NUESTRA SEŇORA de SALVACION

(Our Lady of Salvation)

Among the several fiesta celebrations I observe, paying homage to the image off
our lady of salvation is the most awaited one that I observed. This diocesan fiesta
is held annually every third Saturday of august in barangay joroan joined by many
pilgrims from other localities as far as other towns of Bicol region. For the past 244
Devotees has been paying homage and rituals thanks to the image of the Virgin
Mary popularly known Our Lady of Salvation. One of its traditional rituals and
activities is carrying the image of Our Lady of Salvation for a more than kilometer
procession from the church to the seashore then back again after the maritime
procession that consume more or less three and a half hours. While the last
Saturday of august is traditionally reserved as a special day of veneration wherein
the pilgrims would walk a nine-kilometer procession from St. Lawrence the
Martyr church of Tiwi to the Diocesan Shrine in Joroan.

According to catholic doctrine, the original, 18th century image of Our Lady of
Salvation reflects her role as Co-Redemptrix, which according to catholic
dictionary means a tittle of the blessed virgin as co-operator with Christ in the
work of human redemption. In the image the Virgin is portrayed as carrying the
Christ child in her left arm, while her right arm holds a man by the hand as he is
about to fall into a vast gate of hell. An angel kneels at the feet of the Virgin Mary,
offering a basket of burning hearts to Christ, who holds a burning heart in his right
hand, while his left hand is stretched in a gesture of accepting the hearts.
According to history the image of Our Lady of Salvation began in 1770, when
haciendero named Don Silverio Arcilla of Buhi assigned a tenant farmer named
Mariano Dacoba in one of his vast estates in Joroan (then known as Cagnipa).
While Dacoba was clearing the hacienda one day, he chopped off a big calpi tree.
However, to his surprised, he found out that the leaves did not wilt and
maintained its freshness despite the many hours that passed after being severed
at the base. He then informed Arcilla about it who then consulted the pastor of
buhi of what could be done with it. A sculpture called Bagacumba was
commissioned by the pastor to carved an image from the calpi tree that Dacoba
had found. Out of the tree, he was able to carve three statuettes- Nuestra Seňora
de Salvation (Our Lady of Salvation), San Antonio de Padua (Saint Anthony of
Padua), Nuestra Seňora de Solidad (Our Lady of Solitude), the first is in Barangay
Joroan of Tiwi and the latter two will both be found in the Poblacion and Barangay
Tambo of Buhi, respectively.