BY: ANTONIO C. GASTON
One day in 1954 in the convent of Cadiz, Negros Occidental, while waiting for a boat to bring us to Bantayan Island for a BV rally. I was talking with the late Msgr. Manuel Yap about giving the Barangay Sang Virgen its patroness with the title of VIRGIN OF THE BARANGAY. I said it is about time we Filipinos should have an image of the Virgin in typically Filipino interpretation and culture. She should be dressed in typical Filipino costume to attract the Filipino masses as their Mother Matriarch.
Bishop Yap approved the idea with the comment that she should retain the Jewish face, or at least the “mestiza” type in order to be historically truthful as indeed, he said, she was really a Jewish woman. I agreed saying that this is good as we have observed how foreigners, who really assume the life and culture of the Philippines, are more appreciated and loved than those who impose their own way of life.
And so the problem was how to draw or paint this picture. Fr. Rawh of the Salesian order in Don Bosco, Victorias, Negros Occidental volunteered to send these ideas to their Salesian painters in Hongkong. After a time the answer came from Hongkong saying that without a model or inspiration they cannot paint such a picture.
Our professional painters here, graduates of our best Fine Arts Colleges, also offered to paint the idea about the Virgin of the Barangay. But Msgr. Yap did not approved the two paintings presented.
One day in the Cathedral of Jaro, Ilo-ilo, I was talking to the members of the Barangay Sang Virgen telling them the good news of having our own patroness with the new title of “VIRGIN OF THE BARANGAY”, that she was to be matriarch, inspiration and mother calling the little people, the poor masses of our country, to gather about her etc. After my talk a certain Millhill priest introduced himself as the Chaplain of the Sta. Barbara Leprosarium in Ilo-ilo. He asked if I could give him the description of the Virgin because he had an inmate there who can paint very well. I inquired if the intimate was a painter and he said that the leper merely learned to paint there, which was his way of augmenting his little income. I was a bit skeptical, knowing that other professional painters have failed, but I gave him the description anyway.
After several months Fr. Pixner, the Mill hill Chaplain, wrote to me attaching a small black and white snapshots of the painting made by the leper and, that if we like it, to send 30 or 40 pesos to pay for the materials used. Instead of canvas, the painter just used the backside of a lawanit wallboard. To me the picture was striking enough and I liked it. But it required the ecclesiastical approval of our Bishop who we know to be quite strict and exacting in these matters.
Together with the Barangay priests and laymen we prayed that it be approved. When the Bishop was looking at it, scrutinizing the whole picture of the snapshot his first comment was, “Toñing, this is a work of art of inspiration.” I considered this the first miracle of the Virgin of the Barangay. Bishop went to say, “This is a modest representation because even the arms of our Lady and her ankles are covered.” Then he asked, “But why does the face of the infant look so stern?” Inspired, I answered, “Msgr. Don’t you think if you are such a powerful Son as Him and you sent your mother to the people with a message, and the people did not listen to her, wouldn’t you be angry? He said, yes indeed, for we do not listen to His Mother at Fatima. This is good. Then he continued. There is a ruling in the Canon of the Church regarding the halo or light around the saint’s head and the Infant Child’s. He went to take the book of Canon and immediately got the right page, missing by only one number the correct rule in the Canon. So he said, “here it is and says that the Virgin’s halo must be a complete circle, and that of the Child’s must have four rays, only three of which are seen, since the fourth is behind the nape of the neck.
“This is correct, Msgr..,” I said “and I’m sure Fr. Pixner must have directed the leper about this.” Incidentally, when I went to Sta. Barbara Leprosarium for the first time to see the painting. I asked the priest about this, but he said that he did not even know the ruling on halos. Much less did he remember ever having studied it in the seminary. All he knew was that the painter would not begin his work every day unless he is joined by the other inmates sitting around reciting three “Hail Mary’s”.
And so Msgr. Yap approved the picture enjoining me to have it ready by October 16, 1955 (about a month thence) for its canonical blessing and erection in the diocese. (Incidentally Msgr. Died on exactly the same date eleven years later, on Oct. 16, 1966. And we have chosen Oct. 16th of every year as the feast of the Barangay Sang Virgen).
Then I went to the Leprosarium in Sta. Barbara and told the painter about our Bishop’s approval. Since this was the first time I have seen the actual painting. I noticed that the darkening clouds behind the Virgin were no longer prominent, where in the snapshot sent to me they were. So I asked the painter about this and he said that the week before. Some religious sisters passed by and they suggested that the clouds be erased for they looked frightening and disorder; where she turns her gaze there is tranquility, order and peace. The good painter painted the clouds back.
I also told Mr. Domingo that the color of the VB are gold (or yolk yellow) and white, the colors of the Virgin and the Church. Why then is the “tapis” of the Virgin’s dress red and yellow? He answered that the description that was furnished him stated that the dress must be distinctly Filipina, and he said he remembered his mother, during fiesta time, dressed up in “patadyong” with her friends and the colors that stood out on these occasions were red and yellow. So I asked Fr. Pixner what could be the meaning of this. He said that we were just then talking about celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Christianization of the Philippine Islands by mother Spain, and red and yellow are the colors of the flag of Spain, the country that God used to Christianize the Filipinos. Who am I to question the Providence of God in using Spain to bring the faith to these Islands?
Likewise I asked our painter why the monogram VB is placed on the stone in which the VB stands. He answered that he had heard a song of the church which says something about our faith being “as firm as a rock”. Which song of the church could this be? Again the Chaplain said, yet it is in the Philippine Eucharistic Hymns: “La fe de Filipinas . . . es como la roca firme”. That was indeed meaningful.
Then again I asked why the light from the sun is shining on the houses below the Lady’s feet where shadows should be because these sides of the houses are on the lee of the setting sun. The man answered that the light that shines on the houses does not come from the sun but from the owner of the sun on the arms of the Virgin. What are these flowers on the left-hand side: They do not look like the lilies or roses that we are used to seeing on religious pictures, this flowers are sampaguita flowers the National flower of our country. (Incidentally, the sampaguita scent is associated with the Virgen Sang Barangay).
When the late Bishop Yap designated October 16, 1985 as the day to have the picture ready, the painter did not follow the original description of the frame of the picture of the VB for lack of time. Originally the frame was supposed to be made of miniatures of the many titles of the Virgen found in the Philippines, such as the Miraculous Medal, Perpetual Succor, Immaculate Conception, etc. in order to teach the people that it is the same lady, only with different titles or devotions. But the good Chaplain happened to be a good collector of Philippine Malayan design that he gave the painter his collection book from where he could choose the proper design for such a frame. He choose this typical Philippine design of blue and white triangles laced in between with three golden lines representing the Blessed Trinity.
This is very significant indeed for when 1954 the BV was mandated, one of the symbols used to signify families organized in Rosary Units of the Trinities was the triangles symbolizing the roof of each house or family. I thought this is even more beautiful than the original idea because it does signify the communities or people of God gathered together or herded together by the Good Shepherd in the name of the Blessed Trinity.