MANILA (UCAN): The 435-year-old Baroque-style Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (Our Lady of the Remedies) church in Manila, the Philippines, was declared an “important cultural property” by the government on April 22.
More popularly known as “Malate Church”, it was recognised by the National Museum of the Philippines for its historical and cultural role.
“A panel of experts was convened on 5 December 2018, by the director-general of the National Museum of the Philippines” to decide which of certain cultural properties should “be designated as National Cultural Treasures and Important Cultural Properties,” according to a citation by the National Museum.
An “Important Cultural Property” is known for its outstanding “historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific value” which is highly significant and important to the country, the citation added.
The Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection Act, the National Museum Act of 1998, and the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 mandates the government to declare “Important Cultural Property.”
Columban Father Leonista Distor, the parish priest, thanked devotees of the church, saying the greatest miracle has been the growing number who visit each day.
“Our mission is not only to protect the church’s structure but to protect the faith of the Filipino people. Our work in the parish is not focused on taking care of the cultural aspect of the church but also in honing the spirituality and faith of every Filipino,” Father Distor said during a speech on April 22 when the honor was conferred by the National Museum.
The church played a key role in the Philippine liberation and in 1898 Augustinian friars secretly allowed revolutionaries to take refuge in its belfry.
Our mission is not only to protect the church’s structure but to protect the faith of the Filipino people. Our work in the parish is not focused on taking care of the cultural aspect of the church but also in honing the spirituality and faith of every Filipino,
Father Distor
“For a time, it became a hideout for the revolutionaries because it was very near the Intramuros, the walled city that was the seat of power of colonial Spain” in the Philippines, historian, Rafael Murillo, noted.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
Built in 1588, it is the oldest church in the archipelago. Murillo pointed out that it survived the Chinese invasion in 1662, the British occupation in 1762, and a devastating earthquake in 1863, Murillo added.
Malate Chruch contains the centuries-old image of Our Lady of Remedies, which was shipped to the Philippines in 1538 from Spain by the Augustinian friars.
Mothers with sick children and those experiencing diseases visit the church, seeking intercession.
“In 1995, I was diagnosed with a lump in my uterus. It was growing fast. So, I prayed to Our Lady and attended the daily Mass. A year later, the doctor informed me that the lump had stopped growing and that it was benign,” one Marian devotee, Cathy Maristela, said.
Since then she has photocopied novenas and left hundreds of copies in the church pews. “Many women are seeking the help of Our Lady to cure their illness,” Maristela added.
Another mother, Anna Liza Logrono, claimed her second son had pneumonia when she asked the parish priest in 2009 if she could place him at the altar table while she and her husband prayed to the image.
“We were desperate. We were on our way to the Philippine General Hospital and we passed by the Malate church. I offered my son to Our Lady to make him well. A week later, we were discharged from the hospital,” Logrono recounted.
