| In 1603, a fisherman by
the name of Juan Maningcad caught a little statue of the Blessed Virgin
of the Immaculate Conception, about 10 1/2 inches tall, in his net while
fishing along the Pansipit River in Barrio Caysasay of the town of Taal,
Batangas. On seeing this marvel, Juan did not know what to say or do. He
prostrated himself before the image and began to pray. The news spread
and when it reached the town, the parish priest and judge went to Juan's
house. Upon seeing the beautiful image of the Mother of God, they knelt
down to venerate it and decided to take the statue to Taal, where a grand
fiesta was celebrated and to this day continues to be celebrated on December
8 in honor of the Virgin.
With the celebration over,
the priest entrusted the image to Maria Espiritu, widow of the town's Justice
of the Peace, for safekeeping. She had the image enthroned in a precious
urn, which she guarded religiously. She noted the image's mysterious disappearances
from and equally mysterious re-appearances in its niche. Told of these
usual excursions, Fray Juan Bautista de Montoya decided to have the image
transferred to the church. Even in the church, this strange "goings-on"
persisted until the image disappeared completely one day. A meticulous
search proved fruitless.
Several days later, two women
created a stir with the claim that they knew where the image was to be
found. They were gathering firewood when they felt thirsty and stopped
to drink from a well. They were surprised by the reflection of the image
on the clear water and looking upward, their gazes were met by the image
on a branch of a sampaga tree. There were lighted candles on each side
while a casaycasay bird stood on guard. Hence, the allusion thereon to
the image as the Virgin of Caysasay. Skeptical, the priest
finally went to the place
with the two women. And there was the image, which everybody had given
up for good!
It was then
interpreted as the desire of the Virgin
to remain at Caysasay. An improvised
chapel was built at the site to
provide sanctuary for the Virgin. And subsequently a church of coral stone
and marble was erected. The spot where the well which reflected the image
once stood is marked by a coral stone arch with a bas relief of the Virgin
on its facade.
The deeply rooted faith of
the Taalenos in the miraculous power of the Virgin of Caysasay is supported
by numerous legends. And the history of Taal itself recorded unusual happenings
attributed to the Virgin.
To this day, four hundred
years after a fisherman found the image in the river, the church of coral
stone and marble where the Virgin of Caysasay is enshrined stood as a living
proof of the Taaleno's fervent devotion to their miraculous Virgin. |
