After 26 years, Paombong patroness brought our for veneration
Nuestra Señora de la Consolación y Correa de Paombong.
By Kendrick Ivan B. Panganiban
January 2, 2020
The faithful of Santiago Apostol Parish in this town celebrated with much festivity as its venerated Marian image was brought out for the first time outside the church after 26 years last Dec. 28.
The parish is home to the antique image of Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa (Our Lady of Consolation and the Cincture) of Paombong, which is considered as secondary patroness of the parish and one of the oldest representations of the Patroness of the Augustinian Order in Bulacan province.
In the unveiling named “PASINAYA: And Birheng Mapang-aliw at and Daan-Taong Pamimintuho ng Bayang Ginigiliw”, the image was once again brought out from parish’s vault-type retablo for the veneration of the faithful.
It was also dressed with a new set of vesture, brought by a grant sponsored by the image caretakers’ group Esculturas Religiosas en las Filipinas and the vest-making brand Borda de Oro.
The grant was won by the parish’s Paombong Marian Exhibit and Procession Committee in 2018 and was given this month in line with the parish’s novena Masses.
The patroness was formally venerated during the eighth novena Mass in honor of the traditional feast of the transfer of the remains of St. James the Apostle to Compostela, Spain, celebrated annually by the community.
Fr. Francis Protacio Cortez III, Spiritual Director of the Cofradia de la Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa – Bulacan Chapter, presided the Mass together with Parish Priest, Fr. Anacleto Ignacio.
According to Cortez, “this is a significant event not only for the Cofradia but also for this parish. Finally, after a gradual decline in the promotion of Our Lady of Consolation, we now celebrate in her honor through our event today.”
After the 6pm Mass , the image was brought out of the church for its first official procession in the town center after its long stay indoors.
According to cofradia member Renz Dela Cruz, the incidental breaking of one of the image’s fingers forced the cofradia and the parish priest to seal the ivory image in an enclosed retablo in 1993 so that it could be saved from theft.
He added that, “hopefully with a renewed interest of the faithful to the image and the support of the cofradia groups from the whole province, devotion to Our Lady of Consolation may once again grow.”
Established in 1639, Santiago Apostol Parish remains as the home of the largest unit of the Augustinian confraternity, established since 1607 to promote the devotion to Our Lady in the Augustinian order, according to Cortez.
“It is important for all the parishes with the confraternity active in them to foster the devotion to Our Lady of Consolation and the Cincture,” he added.
