District of Jaro and the Feast of Our Lady of Candles

photo by simpliving.blogspt.com

Let’s HANGOUT in Jaro, Iloilo City

The Feast of Our Lady of Candles (Nuestra Senora dela Candelaria)

In Jaro Iloilo in the Philippines, the Feast of Our Lady of Candles (Nuestra Senora dela Candelaria) is held every second day of February. Most granduous religious event in Western Visayas, the celebration of the festival of Our Lady is a blessing through procession of candles followed by a pageantry with the fiesta queen, who belong to one of the prominent families, and her escort roaming around the town. The fiesta also features a cockfighting event where afficionados gather from all over the country held at the Iloilo Coliseum.

photo by ilonggos.net

The annual religious festival highlights agro-industrial exhibits, garden show, fiesta carnivals, concerts, contests, among many others. Iloilo people believe that the celebration of the feast symbolizes the prosperity of the city and the enjoyment of Filipino over grand fiesta and celebrations.

The church of where the Our Lady enshrined, the famous Parish of Our Lady of Candles, is also known as Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral, is also the site of the miraculous image of Virgin Mary, which was canonically crowned by Pope John Paul II in 1982. It is the only religious image to have personally crowned by a Pope.

photo by flicker.com

The church is built in 1864 with fossil stones of creamy color compared to most of the Hispanic structures in Iloilo that were built over bricks and sandstones. Its baroque architecture features designs of entwining of many neoclassic features. Stained glass windows of Romanesque designs contribute to unique balance between baroque and classic style. The dominance of baroque style is seen through the small rose window at the upper half of the churchís facade, which is typical to gothic churches.

The Jaro church plays a big part in the history of Iloilo. It is considered as the heart of Catholicism in the island and perhaps the most important shrine in the region. Many historic events took place in the very grounds of the cathedral. The anniversary of the miraculous patron saint is flocked by hundreds of pilgrims every year. The Feast of Our Lady of Candles is a tradition passed from one generation to another.

February 2nd is also the celebration of the Feast of the Candlemas. Held on the 40th day after the Feast of Magi, it is also popularly known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin or the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in Temple. In this event, candles are blessed during a mass. It is once heard the occurance of darkness in three days, and people say the only light to be used were the blessed candles in the Candlemas.

article source: philippinefiestas.com

Hangout in Iloilo and join us in the celebration of The Feast of Our Lady of Candles!!

photos by trekeart.com and latimesblogs.latimes.com