A “FESTIVE CELEBRATION” took place last October 2, as Bedans were “blessed” with a rare campus visit of the pilgrim image of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the patroness of the Bicol region.
Last September 11, alongside the pilgrim image of the Our Lady of Fatima, the Peñafrancia image was present and was enshrined at the Prayer Room located at ground floor of St. Bede’s Hall. The Marian images were then transferred to the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat until September 16, after which they would then be moved to the nearby Parish of St. Anthony Shrine in Sampaloc, Manila.
Through the efforts of Rev. Dom Martin Mary Aleman, OSB and Valentine Vi Pura, a second-year student from the Department of Psychology, who also serves as the Vice President for Internal Affairs of the Bedan Pastoral Ministry (BPM), they were able to bring to fruition the Our Lady of Peñafrancia’s visitation to the campus in order to “bless the Bedan community.”
The visitation of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia also coincided with the recollection masses of juniors belonging to the Departments of Psychology and Political Science, respectively, which were both celebrated by Rev. Fr. Placido Ma. Acta, OSB, the University Vice President for Finance.
After the mass at the Abbey, a traditional “pagmamanto” took place, wherein the veil of the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia was used to pray over the heads of those who wish to be blessed and healed by the venerated image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The people present at the eucharistic celebration expressed how the entire ordeal “felt surreal,” even though that the image of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia was only present in the campus for a short period of time.
Jestony Lumabi, a fourth-year student from the Department of Political Science and the president of BPM, said that the visit of Our Lady of Peñafrancia made a “good impression” to the Bedan community as it is “one of the heritages of all people coming from Bicol.” “Since the [Our] Lady of Peñafrancia is the patroness of all Bicol, I am glad that it is a great opportunity to experience the tradition called pagmamanto, where we are being embraced by the manto or the veil of Mary. This experience reached a high level of transcendence for me,” he added.
On the other hand, Jethro Dumaguit, a third-year student from the Department of Political Science, said that “it was a surreal experience to witness and feel the presence of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. My family and I are strong devotees of Ina and I was very blessed and lucky that she not only graced our recollection but she even showered us with her loving presence during the pagmamanto.”
Accordingly, John Paul Jones Reyes, a fourth-year student from the Department of Marketing Management who also serves as the Vice President for External Affairs of BPM, shared how he was “shocked and mesmerized” by the image of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, most especially when he took part in the traditional pagmamanto. “Talagang iba, ibang-iba yung feeling. Parang pinapatunayan sa’yo na you are under the mantle of protection, na ‘wag kang magalala as ‘di ka nag-iisa at kasama kita,” he exclaimed. Reyes also added that, “Ako, paulit-ulit ko ‘tong sinasabi, na at first, that this was not really a San Beda activity, that is also not an org [BPM] activity. Hindi ito alam ni Fr. Rector, na gulat nalang si Fr. Rector n’ung he was informed by Val Pura and I [who] visited his office sometime after the event.”
He also mentioned that “even in such cases, as ‘di siya activity ng school, it is an expression of a Bedan studen in their devotion and love for the Blessed Mother, even though that it was not requested by San Beda’s administrators nor the San Beda community.” Furthermore, he expressed that “Hangga’t may deboto na nagmamahal sa mahal na Birhen ng Peñafrancia, deboto, estudyante na nagmamahal at nagbibigay-halaga at parangal sa mahal na Birhen ay looking forward ako sa babalik at babalik ng imahe ng mahal na Birhen sa San Beda.”
Lumabi uttered his yearning for the Blessed image’s next visit, stating “If it is possible to bring it back here to the campus, why not? As long as it is deemed beneficial for the faithful, many people will pay her a visit.”