A WOMAN IN THE MIDST OF THE FLOCK
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FROM VISION TO DEVOTION
The veneration of the Blessed
Virgin Mary as Divine Shepherdess (Divina
Pastora) traces it its origin to Spain, when a Capuchin priest named Padre
Isidro had a vision in 1703 of the Virgin Mary as a young woman with a crook or
staff in her hand and on her head a large pastoral straw hat falling over her
shoulders. Happening after his contemplation on the Lord Jesus as the Good Shepherd,
the vision reinforced the priest’s belief in Mary’s tender love and gentle care
for the flock of God, to whom she was sent as a mother and guide. Mary’s right
hand rested on the head of a trusting lamb that symbolized the follower of
Christ who was also Mary’s special charge.
The vision, once visually portrayed
through paintings and later on through statues, quickly earned the admiration
and affection of the people who made space in their churches for the Divina Pastora. A devotion grew and
developed vigorously in Spain and in countries evangelized by the missionaries.
Staunch devotees of the Divina Pastora
are now spread all over the Spanish-speaking world.
In the Philippines, this devotion
to the Divina Pastora is concentrated
today in just a few places but the nexus of fervor is in the historic church of
one of the earliest Philippine parishes and towns (est. 1595) formerly known as
Ibon but now famous as Gapan City in
the province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon. In this prosperous city, stands
the church sanctuary that houses both the revered images of the Divina Pastora and the Three Kings,
co-patrons of the parish.
To those who seek the maternal
blessings and the fruitful intercession of Mary, the shepherdess of the flock,
the shrine in Gapan City is a locus of encounter with Jesus through Mary. All
over the Central Plains of Luzon, people with physical, emotional, financial
and spiritual cares draw close to the comforting presence of the Mother of God
who shares with her Divine Son a special solicitude for the needs of all the
members of the Christian flock.
FROM FAMILY HEIRLOOM TO TREASURE
OF THE COMMUNITY
The original image of the Divina
Pastora cherished by the people of Gapan, of all Novo Ecijanos, and devotees
from elsewhere is a one and half meter wooden image whose provenance is
depicted in two versions. The first of these recalls the arrival of an
Augustinian friar bearing the image and entrusting it to the town’s parish
church. The image was at times missing or had been lost from the church, but soon re-emerged among a callos tree abundant in the area.
Another version, supported by
recollections of present-day heirs of the Valmonte family, tells of their
clan’s special connection with the Blessed Virgin. A certain Juana dela Cruz
Valmonte had a perplexing dream of the Virgin Mary and upon counsel of her
father, she approached an Augustinian friar in Intramuros for its
interpretation. The priest readily surmised that the Blessed Mother wanted the
woman to obtain an image of the Divina Pastora from Spain. Another version
narrates that the priest, impressed by Juana’s faith, himself gifted her with a
wooden image of the Divina Pastora.
The image occupied a privileged
place in the Valmonte family’s domestic altar, where they experienced the
powerful protection and efficacious intercession of the Blessed Virgin. The
people of Nueva Ecija were agrarian folks. The Valmontes beseeched Our Lady for
bountiful harvests, and they witnessed their intentions fulfilled. They came to
Her for many other petitions, and the Divine Pastora never failed to manifest
Her miraculous touch.
It was then that the family
celebrated the beneficence of the Divina Pastora with a yearly fiesta in her
honor on the 1st of May, the last day of the harvest season, happily
coinciding with the start of the Marian month and later, the feast of the St.
Joseph the Worker. Family, friends, neighbors and devotees from near and far
flocked to Gapan to join in the festivities. Having heard of the marvels of God
through the Divina Pastora, people came in droves in an outpouring of affection
and tenderness to their shepherdess and mother.
Thus, the family thanksgiving
feast gave way to a church and town fiesta where the diminutive image of the
Virgin assumed a central role in the merriment and pious expressions. From the
family altar, the image was carried in procession through the streets of the
town and enshrined temporarily in the main church for the sacraments and
devotional prayers. The Augustinian clerics embraced the growing religiosity
that evolved around the image, her miracles and her influence on the increasing
number of devotees. The town officials exulted in the opportunity to offer
people the chance to revel in their newfound spirit of faith, solidarity and
communion.
Many years later, the original
image owned by the Valmontes has been officially donated to the church. From
the family altar, the Virgin Mary descended into the streets of the town
inviting her flock to herself and to her Son, and made her way into an exalted
and secure niche within the hallowed space of the local parish church and in
the hearts of the people of farming and fishing villages of the whole of the
central plains. As people flocked to the place of Mary’s famed miracles, the
pilgrimages enlisted the quiet town among the faith’s most desired
destinations.
FROM HOME-GROWN TO INTERNATIONAL
RECOGNITION
The unique Filipino piety growing
around the Marian image of the Divina Pastora soon became ready for
international recognition and acclaim. In 1964, the Holy Father Pope Paul VI
bestowed on the image his pontifical approval by mandating the canonical
coronation of the Divina Pastora. This happened on April 26 of that year. The
worldwide church gazed admiringly and lovingly on the Divina Pastora of Gapan.
As Bishop Mariano Gaviola put the
crown on the head of the Virgin (two images, one church-owned and the
privately-owned of the Valmontes both honored), the people’s exuberance and
reverence contributed to the solemnity of the occasion. The simple dream of
Juana Valmonte became the realization of the people’s religious aspirations and
sentiments. The plain prayers of petition and praise at the foot of a family altar
metamorphosed into the solemn proclamation of the Divina Pastora’s extended
Patronage to the entire Diocese of Cabanatuan and to the whole province of
Nueva Ecija.
The Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines, in 1986, elevated the simple sanctuary of the Divina
Pastora and the Three Kings in Gapan City into a National Shrine of Mary,
through a moving ceremony presided over by the great Filipino Cardinal of Cebu,
Ricardo Vidal. This affirmed further the effects of the Divina Pastora devotion, that the doors of the church in Gapan are
flung open to the entire Filipino nation.
From there, the Divina Pastora truly lives among her
children. She walks in the midst of the Lord’s pastureland, guiding the flock
to green meadows. As shepherdess she knows each of the sheep by name, and the
lambs run to her for solace and peace. The sheep know Mary’s voice, in the same
way that they recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd, Jesus the center of all
hearts. The sheep listen to Mary and follow her, as she says to them in turn: “Do
whatever He tells you!” (Jn 2:5).
