Manaoag: The Mecca of the North

Yearly, thousands of devotees flock to this town dubbed as “Mecca of the North.” Manaoag, some 205 kilometers north of Manila, is home to the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Text and photos by JHONG DE LA CRUZ
Bulatlat

MANAOAG, PANGASINAN – Yearly, thousands of devotees flock to this town dubbed as “Mecca of the North.” Manaoag, some 205 kilometers north of Manila, is home to the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Catholic devotees from across the country and even abroad visit the shrine periodically for retreat and to implore the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession for blessings in life.

In 2005, the shrine celebrated 400 years of Dominican evangelization through the Our Lady of the Rosary.

But in the 17th century, locals had resisted Catholicism brought about by the Dominican descends. Even tribes from mountains close by refused to adopt Catholicism as a new religion. Hence, the friars introduced the Our Lady as a “powerful protectress.”

“[Because of] the devotion to the Blessed Virgin…the natives became appreciative of the teachings of the missionaries. Many then adhered to the Catholic faith,” Fr. Domingo Nacion, who is also a local historian, noted.

Tales, from the vanishing church to the apparition of the Blessed Virgin atop a hill, had spread and made the conversion of the people to Catholicism much easier.

However, faith in the Nuestra Senora de Manaoag in years had to make way to highly-commercial activities such as the Galicayo Festival in December led by the local government each year.

Locals had even made famous some parts of the town where the Our Lady of the Rosary was believed to have appeared.

One famous site in the town is the Virgin’s well, located at Barangay (village) Pugaro known for its curative effect when prayed upon. The site is where the virgin was said to have first appeared.

Angalacan River which runs through Barangay Licsi and Poblacion, is a “blessed river” according to the locals. Bathing in the river is a popular activity for visitors.

Coconut-oil making is a popular alternative trade for the townsfolk. Bottled oil, also known for healing power against cough, stomach ache, fever and many others, is adorned by tiny pieces of wood the vendors get from a tree found inside the shrine.

Oil-vendors in Manaoag are convinced that by selling the articles they are also serving the Blessed Virgin.

Marceline Saplan, 68, reaches the shrine by foot from her residence at Barangay Tebel. She sells a dozen of bottled oil along with ten other vendors who welcome visitors with the aromatic oil. She recalls having sold a piece to the late actor and losing presidentiable Fernando Poe Jr., who also gave her a meal to eat that day.

Others sell adorned articles or souvenirs of the image such as statuette carved of wood or ivory, rosary, pamphlets and many others which attract mostly foreign tourists. Cafeterias and pasalubong stalls have sprouted to cater to the shrine’s visitors.

The famous image of the Our Lady of Manaoag had made the local authorities clamor for the town’s proclamation as a Special Pilgrimage City to make the place known as a major healing and religious center in the North.

Recent estimates indicate that close to 900,000 visitors troop to the town on peak months (beginning early March and ending on the third week of June). Bulatlat