The Patroness of Bantay Visits Spcis

THE PATRONESS OF BANTAY VISITS SPCIS
Joseph Zildjan S. Ricafrente
BANTAY - SPCIS family warmly welcomed the

image of APO Caridad. The visit is part of the
67 t h Canonical Coronation Anniversary
Celebration of Nuestra Señora De la Caridad
As the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia

celebrates the 67 th Canonical Coronation of
The Queen of Ilocandia, Our Lady of Charity of
Bantay pays her visit to St. Paul College of
Ilocos Sur on the 10 th of January, 2023.
During The Image’s stay at the Chapel of the

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary building,a whole
day Prayer Vigil was conducted and
participated by SPCIS Sisters, employees and
students.
This is activity was not only a spiritual

development for Paulinians but it also
introduced their Ilocano Culture of Faith to the beloved Patroness and Queen
of Ylocandia, Nuestra Senora dela Caridad de Bantay.
At exactly 5:30 PM, SPC Sisters, Employees, Students, and devotees bid
farewell to the image of Apo Caridad as it left the School premises.
FEATURE - Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de Bantay - The Queen of Ilocandia
Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de Bantay
In the historic town of Bantay in Ilocos Sur, famous for its Tower, is one of the
most frequented pilgrimage site for centuries because of the town's miraculous
Patroness - Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de Bantay, or more popularly known as
"Apo Caridad". Since her enthronement in Bantay, she had showered her
devotees with numerous miracles that she merited the title as the "Queen of
Ilocandia".
The Visage of the Queen

Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de
Bantay
at present
The miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de Bantay is said to be the

first image of Our Lady in Ilocandia. The image of the Virgin is that of Nuestra
Señora de la Consolacion y Correa since the she wears the Augustinian Chord and
her shrine is one of many Augustinian founded churches in Ilocos region.
The Virgin is represented theding the Child Jesus, the source of all consolation and
charity, in one hand and in one hand and with the other hand open, as I'd to
shower favors upon her devotees. The image is that of a de vestir image that is
intended to be vested with a wooden bastidor body, head and hands of the Virgin
and the Child Jesus made of ivory. The Mother and Child wears a set of crowns
while the Virgin wears the diagnostic Doce Estrellas and a rostrillo on her face.
What was interesting to this image that the the Virgin's head and hands were that
of a Polynesian style of carving with an elongated neck and disproportionately
large eyes. (It is said that the original eyes of the image is made of black
diamonds). The Image also has a distinct piece of clothing which is a delantar, an
apron-like piece, which is placed on her waist along with the Augustinian Correa.

Bantay
with its original head
The origins
According to local history, the image was said to be found inside a wooden box
floating in Bantoay River in Ilocos Sur and many attempted to fetch the image but
to no avail until the folks of Bantay were able to fetch the image easily. The image
was later enthroned by Rev. Fray Juan Bautista de Montoya of the Augustinian
Order in the Parish of St. Augustine in Bantay "with his own hands."
During the Easter Salubong, the image of Apo Caridad becomes the Virgen de
Alegria that will meet the image of the Resurrected Christ and the image of the
Child Jesus was kept for some time. This was the reason that why for some
replicas and photographs of the Virgin, she was solitary.

Bantay
as a solitary image
The Virgin of Charity of Bantay celebrates two feast days, first is every January 12,
to commemorate her Canonical Coronation in 1956 and every First Sunday of
September known as the "Fiesta de la Correa" since she was after all an image of
Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa, the Mother of the Augustinian Order.
The feast of the coronation of Our Lady of Charity is one of the most awaited and
equally important feast for the Catholic Ilocanos because this Lady was
considered as the Mother of Ilocandia.
Apo Caridad de Bantay with the
original head that was stolen in
1973
The sacrilegious theft
An unforseen tragedy would take place years later when the original ivory head of
the Virgin was stolen on November 4, 1968 and her ivory hand was later stolen on
June 15, 1973. As of this writing, the stolen parts were not yet recovered yet in
1994, the Archdiocesan Museum donated an old unfinished head of the Virgin to
the Church of Bantay and it was later reconstructed and presently serves as it's
appropriate replacement.
The miracles
Since the enthronement of the Virgin in Bantay, numerous miracles were
attributed through her intercession that would later be a key factor to name her
as Our Lady of Charity or "Apo Caridad."
Apo Caridad became the "Guardian of the Fields" of Ilocos due to her constant
assistance to the farmers and protection from pests that would harm the crops. It
is also said that devotees would place an image or photograph of Apo Caridad in
front of the fields to ask for her help and they would testify that there were no
pests that are infiltrating their fields. Devotees would recount that there were
amorseco burs stuck to the lower hem of the dress of the Virgin and they would
speculated that Apo Caridad went out for a walk to the fields.
The ex votos that are pinned to the

