Kaban ni Mulong: NAGPAKITA SI BIRHEN MARIA SA LIPA???
(In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France, the 22nd Mariological Congress was held
in Lourdes last September 2008. Archbishop
Ramón C. Argüelles of Lipa was one of the speakers. This condensed version of
his talk appeared in the January-March 2008 issue of the Totus Tuus Maria
magazine.)
Teresita’s entrance into the monastery was not
well received initially by the family, who tried all means to get her back. Teresita
steadfastly refused to return home, preferring to follow God’s call. The trials
of Teresing did not escape the devil’s interest. Satan tried to draw her away
from her chosen vocation. On the 31st of July, at fifteen past eight in the
evening, moment of great silence as observed by the Carmelite community,
Teresita was startled by knockings at her door. A male voice introduced himself
as satan, while emitting foul odor in her cell. The postulant would be
subjected to such infernal visits several times in the next days and weeks.
At around five in the afternoon of September 12,
1948, Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, postulant Teresing Castillo saw the vine
in the garden shake though there was no wind at all. A woman’s voice was heard
to say: “Fear not my child. Kiss the ground. Whatever I tell you to do, you
must do. For fifteen consecutive days, come to visit me here in this spot. Eat
some grass, my child.”
The next day, September 13, Monday, again at five
in the afternoon, the postulant returned to the place, knelt down and intended
to say the Hail Mary. She has only recited until the phrase “Full of Grace”
when again the vine moved. A beautiful Lady appeared, her hands clasped on her
breast, a golden rosary hanging in her right hand, slightly stooping, her dress
was simple and pure white held in the waist by a narrow cloth belt. Her feet
were bare and resting on clouds about two feet above ground. Her face,
indescribably beautiful, was radiant.
On September 14, Tuesday, the first shower of rose
petals took place. Some nuns, awakening early in the morning, found fresh
rose-petals of exceptional sweetness, strewn around their rooms or outside
their quiet doors. Again at five in the afternoon, the Lady as if enfolding the
postulant in a tender maternal embrace said “I wish this place to be blessed
tomorrow”. ‘At what time Mother?’ asked Teresing. “Anytime your Mother prioress
wants, my child. I forbid you to forget the incidents of these fifteen days”,
the Lady said. Then she disappeared.
Meantime, Mother Prioress decided to consult His
Excellency, the Most Reverend Alfredo Obviar, auxiliary bishop of Lipa and
spiritual director of Carmel, on what to do with the alleged apparition of the
Blessed Virgin Mary. The bishop instructed Mother Prioress to tell Postulant
Teresing to demand from the Blessed Virgin some proof that the apparition was
from heaven.
Days after the first shower of petals, total
blindness afflicted the postulant. Mother Prioress heard a voice telling her
that the only way Teresing’s blindness would be healed was for her to kiss the
eyes of the postulant. Mother asked the bishop to be present at a face off with
Teresing. So one day in the presence of Bishop Obviar, the Mother Prioress
lifted the veil of Postulant Teresing and imparted a kiss in her eyes.
Instantly the girl recovered her sight. Her blindness was cured. Bishop Obviar
doubted no more that the apparitions were heavenly.
Here are some of the messages of the Lady to
Teresing:
"I want a statue of mine to be placed here. I
want you to describe me to your chaplain because I want it to be as you see me,
and as big as the statue of Lourdes that is in the cloister. Tell Mother
Prioress to have the rosary recited by the community here every afternoon
during these days. Clean this part of the garden so that it will be a real
place of prayer."
On September 26, Sunday, the last (15th) day of
the apparitions, the Lady said:“My child, you must love and obey your mother.
Tell the sisters to love and obey their superiors and not to forget the things
I ask. I shall not ask bigger things from you as you expect, because you are my
little ones. Do not forget to consecrate yourselves to me on October 7. Be very good, I am Mary, Mediatrix of All
Grace. I shall always bless the community morning and evening.” Departing for
the last time, the Blessed Virgin identified Herself as: “Mediatrix of All
Grace.”
The Lipa phenomenon is often and principally
associated with the shower of rose-petals. Such took place also on September
30, the fifty-first anniversary of the death of St’ Therese of the Child Jesus.
