The Holy Rosary Chapter of the Dominican Laity in the Philippines unveiled a life-size stone statue of Saint Catherine of Siena on December 12.
The event was part of the year-long celebration of the chapter’s 75th establishment anniversary under the Dominican Province of Our Lady of the Rosary.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers led the ceremonies with Rev. Fr. Raymond Mi, OP, Vicar of the Province of Our Lady of the Rosary, and Evelyn M. del Rosario, OP, Holy Rosary Chapter member and donor of the statue.
Rev. Fr. Matthias Nga Reh, O.P., parish priest of Santuario del Sto. Cristo, presided over the blessing rites at the event held at Saint Dominic de Guzman Garden of the parish in San Juan City.
The inauguration of the statue of Saint Catherine of Siena—one of only four women Doctors of the Catholic Church and the third from the Dominican Order—was the first major activity of the Dominican Laity Holy Rosary Chapter’s 75th establishment anniversary.
The groundbreaking for the statue was held on September 5, 2023.
“Saint Catherine was bullheaded in pursuing what she thought was the truth, and so God blessed us today with the presence of her image beside Saint Dominic because she and our Holy Father would not leave me without deciding to pursue this dream of the Dominican Laity,” del Rosario said.
The statue of Saint Catherine of Siena came about because of visions and manifestations of Saint Catherine to del Rosario for six days in June this year, prompting her to heed her bid to build the statue.