Archbishop Charles John Brown, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, and Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon, right, during the pontifical coronation of the “original icon” of the Virgen sang Barangay.*Ronnie Baldonado photo
Archbishop Charles John Brown, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, led the pontifical coronation of the “venerable and original icon” of the Virgen sang Barangay at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City on Thursday, Oct. 16.
Capiz Archbishop Victor Bendico, who delivered the homily at the pontifical mass, called for a national spiritual renewal, as he declared that the Philippines is once again lost amid corruption, moral decay and a culture of lies.
The papal nuncio, assisted by Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon, placed a crown on top of the painting of the image of the Virgen sang Barangay, which is located on the right side of the altar of the Cathedral, during the mass attended by more than 3,000 Catholics.
It was the first pontifical coronation granted in the Philippines by Pope Leo XIV.
Archbishop Bendico, in his homily, said, “as we celebrate this moment of grace, we cannot ignore the reality around us.”
“The Philippines seems once again lost. We are lost amid corruption that continues to wound our institutions, lost in moral decay that poisons even our leaders, lost in the culture of lies, greed and indifference that numbs our sense of right and wrong,” he said.
The nation is also afflicted by natural calamities such as typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods “that seem to echo the turbulence within our souls and communities,” Bendico said.
Those who are lost will find their way back to Christ through the intercession of “Mama Mary” , he said, stressing that the nation has to find its way back through faith, repentance, and renewal.
“There must be an eruption from within us. Not of lava and destruction, but of grace and conversion. The eruption of conscience, honesty, mercy, solidarity,” Bendico said.
“The fire of Christian renewal calls us to break open hardened hearts, burn away selfishness, and ignite hope once again,” he said.
Bendico said the Virgen sang Barangay icon was painted by Crisogono A. Domingo, a leper at the Sta. Barbara Leprosarium in Iloilo.
“He was not an expert painter, he was a humble patient whose hands bore the marks of sufferings,” Bendico said.
“Yet that is how God works – from places of pain he brings forth beauty, from weaknesses, he reveals grace,” he said.
The Barangay sang Virgen is not just about organizing rosaries or carrying banners, it is about forming a barangay of faith and a family of love, Bendico said.
“Today’s pontifical coronation is not the end of a journey, it is a new beginning… it is a mission placed upon us to make Christ reign in our barangays, workplaces, government, and in our hearts,” he added.
Then Mayor Antonio Gaston of Silay City, Negros Occidental, who was gravely ill, conceived the plan to help his people develop and grow into having a living faith in God and in 1949 he founded the Barangay sang Virgen.
One of the features of the organization is that the father of each family leads the Holy Rosary in the house-to-house transfer of the estandarte (banner).
Its aim is to foster closely knit families as a unit structure called “trinity.” The name “barangay” was used to refer to the ancestral union of families.
Gaston discussed with then Bacolod Bishop Manuel Yap the idea of creating a uniquely Filipino image of the Virgin Mary, to be called Virgin sang Barangay — a matriarch in Filipino attire to appeal to the local faithful.
Domingo, a leper at the Sta. Barbara Leprosarium in Iloilo, finished the painting on March 30, 1955.
Domingo and his wife “received a favor from Our Lady – a sign of her love and gratitude for his deep faith and devotion”. In the Christmas of 1955 they were both declared completely healed, Veritas , a local diocesan news weekly reported.*