Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje Mahal na Birhen ng Kapayapaan at Mabuting Paglalakbay
The original image in 2023, clothed in blue and pink vestments
Location	Antipolo, Philippines
Date	25 March 1626
Type	Wooden statue
Approval	Pope Pius XI
Shrine	Antipolo Cathedral
Patronage	Travellers and sailors
Attributes	Dark complexion, enlarged iris, unbounded hair
Feast day	First Tuesday of May

Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (which means Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje in Spanish and Mahal na Birhen ng Kapayapaan at Mabuting Paglalakbay in Filipino) is a very old wooden statue of Mary, mother of Jesus. People in the Philippines have honored this statue for centuries. It's also known as Our Lady of Antipolo or the Virgin of Antipolo. This special statue is kept in the Antipolo Cathedral, located in the Sierra Madre mountains, east of Metro Manila.

The statue was brought to the Philippines in 1626 by a Spanish leader named Juan Niño de Tabora. He traveled from Mexico on a large ship called a galleon named El Almirante. People believed that the statue helped him have a safe trip across the Pacific Ocean. Because of this, it was given the name "Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage." The statue also sailed safely on six other trips of the Manila-Acapulco Galleons, acting as their protector.

This statue is one of the most famous images of Mary in the Philippines. Even the national hero José Rizal wrote about it. Every year, from May to July, millions of people from the Philippines and other countries visit the statue.

History of the Statue
- Stories of Miracles
- During World War II
Special Recognition
Antipolo Cathedral Shrine
Pilgrimage to Antipolo
On Television
Gallery
See also

History of the Statue

On March 25, 1626, the trading ship El Almirante left Acapulco, Mexico. On board was the new governor-general of the Spanish East Indies, Juan Niño de Tabora. He brought the statue with him. He arrived in Manila on July 18, 1626. The statue was first placed in the San Ignacio Church in Intramuros. When Governor Tabora passed away in 1632, the statue was given to the Jesuits. They placed it in the church being built in Antipolo.

Some beliefs and traditions about Our Lady of Antipolo have roots in older Filipino customs. These older beliefs were about nature spirits and gods, like Maguayen, a sea god. Over time, as people traded and moved, these older beliefs mixed with Catholic ideas about the Virgin Mary.

Stories of Miracles

While the Antipolo church was being built in the 1630s, the statue mysteriously disappeared several times. Each time, it was found on top of a tipolo tree. A tipolo is a breadfruit tree, which is common in Southeast Asia. People saw this as a sign from heaven. So, the church was moved to where the tipolo tree stood. It's said that the statue's base is made from the trunk of that very tree. The town of Antipolo itself got its name from this tipolo tree.

In 1639, Chinese people in the area started a revolt. They burned the town and the church. To keep the statue safe, Governor Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera moved it to Cavite. It stayed there for a while. Later, in 1648, Governor Hurtado ordered the statue to be sent back to Mexico. It traveled on the galleon San Luis. Back then, having a saint's statue on board was thought to protect the ship and its trade route to Acapulco.

The statue traveled across the Pacific Ocean six times on these large ships:

San Luis — (1648–1649)
Encarnación — (1650)
San Diego — (1651–1653)
San Francisco Javier — (1659–1662)
Nuestra Señora del Pilar — (1663)
San José — (1746–1748)

In 1864, Queen Isabella II made a special rule. It said that certain churches would be managed by different groups of priests. The churches in Antipolo, Taytay, and Morong were given to the Augustinian Recollects. This is how they came to care for the statue.

During World War II

In 1944, during World War II, the Japanese Imperial Army took over Antipolo. They used the church as a place to store weapons. To protect the statue, the church's sacristan (a person who helps in the church), Procopio Ángeles, wrapped it in a thick blanket. He then put it in an empty petrol drum and buried it in a nearby kitchen.

As fighting grew between Japanese soldiers and American and Filipino forces, Ángeles and other devoted people dug up the statue. They moved it to a safer place called Sitio Colaique. From there, it was secretly taken to Santolan in Pasig, and then to the center of Pasig town. The statue was then kept safe by Rosario Alejandro at her family's home in Quiapo, Manila. It stayed inside Quiapo Church for the rest of the war.

On October 15, 1945, the statue was brought back to its church in Antipolo. It has been there ever since.

Special Recognition

The statue received a very special honor from Pope Pius XI on June 18, 1925. This honor is called a "pontifical coronation." It means the Pope officially recognizes the statue's importance and the devotion people have for it.

The statue was officially crowned by the Archbishop of Manila, Michael James O'Doherty, on November 28, 1926. This special event took place in Luneta (now called Rizal Park) in Manila.

Antipolo Cathedral Shrine

The first missionaries (religious teachers) in Antipolo were the Franciscans, who arrived around 1578. Later, the Jesuits took care of the church from 1591 until 1768. That's when the Jesuits were asked to leave Spanish lands.

The church building was damaged many times. It was hurt during the Chinese uprising in 1639 and by big earthquakes in 1645, 1824, and 1883. Famous Filipino historians like Pedro Chirino and Pedro Murillo Velarde also served at this church.

The Diocese of Antipolo was created on January 24, 1983. The church became known as the “National Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage-Immaculate Conception Parish.”

In 2022, the Vatican declared Our Lady of Antipolo's shrine as the first "international shrine" in the Philippines. This means it's a very important place of worship recognized worldwide. It is only the third such shrine in Asia and the eleventh in the world. It is also the first international Marian (related to Mary) shrine in Asia.

Pilgrimage to Antipolo

Pilgrimages (special journeys) to the statue's shrine usually start and are most popular in May. In Catholicism, May is a month dedicated to the Virgin Mary. On April 30, the night before May Day, thousands of people from Metro Manila do something called Alay Lakad. This means "Walk Offering." Pilgrims walk all night to reach the shrine and attend Mass at dawn.

The main starting point for this modern pilgrimage is Quiapo Church. However, people have been visiting the shrine in May since the 1800s. On June 6, 1868, a young José Rizal and his father, Don Francisco Mercado, visited the shrine. They went to give thanks after José and his mother, Teodora Alonso, survived his birth in 1861.

On Television

In December 2011, a TV show called Mary: Mother of the Philippines featured the statue. The show, on the Eternal Word Television Network, called it the “most traveled Marian icon in the Philippines.”

Gallery

Nave and sanctuary of the cathedral, with a funeral in progress.
Main retablo of the cathedral, with the image enshrined in glass.
A replica in the image's veneration chapel behind the main altar. The glass cases contain the original image's regalia, perfumes, and scale models of the galleons it travelled on.