Rose-petals were strewn in the cells of the monastery. Likewise on October 3, feast of St. Therese
of the Child Jesus. During those times, the shower of rose-petals fell on the
staircase. Most showers took place within the cloister. Later however they also
fell outside the monastery at the sight of many visitors. On November 11, Mrs.
Aurora Quezon, the wife of the late President of the Commonwealth, and her
party witnessed such shower of roses at the monastery grounds. Bishop Alfredo
Obviar himself stated that petals fell on his feet as he went out of the door
of the nunnery:
“I was
inside the parlor of the Carmelite monastery.
The windows and doors were closed. When I was about to step out of the
door, outside, several rose-petals fell on my feet, to my great surprise. I
picked up some of them.”
The then
Supreme Court Chief Justice Manuel Moran fervently remarked:
“The
miracle of the shower of rose-petals at the Carmelites’ convent in Lipa City is
not the work of man but of God. There can be no doubt about it. If I am not
absolutely convinced, I would not waste my time coming to this place.”
Most petals
bore images of Jesus or Mary or St. Joseph or one of the saints, most
particularly, St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
The 1948 apparitions in Lipa highlighted the
Blessed Virgin’s plea for humility, penance, prayers for priests and for the
Holy Father. As in Lourdes and Fatima the Blessed Mother insisted on the need
to pray the Rosary. Our Lady complained about the people losing faith. Teresita
added that there was a secret for herself, another for the Carmelite convent in
Lipa City and one for China.
The Negative Church Verdict
The veneration of Our Lady Mediatrix of all Grace
was permitted by Bishop Verzosa. However on April 11, 1951 the Philippine
church hierarchy issued ‘The Verdict’ in a document which read:
“We, the undersigned Archbishops and bishops,
constituting for the purpose a special commission, having attentively examined
and reviewed the evidence and testimonies collected in the course of repeated,
long and careful investigations, have reached the unanimous conclusion and
hereby officially declare the above-mentioned evidence and testimonies exclude
any supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary happenings
–including the showers of petals– at the Carmel of Lipa.”
The signatories were: Archbishop Gabriel Reyes of
Manila, Bishop Cesar M. Guerrero of San Fernando, Bishop Mariano Madriaga of
Lingayen, Bishop Rufino Santos, Administrator of Lipa, Bishop Vicente Reyes
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, and Bishop Juan Sison, Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva
Segovia. The document was also signed ‘concordat cum originali’ by the
Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi.
Bishop Rufino Santos, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of
Lipa, followed up such declaration with a decree that went this way:
Having been
declared by the Special Commission composed of several members of the
Philippine Hierarchy that, after long, repeated and careful investigations, the
evidences and testimonies on the matter exclude any supernatural intervention
in the reported extraordinary happenings –including the shower of petals—at the
Carmel of Lipa, I, the undersigned Apostolic Administrator of Lipa Diocese, in
keeping with the Decree-Statement of the said Episcopal
Commission, BY THESE PRESENT LETTERS dispose and
order:
1) No petals nor water should be given out to
anyone;
2) The statue of Our Lady (actually in the church)
should be retired from public veneration;
3) All out-sisters must be admitted within the
enclosure for the time being, excepting Sr. Elizabeth, who shall remain outside
to attend to the needs of the Community; and finally
4) All visits are suspended temporarily, no
letters will be allowed, until final decision on the matter will come from The
Holy See.
The decree was issued at the City of Lipa on April
12, 1951.
The Tragic Aftermath
Bishop Verzosa was forced to resign and sent back
to his hometown in Vigan, Ilocos Sur in Northern Philippines. The Auxiliary
Bishop, Most Reverend Alfredo Obviar was moved to Lucena, a newly erected
diocese, where he served as a mere apostolic administrator for the next
twenty-two years. In 1974 he was finally given full episcopal powers as the
resident bishop of Lucena Diocese. On October 1, 1979, Feast of St. Therese of
the Child Jesus, the bishop died a holy death, having declared earlier:“They
can oblige me to keep silent; but they can never compel me to say it was not
true.”
In recent years more and more people go on
Pilgrimage to his tomb in the Mother House of the Sisters’ Congregation he
founded in 1958, the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese. Numerous reports of
miracles are ascribed to this so-termed ‘saint of Holy Obedience’. Bishop
Obviar’s cause for beatification has been introduced and is progressing well.
