Our Lady of Manaoag

For the heritage building which houses the image of Our Lady of Manaoag, see Manaoag Basilica.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag
Location	Manaoag, Pangasinan, Philippines
Date	1610
Witness	Juan de la Cruz (Hagiography)
Type	Marian apparition
Approval	Pope Pius XI Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church
Shrine	Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag
Patronage	Manaoag, Pangasinan

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, colloquially called as Our Lady of Manaoag (Latin: Nostra Domina de Sacratissimi Rosarii de Manaoagensis), is an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in Manaoag, the Philippines. The statue is vested in imperial regalia and is locally referred to as Apo Baket ("Noble Mistress").

The ivory and silver image of the Madonna and Child which bears its title dates from the sixteenth century and is presently enshrined within the Minor Basilica and is a major pilgrimage site in the country administered by the Order of Preachers.

Pope Pius XI granted a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation titled Sanctissimus Dominus Noster on 25 August 1925. The Papal nuncio, Archbishop Guglielmo Piani celebrated the rite of coronation on 21 April 1926.

Pope Benedict XVI later raised her sanctuary in equal indulgences to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on 21 June 2011. Pope Francis further elevated the shrine to the status of a Minor Basilica via his Pontifical decree Spiritualem Fidelium Progressionem on 11 October 2014. The image is venerated twice a year: the third Wednesday after Easter and first Sunday of October.

Etymology

Tradition holds the town of Manaoag was derived from the Pangasinense verb Mantaoag, which means "to call" (from the root Taoag, "call").

Historicity

The purported Marian apparition to the farmer, depicted on a mural in the transept.

The original statue is a 17th-century ivory and silver image of the Madonna and Child enshrined at the high altar of the Basilica. It was brought to the Philippines from Spain via the Manila galleon trade from Acapulco, Mexico, in the early 17th century by the Catholic priest Juan de San Jacinto.

Accordingly, the ivory material used for the image is attested to be of subpar quality, resulting in the cracks of the image over the centuries as compared to other notable ivory images of higher quality venerated in the Philippines. Nevertheless, the image receives much financial patronage and support which sustains its devotion, regalia and festivities. The image is also a full structured body underneath, later enlarged and adorned by its embroidered cape and vested skirt. It bears a bent neck and knape which looks down towards the devotees, which is a stylized posture associated with maternal embrace and piety.

Documents preserved from 1610 attest that a middle-aged farmer walking home began hearing a mysterious female voice. He looked around and saw on a cloud-veiled treetop a Diwata-like figure, interpreted by Catholic priests as a Marian apparition. The Blessed Virgin was purported to hold a rosary in her right hand with the Christ Child in her left arm all amidst a heavenly glow. The figure told the farmer where she wanted her simbahan (an indigenous shrine, later interpreted as a church by Catholic priests) to be built, and so a chapel was built on the hilltop site of the apparition, forming the nucleus of the present town.

Our Lady of the Rosary is depicted in other countries with similar attributes, with the accoutrement and style of the vestments varying across cultures. The Manaoag image is distinct from other statues in its sculpture and regalia, particularly its crown.

A pilgrim replica of the image also exists and is toured around parishes in the Philippines for veneration. In 1972, Josefa Edralin Marcos, the mother of former President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos, donated a new crown for the image. Her grandson, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. attended the centennial anniversary of its Pontifical coronation on 22 April 2026.

Regalia and security

Portrait of Pope Pius XI who decreed the Pontifical coronation of the image. By the Hungarian artisan, Philip de László, oil on canvas. c. 1924-25

The image and her bejeweled crown are considered priceless. There have been several attempts to rob the shrine of jewels sewn into the icon's dress and set into its regalia, which include crowns, aureolas, rosary, sceptres, and marshal's baton.

Several of her golden crowns and haloes are deposited at the shrine's museum, donated by both local and foreign devotees. An expensive collection of liturgical vestments that have been used by the image and the Dominican priests are also on display, as are an array of perfumes used to anoint the image. These are ex-votos given by devotees and pilgrims from around the world.

The image is fully secured within a bulletproof glass enclosure above the new high altar, an elevated pedestal, and four golden candelabras. The coat-of-arms of the Dominicans is embedded above the image's window as a demonstration of the Order's devotion to her. The Narra wood bas-relief Isabelo Tampinco beneath her altar beautifully depicts the historic events connected to Virgin.

The Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, in line with the Filipino custom of venerating an image by touching its body or clothing, constructed a staircase that rises to the Camarin ("Changing room") on the second floor behind the apse. The room has pews in front of the alcove behind the image's shrine. Supplicants kneel before the small window behind the image's base to pray and touch the hem of the image's mantle, often dropping written prayers into a nearby box. After venerating the image, devotees pass through the religious goods shop on their way out.

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  Details of the face of the image
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  A precious mantle within the basilica museum, c. 1870
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  Old regalia of the image including its breastplate, haloes, crowns, sceptres, baton, and vestments in the museum
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  An embroidered processional banner or gonfalon on display in the museum
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  An antique ivory replica as exhibited in the museum

Marian devotion and veneration

Purported miracles

Mural in the transept depicting of the image purportedly sparing the town from a wildfire

Some of the earliest miracles attributed to Our Lady of Manaoag, including the original apparition, are depicted in the murals in the church.

During the Spanish era, animist mountain tribes burnt down newly-Christianized villages. The town of Manaoag was among the settlements that were burnt by the raiders, sending the locals fleeing to the thatch-roofed church. The pillagers's leader climbed over the church compound's crude fence and shot flaming arrows at all parts of the church, but the building miraculously did not catch fire.

During the Second World War, enemy Japanese forces dropped several bombs within the church's vicinity. The structure was only moderately damaged. Four bombs were released above the church, with three landing on the plaza and the facade, destroying both. The last bomb fell into the sanctuary, but miraculously did not explode. The supposed presence of chrysanthemum flowers in the church prevented the Japanese soldiers from doing acts of desecration, due to the flower being revered in their culture.

Other miracles recounted and attributed to the Lady of Manaoag includes rainfalls during droughts, reviving an already-dead boy through holy intercession and holy water, stopping a fire that originated from the church, and resisting various attempts at relocating the shrine.

Miracles attributed to the Lady of Manaoag in modern times are widespread, attested by believers and widely promoted by word of mouth, publications and legends. As such, pilgrims often invoke Her intercession in times of dire need, with some of the petitioners travelling all the way from far places to do so.

Feasts

Dates for the Feast Days of Our Lady of Manaoag, 2026–2031

Year	Coronation (Eastertide)	Rosary Feast
2026	April 22	October 4
2027	April 14	October 3
2028	May 3	October 1
2029	April 18	October 7
2030	May 8	October 6
2031	April 30	October 5

The primary feast of Our Lady of Manaoag is on the third Wednesday of Easter. The peaks of the pilgrimages are during the Lenten and Easter seasons, the month of May, and the month of October — the rosary-month – where the Feast Our Lady of Rosary is celebrated. There is a procession after the afternoon Mass on these occasions.

Services

Thousands converge on Saturdays and Sundays to pray for their intentions, attend Holy Mass, pray the Rosary, offer flowers, light candles, purchase religious articles, have religious articles or vehicles blessed, get holy water, and join in the daily and seasonal activities. The blessings of religious articles and vehicles are performed at the back of the church grounds after every Mass, while holy water is also dispensed there for free to those with containers.

The short dawn procession and Scriptural Rosary every first Saturday before the 5 a.m. Mass is well-attended by regular pilgrims mostly from Metro Manila and from Regions I (Ilocos), II (Cagayan Valley), and III (Central Luzon). These first Saturday rites are pursuant to the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays requested by the Virgin Mary in her third apparition at Fátima on 13 July 1917 for the preservation of world peace.

Any of the Holy Masses in the regular schedule may be offered for personal petitions and thanksgiving. The 7 a.m. Masses on Fridays (except on Good Friday) may be offered for the repose of the Souls in Purgatory. These may be done through the parish office at the right side of the main entrance of the church; at the Shrine Museum; or at the back of the church beside the religious store at the entrance of the Candle Gallery. Mass offerings and donations may be offered also through its website.

The church formerly also broadcasts and livestreams masses, services at the shrine and religious programming from their website from radyomanaoag.com and manaoagshrine.org, both of which are no longer active. Archived 2013-05-12 at the Wayback Machine.

In Guam

A replica of the image of Our Lady of Manaoag was donated by a devotee and traveled to the United States unincorporated territory of Guam on 17 August 2012. The statue was enshrined at the Parish of Saint Anthony of Padua in Tamuning, Guam where a dedication rite was held the following day, attended by Filipino-Guamanian Catholics. The statue traveled as a paid passenger aboard a United Airlines flight.

See also

• Catholic Church in the Philippines

External links

• Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag Official Website Archived 2020-10-30 at the Wayback Machine