T he mere mention of the province of Pangasinan always reminds me of the much celebrated Our Lady of Manaoag Church. The other half of my ancestors actually came from the town of Manaoag, so when I say I've been there for more than a hundred times already, I'm telling you the truth. So, what's interesting about the Our Lady of Manaoag Church? The title's associated image, which is supposedly miraculous, is enshrined inside the church. The statue is a 17th-century ivory image of the Virgin Mary carrying the child Jesus and was brought to the Philippines from Spain via the Manila galleon from Acapulco by a priest named Juan de San Jacinto. 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 Virgin Mary, holding a rosary in her right hand and the Child Jesus in her left arm, all amidst a heavenly glow. Mary told the farmer where she wa
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