On the other hand, the memory of Bishop Alfredo
Versoza, buried in the Cathedral of Vigan and overlooked for four decades, is
now the object of research. He too has been invoked for favors miraculously
granted. His cause for possible beatification is being considered.
Mother Prioress and the other perpetually
professed sisters, notably Sister Mary of St. Joseph, the sub-prioress, and Sr.
Mary Anne, the infirmarian, were purposely separated and dispersed to other
Carmels. They suffered and died also in the odor of sanctity.
Meanwhile all materials connected with the
apparitions were ordered destroyed. Teresita’s diary, as well as that of Mother
Prioress, were burned. The statue was also destined for ruin, but the nuns
quietly kept it away, saving it from oblivion. The convent was sealed, and the
nuns could talk to no one outside of the convent. These events confirm the
Blessed Mother’s warning that there would be persecution.
Teresita was subjected to investigation by the
‘commission’. As far as she was concerned the investigating commission
consisted only of Bishop Rufino Santos, Bishop Cesar Guerrero, Fr. Blas, OP,
and another Dominican priest. Cardinal Santos was always kind to her but would
get her any unholy hour and brought to Manila for investigation often times
with little time to prepare. Finally, Ma Mére, the French prioress made to
replace Mother Mary Cecilia of Jesus, tearfully advised Teresita to leave the
convent on her own volition so that she could later be readmitted when she
would be ready. She could not be admitted for profession because she failed to
stay a full year in the novitiate. This was however due to her being often
brought hastily to Manila for inquiry. If she chose to remain, the prioress
will be forced to send her out depriving her of the possibility to reapply. She
returned then to her parents. But, later, each time she would ask to return to
the cloister, she would be required to have a medical clearance due to her
health. Her health admittedly has never been satisfactory due to the traumatic
experiences she endured during interrogations. At one point, because she
refused to sign a declaration stating that the apparitions were a hoax, a
priest-investigator threw the ash tray at her, fortunately missing her. No
medical clearance was ever granted her. The story of the apparitions was buried
for 40 years, though the faithful believed in silence and persisted in praying
to the Mediatrix of All Grace.
Years After
Almost forty years after, on February 11, 1990,
Reverend Father Lorenzo Maria Guerrero, SJ, nephew of Bishop Cesar Guerrero of
San Fernando, executed an affidavit asserting:
“that while
my uncle, Bishop Cesar Gerrero, was still alive, I heard from his lips that he
signed the above Official Statement under duress,: and “that the said Bishop
had expressed his personal belief in the fact of the apparitions of Our Lady
Mediatrix of All Grace in the Carmelite Convent of Lipa during the year of
1948.”
The late Bishop Godofredo Pedernal, who worked
with Bishop Obviar for twenty-five years as Vicar General and Episcopal vicar,
testified that, while accompanying Bishop Obviar in the sixties to console his
dying friends, Bishop Guerrero, Archbishop Cuenco and Archbishop Sison, he
heard Bishop Obviar ask: “Why did you sign that declaration about the
foolishness of the Lipa Carmel Sisters?” The three bishops would silently show
their own rose petals and replied: “We were forced to sign.”
Sometime in February 1990 a strange new phenomenon
was reported in the Granja District of Lipa City. A white glowing outline of a
female in prayer began allegedly to appear nightly on one of the leaves of a
tall coconut tree. It was visible only in the evenings. Then on May 21, 1990,
Sr. Alphonse pleaded on her deathbed that the Mediatrix statue be exposed again
in the chapel at the Carmelite convent. Her request was granted the very next
day. She died on that day. For the first time the statue was displayed after 40
years! On January 24, 1991, rose petals began to fall straight from the sky
again at the Carmelite convent in Lipa City. A few days later, six children
playing in the front garden of the monastery saw the statue of Our Lady of
Mount Carmel at the monastery grounds come to life and shed tears.
Archbishop Mariano Gaviola granted the permission
to display again the image of the Mediatrix of All Grace. The year after, he
declared his personal conviction that the Lipa apparitions were worthy of
belief. Miracles of physical and spiritual healing took place. Once more again
there were reports of showers of rose-petals. Stories of marvelous happenings,
as in the late forties, pile up. The faithful never really ceased visiting
Carmel in spite of the 1951 decree. The number of pilgrims however swelled
since the revival in the early nineties.
