Heritage of Pangasinan

                        Our Lady of Manaoag 

(Spanish: 'Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario de Manaoag') formally known as Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, associated with a statue in Manaoag, Pangasinan from the 16th century. She is the patroness of the sick, the helpless and the needy. ^[1]

The church is one of the Philippines' most widely visited Roman Catholic Pilgrimage sites. Many people from across the Philippine archipelago come and visit the town of Manaoag, where the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is enshrined in a church dedicated to this name. The church is administered by the Dominican Order in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.

Tradition holds the town's name itself was born from The Virgin Mary’s call or "taoag" to the young man. The term manaoag was derived from Pangasinan Language word "mantaoag" which means "to Call".The statue of Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag is a 17th-century Roman Catholic ivory image of The Blessed Virgin Mary with The Child Jesus enshrined at the high altar of the Basilica. It was brought from Spain via Acapulco in the early 17th century to the Philippines by Padre Juan De San Jacinto.

A closer look at the image of Our Lady of Manaoag

Documents dating back to 1610 attest that a middle-aged farmer walking home heard a mysterious female voice. He looked around and saw on a cloud-veiled treetop an apparition of The Blessed Virgin Mary, holding a Rosary in her right hand with The Child Jesus on her left arm amidst a heavenly glow. Mary told the farmer where she wanted her church to be built. A chapel was built on the spot where Mary appeared to the man and the town quickly grew around it.

Worldwide, Our Lady of The Rosary is depicted by the same images of The Blessed Virgin Mary holding a rosary, with The Child Jesus on her left arm. These figures vary basically in the material used, the rendition by the respective artists, the regalia, and the style of the vestments according to the native culture. Thus Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag can be distinguished from the other statues by its distinctive sculpture and regalia, and most especially by her crown.

It should be understood that The Real Mary, The Mother of Jesus Christ, is the one being addressed as Our Lady of The Rosary of Manaoag. She is the one actually performing the miracles, granting the requests, or formidably interceding for those that implore her miracles or intercessions and not the inanimate icon with all its majestic royal and opulent grandeur. The veneration, devotion, and prayers should be directed to the Blessed Virgin Mary and not to the statue depicting her or in any of her various titles. It would not be just a fallacy but a sin of idolatry.

The Lighthouse of Bolinao The town is famous for its two lighthouses:1) The Cape Bolinao Lighthouse in Barangay Patar is the tallest in the country second to the Cape Bojeador Lighthouse in Ilocos Norte. There is also the Port Bolinao Lighthouse in Guigui-wanen in Barangay Luciente I; both structures serve as crucial warning beacons to ships against storms and treacherous reefs. The Cape Bolinao Lighthouse at Patar rises majestically 351 feet above sea level atop Punta Piedra Point, a towering hill of solid rock which is the sharp point of Cape Bolinao itself. The lighthouse provides a panoramic view of a portion of the 1,269 hectare Cape Bolinao Dendro Thermal Ipil-Ipil Plantation on a land area where archaeological excavations have revealed relics from the 14th to the 15th centuries.

Filipino, British and American engineers constructed the lighthouse in 1905. According to the Bureau of Geodetic Surveys, the land elevation is 250 feet. Visibility is 20 miles at midsea towards the lighthouse in Poro Point. The winding stairway has 6 platforms with 20 steps or rungs for a total of 120 steps plus 14 more to the illumination room, or an over-all total of 134 steps.