Manaoag

Posted by Chuckster (Mandaluyong, Philippines) on 26 November 2008 in People & Portrait.

A shot of the actual Lady of Manaoag which was being displayed in a church within our municipality.

The origins of the Our Lady of Manaoag started with the holy Augustinian fathers who were in charge of the spiritual administration of the Manaoag town from the year 1590 to 1613 in accords to the sanctified decree of Spain. It was accepted as a vicariate by the Dominican Provincial Chapter in 1614, under the patronage of Santa Monica.

According to documented recorded legend dating back to 1610, a native man who was walking home heard a Lady's mysterious voice. He looked around and with great awe saw the radiant Lady with a Rosary on her right hand and a Child on her left as she stood on a cloud veiling a treetop. The man fell on his knees. He told the people of the apparition. And soon right on the spot where the Lady appeared a church was built. A town quickly flourished around it and was called "Manaoag".

Tradition has it that the town itself was born from the Virgin’s call, thus the term, "taoag" meaning "to call" was used to name the town. This is where the name Manaoag was derived from, which means "She Calls".