Archbishop Gaviola created a new commission headed
by then auxiliary bishop now emeritus, Most Reverend Salvador Quizon and
largely documentarily accomplished by Justice Hariet Demetriou. Documents from
then surviving persons who experienced the events in the late forties as well
as new evidences of wonders grew rapidly. Unfortunately, Archbishop Gaviola
retired. Was he overwhelmed by sufferings due to what he did for the Blessed
Virgin Mary? His successor did not do anything about the said phenomenon except
asserting that the authorities of the early fifties could not have been less
competent in their investigation than those fifty years after. That means that
any recent investigations can never convincingly correct the conclusions done
decades ago. The Gaviola commission ceased its inquiry.
Did Mary really appear in Lipa?
From the very start I, the Archbishop of Lipa
since July 1994, had never put into doubt the truth of the so-called Marian
happenings in Lipa. As a child I was brought there together with my other
siblings by my parents. I have frequented the place since then. As a young
seminarian, then priest and bishop, I would come to Lipa Carmel to willingly
and trustingly entrust to Mary, my concerns, my whole life and all my
activities, ignoring the controversies which had enveloped the events from the
outset and which lingered thereafter. I have not personally met, nor known nor
bothered about Teresing Castillo until years later as a newly ordained bishop.
The controversies surrounding the Lipa apparitions
did not at all worry me as a young bishop. I could not fail to notice, in the
meantime, how the events in Lipa have taken a new turn since I was a child.
Lipa has gained the reputation of being Mary’s privileged place. In fact people
from all over do not hesitate to consider it as the Marian capital of the
Philippines.
Things became more complicated for me upon my
appointment as LipaArchbishop in 1994. I realized I have become part of the
controversy. The intricacies of the past that overflow into the present have
upset me for the last more than four years. People expect much from me who am
reputed to be a profoundly Marian bishop. Some even sort of pressure me to
declare the authenticity of the Marian apparitions, so that when asked if I
will now give official approval to the Lipa phenomenon, my getaway response is:
“Archbishop Ramón Argüelles has long approved it; the present Lipa Archbishop
however has not.” Time and again I feel at fault for seemingly dodging the
issue. Fellow Marians would prick my conscience by saying: “It is the Blessed
Mother Who wants you in Lipa. And for a purpose.” An easy way for me to steer
clear of arguments is to state that regardless of the truth or non-truth of the
1948 events, the Mediatrix of All Grace remains a mystery tied up with and to a
certain extent advanced by Lipa. Yet deep inside I sense that more is demanded
of me.
Pilgrimage to Lipa never ceased. Every 12th of the
month people will congregate at the Cathedral and make a penitential procession
to the Carmelite Monastery of Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, at three in the
afternoon. Likewise on first Saturdays increasing crowds join the five o’clock
dawn procession from the Cathedral to the monastery ending with the six o’clock
morning mass. I often join the procession and preside the Mass. Moreover for
the five consecutive years, September 12, the so-called first apparition day,
has been declared by government as a National Day of Prayer and Reconciliation.
The consecration of the entire nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary during the afternoon Eucharist is the key point of the
annual Pilgrimage to, what forty years ago Bishop Versoza called, Our Lady of
Lipa.
The research silently goes on. More and more
testimonies need yet to be examined to determine whether the events deserve to
be believed in as they are already believed in by many. What more interesting
testimony can be had than that coming from the supposed visionary. Sister
Teresing is allowed by God to live long. She is already eighty-one. Those who
love the Blessed Mother can reflect on her story with her. It is up to the
reader or listener to judge whether Sister Teresing is credible or not, if her
experience is subjective and if it deserves to be conveyed to numerous
souls. But it is my opinion that we have
to thank Sister Teresing for telling us the story of Mary in Lipa and for
suffering with Bishop Versoza, Bishop Obviar and the other professed nuns of
that time.
There is in fact some kind of parallelism in the
statements of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes and in Lipa. Teresing was told
by the Virgin: “For fifteen consecutive days, come to visit me here in this
spot”. Bernadette on the other hand was told: “Will you do me the favor of
coming here for fifteen days?” The Virgin revealed to Teresing: “My daughter,
sufferings and trials will be with you until the end of your life”. To
Bernadette: “I do not promise you happiness in this world, but in the next!”
