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TAKEN FROM THE ARTICLE OF FR FLORENCIO C. YLLANA THE FIRST CHAPEL Don Miguel Robles de Covarrubias began immediately the construction of the chapel of nipa and bamboo in the place indicated by the cimarrones. It must be like one of those “Ermitas” in our barrios. By then nobody must have dreamed, not even Dn. Miguel himself, that suck a chapel built for the cimarrones, would someday be the pet rendezvous of thousand and thousands of souls of the Bicol Region and other places. The present church was built more or less in the same place where the first was constructed. it is about 2 kilometers from the present Municipal Building and around a kilometer and a half from the Episcopal Palace. THE LAST DAYS OF DON MIGUEL Some months after the termination of the chapel, Don Miguel went to Manila where he lost the sight of his left eye. He consulted the doctors of the city with no positive effect. He then promised to come back to Naga to construct a stone church and to make the devotion to the Virgin more widely known among the Bicolanos. In a sudden he recovered his lost sight; so he came back. While in Nueva Caceres (Naga) Dn. Miguel fell seriously ill again and many thought it was his end. He then promised to live permanently in the place where he constructed a stone church and after five months of stay in that place he recovered. Dn. Miguel makes mention of this and other miracles in his letters addressed to the chaplain of Peñafrancia of San Martin de Castañar, Spain, written in the years 1710, 1711 and 1717. On or about the year 1723 God called him to his eternal abode to receive the reward for his good works and for the devotion he sowed in the bicolano soil, now acknowledged as Bicolandia’s foremost. May his soul rest in peace! THE PRESENT STONE CHURCH No definite data is available with regards to the construction of the present church. All references however point to the belief that it was Bishop Isidro Arevalo who built around the year 1750. His coat of arms engraved in the upper part of the western side of the church, justifies this stand, accepted by Msgr. Gainza himself. The old people say that the Chinese community of the locality donated the façade. They were ardent devotees of the Virgin as proven by the fact that they were the ones shouldering the expenses of the pagoda, the nicest seen in Naga, and all their children were usually baptized in the Peñafrancia church. As a consequence, the façade was entirely of Chinese art with pots, plates, jars, and etc. engraved on it. That was the façade previous to the present. THE PRESENT FACADE Perhaps few Bishops among those who governed the Diocese of Nueva Caceres had more devotion in, and demonstrated more interest for the Virgin of Peñafrancia and her church, as did Msgr. Francisco Gainza, an acknowledged luminary of the Dominican order. Not only did he write the history of Peñafrancia, the first one to be ever published, and edited a novena to the Virgin, but he also tried to make the Peñafrancia church a more worthy abode of the Mother of God. He introduced changes in the church, made it around 5 meters longer on the front and finally he constructed the present imposing thou simple façade. Bicolandia will never forget him and his memory will forever be linked with history of the Peñafrancia church. THE FIRST MIRACLE
Just after the construction of the chapel, Don. Miguel asked a sculptor to carve a statue of the Virgin from the picture of the original from Spain, which he had with him for many years. When the statue was finished, the sculptor needed blood to color it, so a dog was sacrificed. The dead animal with its four legs tied up, was cast to the river, which is only around five meters from the place. At this instant, Dn. Miguel remarked: “The Virgin will work her first miracle in Nueva Caceres. She will bring back to life that innocent animal that gave the blood for her”. Upon hearing this, those around him laughed sarcastically, but what was their surprise when in a jiffy the dog began to swim and upon reaching the banks, ran fast to the house of the master. Some people, including some Dominican fathers who were then taking vacation with Msgr. Gonzales, O.P., then Bishop of this Diocese, bore witness to the veracity of this first miracle wrought by the Virgin of Peñafrancia in Nueva Caceres.
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NOSTALGIA PENAFRANCIA HISTORIAA Journey to the glorious past on how Our Lady of Penafrancia become very famous and popular to the world, from its humble beginnings until its full scale of success in propagating this devotion. Archives
September 2015
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