Thousands of devotees from diverse nationalities will gather for the annual Virgen de los Remedios Mass on Sunday, September 22, 2024 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The festivities will begin with a procession to assemble at the Cathedral Plaza at three o’clock in the afternoon. This will be followed with a Solemn Concelebrated Mass to be presided by the Most Reverend Clarence Silva of the Diocese of Honolulu, Member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and Chairman of USCCB Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs.
This tradition on its 18th year in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was introduced by Filipino immigrants whose widespread devotion to the Blessed Mother goes back to the Spanish times during the galleon trades between Mexico and the Philippines. In 1571, the Augustinian missionaries brought the oldest Marian image of Nuestra Senora de Guia. Pope Gregory XIII and Pope Clement VIII decreed in 1578, the erection of the Manila Cathedral under the tutelage of the Immaculate Conception. The image of Nuestra Senora del Rosario was brought by the Dominicans in 1587. She has become a national treasure and symbol of peace after Spanish and Filipino forces won the Dutch invasion in 1646. One of the first churches built in 1588 was under the title of Nuestra Senora de los Remedios located in the Malate district.
Devotion to Virgen de los Remedios was began by Pampanga’s first bishop Cesar Guerrero to get rid of communism in the province. Her image was carried in procession all over, encouraging everyone to pray the rosary and for peace. In 1956, Pope Pius XII bestowed the canonical crown on the revered image. Since then, Kapampangans all over the world have been praying to the mother of God for peace, safety, healing and family unity.
With the presence of Clark Air Base, a former US military facility in Pampanga, friendships between Kapampangan and Americans made them the biggest Filipino minority group in the United States. Rev. Rodel Balagtas, a Kapampangan and Priest Liaison of the LA Archdiocese Filipino Ministry, brought the replica of Virgen de los Remedios and Vidal Aguas of Floridablanca, spearheads the annual celebration at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. This year’s town host is Betis, Guagua. Every September, a golden crown is presented to our Lady and entrusting her children in the hands of a loving mother.
With the universality of the devotion to Virgen de los Remedios – from South of France, to the region of Andalucia, on the southern coast of Spain, the pyramids of Cholula Mexico, the villages of Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Argentina, Sri Lanka and India, devotees pray to Mary, who provide for their necessities and brings them together in Christ. Everyone is invited to come in their national costumes and may bring their Marian images and banners.
“From Mary, we learn to surrender to God’s will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the son of God.” John Paul II
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please call: Vidal Aguas 323-530-7652
