La Naval de Manila
La Naval de Manila is the common but shortened name for the statuette of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila ( Spanish: Nuestra Señora del Santíssimo Rosario de La Naval de Manila ). It is dedicated to Mary of Victory , a title of St. Mary , and is considered in the Roman Catholic Church as the patron saint of the capital of the Philippines Manila, the soldiers of the Philippine armed forces and the Philippine seafarers. The statuette is exhibited in the shrine named after it in the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City . She is the only saint figure in the Philippines whose face is not based on European models, but rather represents a Filipina. In 1906 she was included in the canon of saints by Pope Pius X and she received the saint's crown set with 24 diamonds. On October 4, 2012, she was the National Museum of the Philippines declared a national cultural heritage of the Philippines.
The Spanish and Filipino soldiers who took part in the five naval battles of La Naval de Manila in 1646 worshiped the Nuestra Señora del Santíssimo Rosario in the Old Santo Domingo Church in Intramuros and asked her for assistance and support in the coming naval battles. After her success, attributed to the Nuestra Señora del Santíssimo Rosario by the crews of the ships Rosario and Encarnacion, the victory was dedicated to her. In 1662, the events of 1646 were proclaimed the miracle of La Naval de Manila by the Bishop of Manila .
Further miracles, which are ascribed to the La Naval, were the first success of Filipinos during the Philippine Revolution and the occupation of the capital Manila in 1896. It is also associated with the liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese occupation in 1944/45 and the success of the peaceful EDSA revolution 1986.
history
The history of the statuette goes back to the year 1593, when the then governor General Luis Perez Dasmarinas commissioned the captain Hernando de los Rios to have a statue of a saint made. It was to become the religious expression for his rule in the Philippines. The sculpture was dedicated to Mary of Victory based on the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary , with which Pope Pius V wanted to express his thanks for the victory of the Christian fleet in the naval battle of Lepanto in 1571. The name La Naval de Manila alludes to the Spanish seafaring tradition and indicates the location of the statuette. The statuette has been damaged several times in the course of history, but has always been restored. The old shrine, the old Santo Domingo Church, was destroyed and the figure damaged during the British invasion of the Philippines in 1762 and the bombing of Manila in early 1942.
Execution of the statuette
The statuette was made by a Chinese artist. This was not based on European models, but took a Filipina as a model for modeling facial features. The statuette is 142.24 cm tall and the body is made of tropical hardwood. The head and hands are made of ivory . The artist noted that figures of saints are always raised above the believer and therefore the eyes of La Naval have a slightly downward gaze and thus enable direct eye contact with the believer. The clothing of the La Naval corresponds to the clothing of the late 16th or early 17th century at the Spanish royal court. The figure carries the Christ child in the left arm and a scepter in the right hand.
gallery
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila
