HAKBANG BENILDYANO: A PILGRIMAGE TO THE VIRGIN OF ANTIPOLO by J.A. Austria © 2014 Since the 17th century, the month of May has always been synonymous with the annual Antipolo pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage. Every year thousands of people flock to Antipolo to pay their respects to this black madonna from Acapulco—probably the most famous icon of Mary in Philippine history. She was after all the patroness of the Manila galleons, healer of the sick, and for almost 4 centuries the virgin of predilection of the Filipinos. Yes there are other famous icons of Mary all over the country—but none [as historian Monina Mercado writes] “is as deeply-embedded in local folk culture as the Virgin of Antipolo.” AN OLD TRADITION The “romeria” is a term that refers specifically to a Hispanic pilgrimage tradition that requires devotees to walk a considerably long distance to a hallowed shrine. In Spain. the most famous romeria is that of Santiago de Compostela, as well as the Virgen del Rocio. Mexico also has is own famous romerias to the Virgen de Guadalupe, de los Lagos and Zapopan. For 300 years our history was so closely-connected to these two countries, so it is not surprising that we also developed our own “romerias”: Manaoag and Antipolo being the most prominent. In the past, the Antipolo pilgrimage was a real adventure. There were no roads then to the hill town & the surrounding areas were covered by forests. So one can imagine the difficulty of such a journey. The trip to Antipolo then took 2-3 days to complete. It was also normal for groups of pilgrims to carry food with them [often rice and adobo] good for the customary 9-day stay. There were no hotels and pensions houses in Antipolo then. Visitors were dependent on the kindness of local residents. Those coming from Old Manila would utilize bancas [via the Pasig River] then walk all the way from Pasig to Antipolo. Those who are wealthier can afford to ride horses. It is interesting to note that the sick, women and children were often carried to the hill summit by coolies from Taytay and Cainta. So the romeria of yore was not a pleasure trip: considering the challenges of making the trek to Antipolo—it was more of a penitential caravan. THE MODERN ROMERIA Nowadays, the romeria has become an abbreviated affair. Antipolo [now a city] is just a bus-ride away. Most devotees can now go to Antipolo without having to worry about Pasig River crocodiles [now extinct], dangerous ravines, and swift-flowing streams etc. But still, modern pilgrims wanted to keep the “penitential spirit” alive by keeping the “by foot” element. After all a “romeria” will not be a romeria without the penitential walk. The most famous route is the Quiapo to Antipolo route [normally done on the first day of May]. The cult of the Virgin of Antipolo has always been closely-associated with Quiapo’s Black Nazarene: both are of Mexican origin, sporting an archetypally-powerful dark color, and are immensly popular with the masses. In fact, the image of the Virgin sough refuge in Quiapo when its original shrine was destroyed during the closing months of WWII. Thousands of devotees follow this particular route which starts at the Basilica Minore of the Nazareno and winds its way eastward to Rizal province. And there’s the new 16 kilometer “EDSA Shrine to Antipolo” route. The latter is interesting since it starts in an modern shrine and ends in a centuries-old one—both honoring Mary as Queen of Peace. Yesterday [08 May 2014], the College of Saint Benilde made its first ever romeria to Our Lady via this route. Dubbed “Hakbang Benildyano”, a hundred or so employees walked, ran and biked their way through the rather flat terrain of Pasig, Cainta and Taytay before making the difficult uphill climb to Antipolo. HAKBANG BENILDYANO EXPERIENCE Our “Hakbang Benildyano” pilgrimage started with a solemn liturgical service at the EDSA Shrine at around 400 am. The priest focused on Mary as a traveller, on how such a young, pregnant woman showed exemplary bravery to embark on a walking journey—alone—to bring the good news to her cousin Elizabeth. Considering the risks at that time, the Virgin Mary’s “walk of faith” is indeed a source of inspiration. Now it’s our time to do the same “walk of faith” to her shrine in Antipolo. We then prayed the first part of the Rosary in front of a “mystery marker” with a bas-relief of the Annunciation. After a brief period of silence, we started to walk eastward via Ortigas extension. There are in fact 15 rosary markers that line the route. Since this is a spiritual exercise and not a “fun run”, pilgrims are somehow expected to reckon the distance not by kilometers—but by mysteries. I am a fast walker -but my boss Bro Dennis is an experienced runner so he dictated the pace. By the time we reached Cainta, group was already broken into two: the “athletic ones” [the seasoned runners] and the main pack [the walking pilgrims]. I found myself halfway between the “athletic-ones” and the main pack [which is roughly an hour behind me]. So I was basically “alone” for most of my walk—with hardly any Benildean in sight. And I guess it really worked for me since I cannot chat. But with nobody to talk to, I was able to focus my attention on reflection and prayer. When I saw the marker for the first glorious mystery [The Resurrection] which is near the Taytay-Antipolo boundary, I somehow knew that I will make it despite the onset of leg cramps. It’s around 6:50 am. The uphill climb was more difficult and at I have to stop by the road several times to massage my tight calves and sheens. My pre-walk stretching and “banana-breakfast failed this time round. But what surprised me is that apart from the leg cramps, I never experienced any shortness of breath. Quite unusual for a self-confessed couch potato. I think Our Lady really wanted me to finish this pilgrimage without resorting to “cheating”—that is riding a jeepney or tricycle to Antipolo city proper. I finally reached the patio of Antipolo Church at 7:27 am. There was a feeling of fulfillment of being able to complete the romeria. This is not my first time to make a pilgrimage to our Lady; when I was a kid we used to go there “excursion style”. But nothing can compare to the fulfillment of finishing a physically-demanding romeria. The organizers were nice enough to provide a free breakfast in nearby Mang Inasal [in typical CSB fashion, they reserved the whole place just for the pilgrims ehehe]. After a hearty meal of daing na bangus and unlimited rice, I found a nice, cool resting place under a “tipolo” tree. Yup the same tree specie where the Virgin’s image appeared in the 17th century. SACRAMENTS AND SOUVENIRS Those who arrived early have at least an hour and a half to wait for the main pack, so many walked around the church complex, immersing themselves in the prayerful yet festive atmosphere. I decided to go to first to the Candle Hall, and then the Camarin de la Virgen to kiss the mantle of Our Lady. There’s a beautiful exhibit of the Virgin’s regalia at the camarin but cameras are not allowed. And I understand this policy. Not only because of security reasons. At times taking photos can be distracting to devotees who are there for a “private moment” with Our Lady. In fact, I took very few photos this time around. There a voice within that’s urging me to refrain from taking to many photos: “set aside the camera and talk to Our Lady”. When it’s my turn to go to the original image to kiss her veil, I was embraced by an unexplainable “peace”. It was a lovely prayerful moment with the Black Madonna. Later I found myself drawn to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I have a natural aversion for this particular sacrament although I believe it is such a beautiful ritual of God’s love and mercy. Still, I felt that my pilgrimage would not be complete without going to this particular sacrament. I found the confession area and by the grace of Christ, a priest happens to be on stand-by waiting for a penitent to avail of the sacrament. I don’t want to use the word “lucky” since there are no accidents in the sacred scheme of things. The pilgrimage culminated with the 9 am novena mass. Though it’s a weekday, the church was full with devotees [I can imagine how crowded Antipolo is on weekends during this pilgrimage month]. The mass was offered especially for the intentions of the College and all of us who participated in the romeria. The mass and holy communion was indeed a fitting conclusion—an affirmation of the “To Jesus through Mary” theology. I am more convinced than ever that true devotion to Mary always leads people to Christ. I can say that in this particular pilgrimage, I experienced how Our Lady “leads” each individual to a real experience of Christ—she’s not pleased when our devotion is fixated on her person. It is not at all surprised that the Antipolo Shrine is still very popular and is showing no signs of waning. The cult of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage is an authentic and Christo-centric Marian devotion. The long list of miracles and favors recorded since the 17th century is a testimony to the fact that this place is channel of Christ’s mercy. With my meager budget, I was still able to buy to keepsakes / souvenirs from the Shrine of Our Lady: a beautiful statuette and green rosary [with her image embossed on the medals]. Forget about suman and roasted cashew nuts…I was so tired to even think about these pasalubong. See, the romeria is not an excursion or field trip—but a numinous ritual that brings us closer to a sacred reality. The real graces of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage during this particular pilgrimage are non-material and priceless: faith, friendship, camaraderie, and a closer relationship with Christ. POSTSCRIPT Nursing a sprained right ankle: I guess I exerted too much yesterday. But this is nothing compared to the fulfillment of being able to make this physically-demanding pilgrimage to Mother Mary. At least I can say that I managed to do a real Antipolo romeria once in my lifetime. But I do hope it will not be the last. The Virgin of Antipolo gave me graces that I’m so thankful for—-I simply have to return to thank her again. -Manila, 09 May 2014
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 13:00:51 +0000
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