Again to Teresing: “My child, kiss the ground and eat a little grass.” To
Bernadette: “Go on your knees, kiss the ground in penance for sinners” To
Teresing: “I wish this place to be blessed tomorrow.” To Bernadette: “Go, tell
the priests that I want that a Chapel be built here!” To Teresing: “I am Mary,
Mediatrix of All Grace” To Bernadette: “Que soy era Immaculada Concepciou.”
Can the documents issued in April 1951 be
considered a genuine document expressing the definitive stand of the official
Church of that time regarding the Lipa apparitions? First, it cannot be
considered a final document from the Catholic Hierarchy of the Philippines
since only an Archbishop (Gabriel Reyes of Manila), a resident bishop (Cesar
Guerrero of San Fernando), an apostolic administrator of the place at issue
(Rufino Santos) and three other auxiliary bishops (Sison of Nueva Caceres,
Madriaga of Dagupan and Reyes of Manila) signed the document ‘as Archbishops
and bishops, constituting for the purpose a special commission’. Second,
vis-à-vis the fervor of the many ordinary faithful, there is yet the so-called
claim of many of the bishops that they believe in the miracles while those who
signed claimed that they were under duress.
Third, except for the above-mentioned documents, no record can be shown
either by the Carmelite Generalate in Rome nor by the Nunciature as well as the
Vatican archives themselves. Of course it is possible that the records of the
fifties are not made available by Rome nor by the Nunciature for some reasons
only they know. But for the sake of the Truth, and for the good of the
faithful, such questions must be answered. Finally, as noted by the late
Archbishop Mariano Gaviola, no document from Rome has, as of now, been issued
us mentioned in the decree of then Apostolic Administrator Bishop Rufino
Santos.
Did she really appear in Lipa?
Did Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace appear in Lipa? I
as simply, Ramón C. Argüelles, will readily say, like many others in the
Philippines and elsewhere (in fact I will never ever regret saying this: “Yes,
Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, did appear in Lipa.” It is not only in the
fifties that most of the bisops believed in the Lipa Apparitions. Today, many
bishops, surely led also by the simple faith of many faithful, believe that the
Lipa events were not invented. God and Mary surely favored our land, especially
the province of Batangas.
As Archbishop of Lipa, however, due to the
unfortunate and confusing historical circumstances that may not be ignored,
obviously I vacillate in making a clear-cut pronouncement. Certainly I am
privately and silently doing, and I know I must officially initiate, a new inquiry.
But no doubt, whatever be the outcome of any serious and thorough research the
Archdiocese of Lipa, the City of Lipa or the whole Batangas Province will not
become less a specially celebrated place where Mary is intensely honored, loved
and sought. A final Church statement may
be most desirable by a good number of devotees. But the majority of the
faithful will not at all be affected by whatever position the official Church
will take. They will go on believing that Mary is powerfully present to her people
in this place.
Personally and officially it is my earnest prayer
and wish that Mary had truly appeared before and will still reveal herself in
Lipa, and even everywhere, to tell the whole world that She is indeed Mediatrix
of All Grace. Her call to prayer, penance, return to her Son Jesus, to
humility, simplicity and fidelity to God is even more pressing in today’s
world. Lipa is a blessed and marvelous site to hear and heed this maternal
plea.
Vindicated, novice of Lipa apparitions keeps low
profile
By Marrah Erika Lesaba, June Keithley,
Philippine Daily
Inquirer
22 November 2009
MANILA, Philippines--Teresita Castillo, to whom
the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared in 1948 then Castillo was a young Carmelite
novice, has been declining interview requests following the lifting of the
Church ban against the public veneration of the image of Our Lady, Mediatrix of
All Grace, a devotion that stemmed from the apparitions.
“She [Castillo] has decided to maintain a low
profile. We have to respect her [wishes],” said Fr. Richard Hernandez, the
chair of the new commission created by the Church to reopen the investigation
into the apparitions in Lipa.
Hernandez said he was able to interview Castillo,
or Teresing as he refers to her, last Thursday. He said Castillo was so happy
and excited when told about the lifting of the ban that he had to calm her
down. Though she underwent so many hardships during the series of investigations
into the veracity of the apparitions, Castillo has remained humble, he said.
