08/12/2020
In December 2017, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 10966 declaring December 8 of every year as a special non-working holiday throughout the country in celebration of the feast of the Immaculate Conception (also known as La Purisima). Principally authored by Cebuano Senator Vicente Sotto III, the law recognizes the historicity of the Immaculate Conception as the primary patroness of the country. Pope Clement XIII declared the Immaculate Conception as the patroness of Spain and the Indies (which included the Philippines) on 10 November 1760. King Carlos III of Spain promulgated it in all the Spanish territories on 22 April 1761. It was implemented, however, in the Philippines by Governor-General Francisco de la Torre only on 25 June 1764, two months after the end of the British occupation of Manila (1762-1764). This was later reiterated by Pope Pius XII on September 12, 1942.
The first Filipino encounter with the Immaculate Conception was in 1521, as one of the three ships of Ferdinand Magellan that reached the Philippines bore her name. The ship, Concepcion, was destroyed off the waters of Bohol on 2 May 1521 due to dwindling manpower brought by the death of a number of its crewmembers--including Magellan himself--at the Battle of Mactan (27 April 1521) and the massacre in Cebu (1 May 1521), respectively.
The Cebu Cathedral heralds the Immaculate Conception as its titular patroness, along with San Vidal, the martyr. Whereas, the Manila Cathedral is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception as early as 1578. Nueva Caceres (Naga City) and Nueva Segovia (Vigan City, formerly at Lal-lo, Cagayan)--two other pioneer dioceses of the country along with Cebu in 1595--likewise were also dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. Other historic churches in the country with the Immaculate Conception as patroness are Guiuan, Eastern Samar (whose feast day coincides with the 100-day countdown to the quincentennial of Humanity at Homonhon on 18 March 2021, a major activity of the 500th anniversary of the Philippine part in the first circumnavigation of the world in 2021) and Malolos, Bulacan (the presidential palace of the Philippine Revolutionary Government and Republic, the first democracy in the whole of Asia, in 1899). The Immaculate Conception Church in Oslob, Cebu, on the other hand, was built under the supervision of Cebu Bishop Santos Gomez Marañon, the same person behind the construction of the kiosk of Magellan enshrining a cross at Cebu City (a.k.a., Magellan's Cross).
Also, several centuries-old images of the Immaculate Conception such as that of Malabon City and Santa Maria, Bulacan bear a Sun in Splendour or sun with a human face, predating similar symbol the founders of the Filipino nation employed in the seals and the flag of the Philippine Revolution of 1898 and the Philippine Republic in 1899.
📷 An 18th-century illustration of the Immaculate Conception courtesy of the Biblioteca Nacional de España.
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Seeing this post? Curious what this is about? In 2021, we will commemorate the Philippine part in the achievement of science and humankind in circumnavigating the planet for the first time. Central in this commemoration is the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan on 27 April 2021. These and more are collectively known as the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines by virtue of Executive Order No. 103 (2020). Know more about the event here: 👇
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📺 Watch our lectures [https://portal.nqc.gov.ph/]☝️
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