"My mom would bring me to the procession when I was young, that was our mother and son bonding activity; this simple watching of the procession eventually grew to a devotion."
LA NAVAL DE MANILA
Among Dominican shrines in the Philippines, that of Our Lady of the Rosary in Santo Domingo in Quezon City rightly deserves first place both for its antiquity and importance. It dates from the 16th century and is located in the national capital. In 1954- a Marian Year- Our Lady of the Rosary's shrine was declared by the Philippine Hierarchy the "National Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary."
The image of Our Lady venerated at Sto. Domingo was sculptured at the request of then Acting Governor General of the Philippines Don Luis Perez Dasmarinas. Under the direction of Captain Hernando de los Rios Coronel, a Chinese artisan sculpted it. It is fifty-six inches tall. It's head and hands are of ivory. The Holy Child is entirely of ivory. It was carved with such skill that after almost 400 years, it still retains its majestic and imposing beauty which commands reverence and devotion before its presence. Thereafter, neither the Chinese sculptor nor the Christian captain was able to produce a similar one no matter how hard they tried.
For more than a century the image was enthroned in one of the side altars of the Sto. Domingo Church in Intramuros, in a niche protected with iron grills. In 1712, Fr. Pedro de Mejorada built in her honor a stately chapel which was an extension of the transept on the right side. It was from this chapel that the image of the Lady of the Rosary presided over the fortunes of the Philippines for centuries. From this throne she witnessed the growth and maintenance of the Catholic Faith in the archipelago.
In 1646, fifteen well-armed Dutch ships attacked the Philippines. To challenge them, two old galleons which had served as merchant ships along the Pacific routes in the Acapulco trade were speedily armed, and they easily won over them five resounding victories by the miraculous help of the Lady of the Rosary to whom the Filipino fighters prayed for help. This has come down in history as the famous victories of La Naval de Manila.
In 1906, the venerable image was canonically crowned in most solemn rites on the 5th day of October.
In the Second World War, the Church of Sto. Domingo in Intramuros was bombed and completely destroyed. The image of the Lady of the Rosary, spared from that catastrophe, was housed at the University of Sto. Tomas from 1942 to 1954 in which year it was carried in solemn procession to her new shrine in Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City.
Recently, Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval, as she has come to be known, has been declared the Patroness of Quezon City.
(From the Dominican Marian Shrines by Fr. Pablo Fernandez, OP, Life Today, June-July 1987; Novena in Honor of Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval, 3rd Printing 1998)
The Gran Senora
Bringing the Devotion to My Parish
October Devotion 2009
October Devotion 2010
October Devotion 2011
Beata Imelda Lambertini
Marikina Holy Rosary Procession