“She never complained or even asked why she was being questioned,” Hernandez
said. He said Castillo, who is now 82 years old, cannot recall the dates when
the Virgin Mary appeared to her but she can clearly state the message that the
Blessed Mother wanted her to give the world.
In 1948, the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared 19
times to Castillo, who was a postulant at the Carmelite convent in Lipa,
Batangas. Rose petals with holy images reportedly fell from the sky. In the
last of her appearances to Castillo, the Blessed Virgin is said to have
identified herself, saying “I am the Mediatrix of All Grace.”
The bishop of Lipa at the time, Alfred Verzosa,
believed in the apparitions and allowed the veneration of the image of Our
Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace.
No miracle
In 1951, however, the Church hierarchy declared
that “there was no supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary
happenings, including the shower of rose petals in Lipa.” Verzosa’s successor,
Rufino Santos, ordered that “no petals be given to anyone by the Lipa Carmelite
community and the statue of Our Lady of Mediatrix be withdrawn from public
view.”
The ban was lifted 40 years later by Archbishop
Mariano Gaviola in 1991.
On Nov. 12, Gaviola’s successor, Archbishop Ramon
Arguelles issued a formal decree lifting the 1951 ban. Arguelles also created
the commission, headed by Hernandez, to conduct a new investigation into the
apparitions.
Arguelles said he was merely reiterating Gaviola’s
1991 order and was doing so because he saw “nothing wrong in praising the image
of the Blessed Mother” and that he knew the “love of the people for her.” He
noted that despite the ban, the faithful have continued to go on pilgrimages to
the Carmel monastery in Lipa to pray and ask for favors from the Blessed
Mother. He said the commission will evaluate the documents still available on
the events of 1948 to advise the Church leadership on “the proper pastoral
approach” to the continuing pilgrimage of people to the site of the
apparitions.
International interest
The news that Arguelles had ordered a new
investigation and lifted the ban on the public veneration of the Mediatrix has
created interest not just in the local community of devotees but
internationally as well.
The Spiritdaily.com website carried links to two
articles published in Inquirer.net as well as its own well-researched articles
from its archives. Little wonder as the events of 1948 were headlined in
national newspapers and reported internationally. Lipa was referred to as “the
Lourdes of Asia” and Philippine Airlines flew special flights to fly pilgrims
to Lipa. A special pilgrim image of the miraculous Mediatrix was made and
brought to New York and Madrid. More than 3,000 took part in the procession
that was later held on New York’s Second Avenue. Those were heady days indeed.
Even former President Elpidio Quirino attended a Mass in Lipa in 1949 and
joined the vast crowds in hopes of witnessing a petal shower. Thousands would
line up for the water in which the petals had been immersed and miraculous
healings and conversions were reported and documented. The original statue of Our Lady, Mediatrix of
All Grace, was commissioned from the sculptor Cristobal, in accordance with the
instructions that Castillo had received from the Virgin Mary: “I want a statue
of myself to be made so that my little ones can see me. Describe me to your
chaplain because I want my statue to look as you see me, and to be as large as
that of Our Lady of Lourdes which stands inside the cloister.”
“I ask this from Carmel, I wish that my image be
placed here. This place must be cleaned so that it may become a shrine for
prayer.” When the image was finished and revealed for public veneration, many unusual
occurrences and miraculous events were attributed to it. The fragrance of the
amazing shower of petals that occurred from time to time on the grounds outside
the convent would fill the air for blocks and draw thousands of devotees and
curiosity seekers.
Harrowing events
A message that the Virgin Mary had given in 1948
seems to foretell the harrowing events that were to come: “Do not block or
debase my sacred place nor despise my words. ” Along with the ban it issued in
1951, the Church hierarchy instructed the Carmelites to destroy everything. The
nuns obeyed and burned the diaries, petals and prayer cards, but could not bear
to smash the image of the Mediatrix, so they bundled it up in rags and jute and
hid it among the debris in a bodega.
It would be hidden for the next 40 years until
Gaviola gave permission for the statue to be temporarily displayed in 1991. The
archbishop soon issued the decree that the image be restored to public
veneration and installed in the side chapel of the convent church where it
remains to this day.
