Before Makati became known as the financial center of the Philippines, it had been a small provincial town outside the Walled City of Manila and its arrabal (Spanish for suburbs).
It started a small settlement on the bank of the Pasig River, then developed into an agricultural hacienda also known for its pottery and bricks.
In the heart of this hacienda, then called San Pedro de Macati, was the parish church built in 1620 on top of the hill called Buenavista.
The hacienda became a self-governing pueblo (town) in 1670 as the town grew over the years.
San Pedro de Macati held a great treasure in their hearts: the Virgen de la Rosa.
The beautiful image of the Mother of God arrived from Cadiz, Spain, through the ports of Acapulco onboard a galleon in 1718.
The image of Mary and the Christ-Child was unique—because of the beautiful head and hands carved out of ivory, and a cavity in her chest that holds a reliquary containing a strand of hair of Mary.
The most notable Jesuit historians attest to the authenticity of the relic and praise the beauty of Mary’s glorious reliquary.
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul, later nicknamed Sampiro—at which the main altar the image of the Virgen is enshrined—became a pilgrimage site for devotees of the Blessed Virgin, especially because it had been a stopover for pilgrims en route to the Virgen de la Paz y Buen Viaje in Antipolo.
The Virgen de la Rosa of Makati is the only Marian image under that title in the Philippines.
The rose is filled with symbolisms attributed to Mary. She is the Rosa Mystica, the most beautiful flower in the garden of the Lord. It is the fragrance of the rose that alludes to Mary’s sweet holiness.
Even the thorns are reminders of the Passion of Jesus, that Mary shared through her most sorrowful heart.
Over the years the Virgen de la Rosa was a beacon of hope and devotion of the people of San Pedro de Macati. She was their patrona and abogada against disease, earthquakes and even war.
Sadly, her sacred image was desecrated during the height of the Filipino-American War of 1899. The ivory pieces along with the reliquary were lost.
However, the faithful of Sampiro did not lose their love for their Mother. Immediately after the loss of the ivory pieces, new wooden replacements were commissioned. Instead of growing cold in their devotion, people drew closer to their Queen and Mother.
The notable “Panatang Sayaw,” or “Baile de los Arcos,” a prayerful song and dance offering dedicated to the Virgen de la Rosa and the Patrons, the Apostles Saints Peter and Paul, is still performed to this day during the parish and city fiesta on June 29 and 30.
In previous years, devotion to the Virgen was shown in as simple as cleaning the church on Saturdays then offering a rosary in her honor.
Nowadays, Saturdays are dedicated to her, especially the second Saturday of each month with the 7 a.m. Mass sung for her. Programs like a monthly free clinic, a weekly soup kitchen and other outreach programs of the parish and its partners are fruits of these devotion to Our Lady.
The miraculous image of Our Lady has been celebrated due to countless graces and miracles experienced by her devotees. She had been known to give barren couples children and ensure a safe delivery even for problematic pregnancies.
In recent years, cancer patients have received miraculous and continuous recoveries and non-Catholics receive their call to conversion at her feet.
This year marks the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Virgen de la Rosa in the country. To celebrate this milestone, the parish, through the Archdiocese of Manila, petitioned Rome that Plenary Indulgence be granted to pilgrims and devotees of the Virgen de la Rosa, under the usual conditions set by the Holy See.
In line with this, the Parish Jubilee Door will be opened on February 25, the feast day of the Santo Niño de Pasion de Makati, at 8:30 a.m.
It will be followed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to be lead by His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, at the parish church of Saints Peter and Paul on P. Burgos Street., near A. Venue Mall.
As the Virgen de la Rosa is continually honored in Saturday devotions, it is the prayer of her devotees that Mary, Queen, Mother and Patroness, shares the beauty and splendor of her virtues: obedience, humility and trust in the will of the Father to all that the faithful might reach heaven in Her shining example.
For those who need, and have received favors and blessings, big and small, through her intercession, may contact cofradiadelavirgendelarosa@gmail.com.
Image credits: Robert Reyes