Devotees mark quadricentennial feast of Cagayan’s Our Lady of Piat

PIAT, Cagayan — No less than one million devotees of Our Lady of Piat from all over the country are expected to arrive here today to join the 20-day celebration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the miraculous image in Cagayan Valley in the early 15th century.

On June 23, 1604, Dominican fathers brought the five-foot image of Our Lady of Piat via the Cagayan River from Macau to Lallo town, formerly known as Ciudad Nueva Segovia.

That same year, the Vatican issued a document authorizing the canonical coronation of Our Lady of Piat as "Queen of Cagayan Valley."

The miraculous image is enshrined at the Piat Basilica Minore, which the Philippine government has declared a national shrine.

The long-awaited quadricentennial celebration (June 4-24) of the arrival of Our Lady of Piat will formally start tomorrow with a fluvial procession in the Cagayan River, the country‘s longest river, starting from Aparri town to Tuguegarao City, the provincial capital.

Msgr. Jerry Perez, this town’s parish priest, said the fluvial procession reminds him of how the miraculous image was painstakingly brought by the Dominican fathers to the Philippines.

Perez told The STAR that Pope John Paul II is sending one of Vatican’s high-ranking prelates, Cardinal Machisano, who will lead the concelebrated Mass tomorrow and the grand quadricentennial thanksgiving Mass on June 23, along with Cagayan Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan.

The Papal Nuncio, Most Reverend Antonio Franco, and other bishops from all over the country are also expected to join the quadricentennial feast of Our Lady of Piat.

"We are expecting not only local devotees but also devotees from abroad, particularly those who have experienced miracles in their lives through the intervention of Our Lady of Piat," Perez said.

Blesilda Diwa, regional director of the Department of Tourism (DOT), said almost all hotels and inns in Tuguegarao City are fully booked from June 2 to July 2.

"The quadricentennial celebration of the arrival of Our Lady of Piat is not only a religious festivity but a major tourism event in the region," she said.

"The event is creating so much sound bytes in getting the attention of both local and foreign tourists to come and visit Cagayan Valley," she added.

Among the activities lined up during the quadricentennial celebration are a medical-dental mission, a surgical mission, a rosary rally, grand celebration of Our Lady of Piat’s canonical coronation, blessing of the pilgrims and "Bike for Mama Mary and Mother Earth" from the Our Lady of the Visitation Church in Gamu, Isabela to the Piat Basilica Minore.