Blighted lives
Apart from the many miraculous healings and
conversions that were ignored and the cruel rumors that the apparitions were a
hoax foisted on the public by the nuns to raise money to build a church, there
are the heroic actions and blighted lives of the main protagonists that are
intrinsic to the apparitions.
Auxiliary Bishop Alfredo Obviar, the spiritual
director of Carmel Lipa, was unceremoniously removed and remained in limbo
until he was demoted and re-appointed to the diocese of Lucena.
Obviar founded the congregation of the Missionary
Catechists of St. Therese and in acknowledgment of his great virtue, he has
been lifted up to the Causes of the Saints and has officially passed the first
step in the process toward sainthood.
His tomb and museum in Lucena is the site of many
pilgrimages and a number of miracles have been attributed to his intercession.
Verzosa, who allowed the apparitions to be
publicized and for the Mediatrix to be venerated, was stripped of all his
administrative duties, remaining a bishop in name only.
Though he had used his family’s wealth to rebuild
the churches and schools of war-torn Lipa, he was falsely accused of
mishandling the war reparations and finances of the diocese. He lived in exile
at his Vigan home, reduced to rolling tobacco leaves to augment the family
income.
The prioress of Carmel, Mother Cecilia Zialcita,
was transferred to another convent and treated like a scullery maid. She is
said to have prophesied that at her death, the events of the Lipa apparitions
would again be reopened and devotion to the Mediatrix restored.
Castillo has survived all the denunciations and
humiliations to which she was subjected. The stress from the investigation
resulted in her long illness, requiring her to live at the University of Santo
Tomas hospital for long periods of time. She eventually had to voluntarily
leave the convent as she failed to complete the required length of stay for a
novice.
Discreet silence
She worked at the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran
and assisted Fr. Leo English with the publication of the now widely used
Tagalog/English dictionaries. The now grown baby girl she adopted often
accompanies her mother on healing missions.
She has since received a few other messages and
experienced showers of petals in her home and at the side chapel of Carmel
Lipa, but has maintained a discreet silence about it.
Gaviola and Arguelles have allowed Castillo to
speak publicly about the apparitions and there are also a number of accounts
detailing the healing of some people that she has prayed over. However, now
that the new commission has convened, she has thought it prudent to refrain
from speaking or being too publicly visible.
In her 80s, Castillo has been given the grace of
living to see the malicious tongues silenced and a resurgence of devotion to
her “beautiful lady.”
New probe into Virgin Mary’s apparition in Lipa
set
By Dona Pazzibugan, Philippine Daily Inquirer 19 November 2009
MANILA, Philippines -- Lipa Archbishop Ramon
Arguelles has formed a new commission to revisit the series of apparitions of
the Virgin Mary at the Carmel monastery in Lipa, Batangas, in 1948.
The commission was created in a decree that
Arguelles issued on Nov. 12, the same day the archbishop issued another decree,
formally lifting the 1951 Church ban against the public veneration of the image
of the Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace, in Lipa. Nov. 12 this year was the
61st anniversary of the last of the series of apparitions that occurred from
September to November 1948 in Lipa. In 1948, the Virgin Mary reportedly
appeared 19 times to Teresita Castillo, a novice in the Carmelite convent. Rose
petals with holy images reportedly fell from the sky. In her last apparition to
Castillo, the Blessed Virgin identified herself, saying, “I am the Mediatrix of
All Grace.” Although the veneration of Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace was
allowed by the then Bishop Alfred Verzosa, the Church hierarchy declared in
1951 that “there was no supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary
happenings including the shower of rose petals in Lipa.” Verzosa’s successor,
Rufino Santos, ordered that “no petals be given to anyone by the Lipa Carmelite
community and the statue of Our Lady of Mediatrix be withdrawn from public
view.”
The ban was lifted 40 years later by Arguelles’
predecessor Archbishop Mariano Gaviola in 1991. Arguelles said his decree
lifting the ban was merely a “reiteration” of Gaviola’s 1991 order and that he
was doing it because “there was nothing wrong in praising apparitions” and was
aware of “the love of the people for the Blessed Mother.” “The Blessed Mother
has [protected] the country from calamities,” he said. Despite the ban,
Arguelles said the faithful have unceasingly gone on pilgrimages to the Carmel
monastery in Lipa to pray and ask for favors from the Blessed Mother.
