Devotees of Our Lady of Piat will gather once again at Sto. Domingo Church on July 9, 9 a.m., after the feast day (July 2). A tradition begun by the late Dr. Carolina Prada 35 years ago continues to be observed by devotees in the Metro Manila area.
Leading this year’s celebration are Devotees of Nuestra Señora de Piat Foundation headed by (Ret.) Gen. Edgar Aglipay as president. Tuguegarao Auxiliary Bishop Ric Baccay will celebrate the Mass with Msgr. Bong Cabrera, parish priest of Immaculate Conception Cathedral, as co-celebrant.
Committee members in charge of the celebration are Mina Carag, program and invitations; Tita Rose Tan, Mass arrangement and reception afterward; Mawie Aglipay, reception at church and restaurant; Marita Cortez, report of foundation; Carmen Carag, invitation to priest celebrants and offertory procession; Nando Singson, choir; Partylist Diwa Rep. Emmeline Aglipay, commentator; and Josie Darang, lector and publicity. Brunch follows at the KFC restaurant across Sto. Domingo Church at P200 per person.
Miracles of Our Lady of Piat
It has been known to happen that Our Lady of Piat has interceded for women having difficulty conceiving a baby. This happened to Ella Aglipay Delio and her sister-in-law Ginger Aglipay (wife of her brother Michael Aglipay).
After two and a half years of not getting pregnant after their wedding in 2001, Michael and Ginger made a pilgrimage to Piat, Cagayan Valley, where the Shrine of the Virgin is located. Ginger immediately conceived afterward and gave birth in 2003 to a baby boy whom they named Miguel.
Then, Ella came home with husband David Delio to make a pilgrimage to Piat. She immediately conceived and gave birth in May 2009 to a baby girl they named Naomi. David Delio, a devout Catholic who’s taking up doctorate studies in Theology, was overjoyed, to say the least. The family lives in Maryland.
Celebration in Piat
Msgr. Samuel Baculi leads the celebration of the fiesta of Our Lady of Piat in the town where the Basilica Minore dedicated to Our Lady stands. Devotees from all over Northern Luzon come by bus or car to give her honor.
Those who cannot afford to pay for a hotel would spread their mats on the stone floor of the courtyard and sleep there. “Mama Piat’s” devotees would do anything to express their thanks for favors received.
Our Lady of Manaoag in the Visayas
Our Lady of Manaoag was enthroned at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Chapel on April 10 in Abucay, Tacloban City, where a big church is being built.
Rev. Fr. Patricio A. Apa, OP, enthroned the image of Our Lady assisted by the parish priest Carlos Rodriguez.
Cebu Archbishop José Palma was the main celebrant of the fiesta in St. John de Sahagun Parish in Toledo City, Cebu, on June 12. Co-celebrants were Bishop Emeritus Antonio Rañola, Fr. Rolando Manayon, the parish priest, and Father Apa. Father Apa enthroned Our Lady of Manaoag. To date, the Manaoag image has been enthroned 90 times in different churches in the Visayas, Mindanao and parts of Luzon.
The first enthronement in the Visayas took place in St. Joseph Church in Mandaue City in 1996, with Edna Ouano Toral and family as sponsors.
SM Foundation adopts AFP heroes ward
The Heroes Ward of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center (the AFPMC, formerly the V. Luna Hospital) has been adopted by the SM Foundation.
The refurbished 50-bed capacity ward serves battle casualty patients, including officers, enlisted personnel and civilian auxiliary patients. Most of the patients confined at the ward are soldiers with serious wounds and bone injuries, some of whom are waiting to be fitted with artificial limbs before being returned to active duty or sent to station hospitals of their respective units for therapy.
The SM Foundation likewise renovated Ward 3B of the AFPMC’s orthopedic wing following an appeal from the ward’s patients to SM Foundation executive director Debbie Sy. The turnover took effect early June 2011.
Late last year the SM Foundation also donated a Felicidad Sy Wellness Center to the Air Force General Hospital at Villamor Airbase by completely renovating its Pediatric Outpatient Department. The Center caters to the medical needs of military personnel and their dependents, as well as the communities in the vicinity of Villamor Airbase. God bless you, Nanang Sy, for your kindness.
Doc Olalia is exemplary dad
The Ulirang Ama Award was given to my surgeon William Olalia last June 19 (Father’s Day) by the National Ulirang Ina and National Ulirang Ama Award Foundation at Century Park Hotel.
Doctor Olalia is married to Dr. Salve Olalia with whom he has three doctor-sons, as well as two nurse-children. A nurse-son is now in his third year of Medicine at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. Yet another child is a chef.
Doctor Olalia was former chief operating officer of UST Hospital and is a member of the UST Hospital medical staff and professor at the UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery.
Congratulations, Doc. God bless you for your kind heart!
Sacred Heart fiesta
The novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is ongoing in all churches until June 30. The Apostleship of Prayer in the Archdiocese of Manila will mark the Fiesta July 1, with a Concelebrated Mass in Quiapo Church at 12:15 p.m.
Citihub, worker’s dorm, opens in Mandaluyong
A dormitory for blue collar workers, minimum wage earners and students is holding a soft opening this month on 302 JP Rizal St., Barangay (village) Mabini, Mandaluyong City.
Called Citihub, the male workers’ dorms are two container vans converted with 22 beds, each van fully air-conditioned. The other container van is the bathroom and toilet area. The bed space facility comes out P50 a day or P1,500 a month, including water and electricity. There are lockers below the beds.
Panya Go Boonsirithum, president of Citihub Enterprises, got the idea of “capsule living” when he visited Japan where they have this kind of setup. Architect Jun Sebastian designed the living quarters plus a relaxing area in between the container vans where one can have meals.
Aptly calling it Citihub, the workers’ dorm will formally open with a blessing on July 2, 4 p.m., by Fr. Ely Santos, SDB. For reservations, call 5855893 or text 0917-8717498.
