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VIR VIRGEN VIR GEN AND APU: APU: TWO CONTROVERSIAL SANT SANTOS SANT OS
1. 1. The he original original Vir ir irgen ir en de de los los R RRemedios
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True to form, Kapampangans make a big fuss over appearances; they don’t quite
know how to solve the problem of two images of the same Virgin-- the officially
crowned replica and the sidelined antique original
By Robby Tantingco and Arwin Paul Lingat
The Cruzada, in which the image of Our
Lady of Remedies (Virgen de los
Remedios) is taken in daily processions all
over Pampanga 365 days a year, is a tradition
that can be found only in this province.
Today, the original purpose of the
crusade has been diluted and the
Lady’s image disputed. On one hand,
the original image stays in its original
chapel in Baliti, San Fernando;
on the other hand, three replicas
have been made to serve as symbols
of the crusade. In Baliti, the parish
has begun actively promoting its
shrine as a pilgrimage site, a la Our
Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan.
However, for the rest of Pampanga,
devotion is mostly directed to the
most visible and accessible two pilgrim
images which are replicas of the
replica; these two images are
processioned non-stop even to the
farthest fishing villages and mountain
hamlets. However, the biggest
crowds gather (albeit once a year
only) around the first replica of the
original image, the one that is taken
out once a year (from the
Archdiocesan Chancery) for the annual
coronation rites (alternately in
San Fernando and Angeles). Thus,
there are four identical images of
same Virgen de los Remedios: one
stationary image in Baliti, another
that is kept in the Chancery, taken
out only every September 8; and the
two pilgrim images constantly going
around the province for the Cruzada.
In these processions, the image of the
Santo Cristo del Perdon accompanies
the Virgen--underscoring the belief
of Catholics that the Blessed Virgin helps
bring Christ even to the most unreachable
people.
But first, a little flashback:
The Diocese of San Fernando was separated
from the Archdiocese of Manila on
December 11, 1948. Its first bishop was
The Most Rev. Cesar Ma. Guerrero, DD,
whoimmediately identified the most pressing
problem of Pampanga as the peasant
uprising against the feudal system, fueled
by a communist ideology. Socialist mayors
were being elected, including those in Angeles
and San Fernando; the sonorous scund
of the tambuli was a nightly occurrence,
and so were parades of peasants waving red
flags. The people did go to Mass, pray the
The original Virgen de los Remedios image in Baliti,
San Fernando (Arwin Paul Lingat)
Angelus and the rosary, but as Bishop
Guerrero said, “Aqui en Pampanga hay
mucha piedad, pero poca caridad!” (“Here
in Pampanga there is much piety, but little
charity!”) In the vernacular: “Deng
Kapampangan, mapangadi la, pero ali la
mapamie!”
Which was why, after much prayer and
reflection, Bishop Guerrero established the
Cruzada ning Pamanisi at Lugud (Crusade
of Penance and Charity), during a meeting
held on the third Sunday of February, 1952
at the San Guillermo Parish in Bacolor,
Pampanga. He appointed the parish’s coadjutor
Fr. Diosdado Victorio as director
of the Cruzada. The bishop chose the image
of Virgen de los Remedios, then enshrined
in the Virgen de los
Remedios Parish (not San Roque
Parish as previously thought) in
Brgy. Baliti, San Fernando,
Pampanga, as the image that would
accompany the Cruzada across the
province. It may be deduced that
Bishop Guerrero’s choice of patron
saint may have been influenced by
his personal devotion to Virgen de
los Remedios, patron saint of
Malate, his former parish. The
beautiful andas (shoulder-borne
carriage) on which the image was
mounted was commissioned by
Doña Jacinta vda. de Tayag of
Bacolor.
The Cruzada officially started
on May 1, 1952, or four years after
the birth of the diocese, in the San
Miguel Arcangel Parish in Masantol,
the southernmost town of
Pampanga. Throughout the year,
well-attended processions marked
the transfer of the image from parish
to parish.
Part of the tradition of the
Cruzada was the donation of all alms
and goods collected from the previously
visited parish to the next
parish. Soon, the processions of the
Virgen de los Remedios featured
truckloads of material goods being
distributed to the indigent residents;
thus, Kapampangans learned
to share their possessions and the visits of
the Virgen became joyous occasions of replenishing
both the soul and the body.
And when all the parishes had been
visited by the image of the Virgen, it was
the turn of Baliti, its home parish. Obviously
the people of Baliti had sorely missed
their beloved Virgen; they had also celebrated
their fiesta earlier without the
image. When the time came for the
Cruzada’s second round of provincial vis-
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