There has been an increasing number of pilgrims to
the monastery, “making penitential processions and praying almost every day but
most of all on first Saturdays and every twelfth day of the month,” he said. A
repeat of the shower of rose petals is said to have occurred some years ago but
the Carmelite nuns have kept a low profile. Some people still have petals in
their possession.
Lipa bishop lifts ban on “Our Lady”
By Marrah Erika Lesaba
Philippine Daily
Inquirer 18 November 2009
BATANGAS CITY — Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles
confirmed that he had lifted the 1951 ban on the public veneration of Our Lady,
Mediatrix of All Grace.
In a phone interview Tuesday night, Arguelles said
he lifted the ban on Nov. 12 as “there was nothing wrong in praising
apparitions” as he was well-aware of “the love of the people for the Blessed
Mother.”
“The Blessed Mother has [protected] the country
from calamities,” he said. In 1948, the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared 19 times
to Teresita Castillo, a novice in the Carmelite Order in Lipa City. Rose petals
with holy images reportedly fell from the sky. In her last apparition to
Castillo, the Blessed Virgin identified herself: “I am the Mediatrix of All Grace.”
Although the veneration of Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace was permitted by
then Bishop Alfred Verzosa, the Philippine church hierarchy declared in 1951
that “there was no supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary
happenings including the shower of rose petals in Lipa,” according to the
website www.marymediatrixofallgrace.com.
Withdrawn from the public
The website www.miraclehunter.com chronicles the
events following the church decision: “Bishop [Verzosa] and Mother Prioress
were released of their jobs. The nuns were ordered to destroy all materials
connected with the apparitions. They burned [Castillo’s] diary, as well as the
Mother Prioress’. The statue [of the Virgin Mary] was also ordered destroyed,
but the nuns … saved it from destruction. The convent was sealed, and the nuns
could talk to no one outside of the convent.” Bishop Rufino Santos, who became
apostolic administrator after Verzosa, ordered that “no petals be given to
anyone by the Lipa Carmelite community and the statue of Our Lady of Mediatrix
be withdrawn from public view,” the website said.
Despite the passing of the years and the
suppression, the Carmelite nuns of Lipa as well as the Marian devotees who
believe in the apparitions, remained hopeful that one day, the case would be
reopened and the apparitions declared authentic. Many continued to believe and
would go to the Carmelite monastery in Lipa to pray especially in the ‘50s.
Image displayed again
In 1992, Archbishop Mariano Gaviola granted
permission to once again display the image of Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace.
In 1993, he declared his personal conviction that the Lipa apparitions were
worthy of belief, according to www.miraclehunter.com.
As the years went by, the ban seemed to have been
disregarded as new proofs of the apparitions’ authenticity were presented and
accounts about the bishops’ high-handed suppressiveness in 1948 were brought to
light.
A repeat of the shower of rose petals is said to
have occurred some years ago but the Carmelite nuns kept a low profile. Some
people have petals in their possession.
In 2005, Arguelles resurrected the veneration for
Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace with “increased activity and devotion” and
plans to place statues representing the Virgin of Lipa, in every diocese,
according to www.miraclehunter.com.
Official lifting of ban
When Arguelles declared the official lifting of
the 1951 ban on Nov. 12, it was the 61st anniversary of the last of the series
of apparitions to Castillo which occurred from September to November in 1948.
Arguelles stressed: “My order on Nov. 12 was merely a ‘relifting’ of Gaviola’s
order.” He also said that last month, he went to Rome to ask permission to
search the archives for documents pertaining to the controversial apparitions
but no such documents were found. The Lipa Archbishop said that at 3 p.m. every
12th day of the month, the rosary is prayed by devotees from different towns in
Batangas and from all over the country.
Novena
The devotion to Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace
is acknowledged in all parishes in Laguna, said Fr. Romi Ponte, parish priest
of San Gabriel in San Pablo City. “In our parish, we have a huge picture of the
Vigin Mary to whom devotees offer prayers and novenas,” he told the Inquirer in
a phone interview Tuesday night. The veneration of Our Lady has been promoted
all over the country for more than a year now with a literature on the novena
sold in Catholic bookstores, Ponte said.
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