Correa of the Virgin
Apo Caridad also became known as healer of the sick due to the numerous
reported and duly recorded cures of her supplicants from numerous diseases up
the present. Those that were cured would give numerous ex votos to the Virgin
from vestments, set of crowns and accessories among others. It is also interesting
to note that if we are going to look closely to the Correa of the Virgin, there were
ex votos of pins of different body parts that are attached to the Correa which tells
which ailment of the body that were cured bwcause of Apo Caridad's help.
Some of the known and recorded miracles of the Virgin made an impact to the
history of Ilocandia. In 1660, Andres Malong, a Pangasinan chieftain, led an army
of 3,000 men consisting of Calansans, Tingguans and Aetas of Zambales that
invaded Ilocos and Cagayan. The following year, they sacked the town of Bantay,
leaving 800 dead. The Zambals attempted to set fire to the church for three times.
But fortunately, the fire would not start even if the cogon roof was very dry. This
incident was well documented by Rev. Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde, SJ in his book
"Historia de Filipina de la Compania de Jesus" which he vividly recounts: "They
(the rebels) burned Bantay, and though they set the fire three times to the
Church, it was delivered by the Nuestra Señora de la Caridad through her special
protection."
Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de Bantay
During the revolt of Diego Silang from 1762 - 1763, he imprisoned Bishop
Bernardo Ustariz of Nueva Segovia and all the priests of the diocese were
imprisoned in the Church of Bantay and threatened them with execution. Out of
desperation, they sought the intercession of the Virgin of Bantay to save them
and promised to compose a novena in her honor. When Silang ordered one of his
men to kill the bishop, they held back and opted to consult the spirits of the jar
and await the flowering of the adaan tree. On the third day of the novena in May
1763, Silang was assassinated by Miguel Vicos.
In another recorded rebellion of December 24, 1772, the rebels, in their

blindness, committed many atrocious acts to the people of Bantay and the rest of
Ilocandia until May 1773. However, out of reverence to Apo Caridad, they
desisted from harming the ministers of God who had taken refuge in the
sanctuary.
During the Second World War, three bombs fell on the roof of the church but not
one of them exploded. When other bombs exploded, the walls were distructed
and in the middle of it, found the statue of the Virgin, unscathed as if nothing
happened.
The Canonical Coronation of Nuestra Señora
de la Caridad de Bantay in 1956
Church Recognition
The Virgen de Caridad de Bantay became the source of hope and charity to the
people of Ilocos region due to numerous miracles that were attributed to her that
she was Canonically Crowned on January 12, 1956 by then Apostolic Nuncio, Most
Rev. Egidio Vagnozzi and was declared as the Queen of Ilocandia.
The devotion
The devotion to Apo Caridad de Bantay continues to be stronger in the recent

years with more miracles that were reported through her intercession. Despite of
the ups and downs in the history of Apo Caridad of Bantay, she became an
integral part of the lives of every Ilocano and she continued to nurture the region
with graces from her Son, the source of all Consolation.

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THE PATRONESS OF BANTAY VISITS SPCIS

Joseph Zildjan S. Ricafrente

BANTAY - SPCIS family warmly welcomed the

As the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia

During The Image’s stay at the Chapel of the

This is activity was not only a spiritual

Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de Bantay

The Visage of the Queen

The miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de Bantay is said to be the

Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de

Nuestra Señora de la Caridad de

The ex votos that are pinned to the

In another recorded rebellion of December 24, 1772, the rebels, in their

The devotion to Apo Caridad de Bantay continues to be stronger in the recent

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