Hara Amihan the image of the Sto. Niño, while the queen’s husband, Rajah Humabon received the Ecce Homo or the bust of the suffering Jesus Christ.
Amihan, who was later named Queen Juana, and her husband Humabon who was baptized Don Carlos, and about 800 natives were the first batch to receive Catholicism in the country.
The image of the Sto. Niño, the most popular among Magellan’s gifts, was found by Juan Camus, one of the soldiers of Spanish navigator Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, inside a wooden box when the Spaniards returned in 1565, 44 years after Magellan’s death.
Replica
The most popular image among Magellan’s gifts has been venerated at a side chapel inside the basilica.
The image of the Ecce Homo was found on the remains of a rajah believed to be Humabon on Aug. 20, 1572, the same day that De Legaspi died in Manila.
The Augustinians brought the Ecce Homo to the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila during the Fourth Centennial Celebration of the Christianization of the Philippines in 1965.
Since then, only a replica of the image was found in Cebu. The Cebu Archdiocese through the late Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal worked for the return of the image to Cebu.
The request was granted by the Augustinian friars in Manila and the historical icon was brought back to the Queen City of the South in 2011.
Now, the Ecce Homo is also venerated inside the basilica.