Coronadas: Pontifically Crowned Marian Images in the Philippines

Being a Pueblo Amante de Maria is one of the characteristics that describe Filipino Catholics, in as much as one thing outstanding in our spirituality is our approach to Christ through Mary. Indeed, the devotion to Our Blessed Mother is among the strongest factors that have helped nourish and maintain our Catholic faith. A living testimony of this fervent Marian piety is the abundant number of shrines and churches dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary spread out all over the archipelago.

In many cases, the various religious orders introduced the devotion and brought the centuries-old images of the different Marian advocations in the parishes and mission areas where they ministered. Over time, these devotions grew and bore fruits that made particular images of Our Lady become specially revered by the Christian people, such that their churches and shrines have become pilgrimage sites, and have become truly significant for the local church, a region, or even the whole nation.

A number of these venerated images of the Blessed Virgin Mary have become CORONADAS, crowned nomine et auctoritate Summi Pontificis (in the name and by the authority of the Supreme Pontiff). A brief history of these images, and the accounts of the coronations  as an offering for the Quincentennial of Christianity in the Philippines. Such crowning has always been seen and recognized as the most authoritative, since “the crown conferred by Rome gave an official seal of approval to the miraculous and sacred character of the Marian image which receive the honor, and constitute a visible link between the highest authority of the Catholic Church and the local church or religious institution.”