February 2 marks the feast of Candelaria. One of the most celebrated Candelaria feast is in Jaro, Iloilo. In this post, I will share my Candelaria experience last February 02, 2011.
I took the first flight to Iloilo and arrived at around 5AM. Took an hour van ride to Jaro. Upon alighting, I hurriedly rode a tricycle going to the Jaro Cathedral. Since it was just 6AM, I was thinking that there will be few people in the cathedral. I was wrong! The patio was already full of devotees. Vendors left and right offering the perdon and the line going to the Virgen was very long. I decided to just fall in line and take photos after.
The image of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria de Jaro is the country only image canonically crowned by a Pope (Pope John Paul II). This stone image is enshrined at the facade of Jaro Cathedral. This stone image was said to miraculously grow to it’s present height from a foot tall when it was accidentally fished out of the Iloilo River in 1587. Every fiesta, the stone image wears its canonical crown, gold tiara made from gold coins donated by devotees.
The Candelaria celebration was a very wonderful experience. I managed to take photos of the celebration.
I took the first flight to Iloilo and arrived at around 5AM. Took an hour van ride to Jaro. Upon alighting, I hurriedly rode a tricycle going to the Jaro Cathedral. Since it was just 6AM, I was thinking that there will be few people in the cathedral. I was wrong! The patio was already full of devotees. Vendors left and right offering the perdon and the line going to the Virgen was very long. I decided to just fall in line and take photos after.
The image of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria de Jaro is the country only image canonically crowned by a Pope (Pope John Paul II). This stone image is enshrined at the facade of Jaro Cathedral. This stone image was said to miraculously grow to it’s present height from a foot tall when it was accidentally fished out of the Iloilo River in 1587. Every fiesta, the stone image wears its canonical crown, gold tiara made from gold coins donated by devotees.
The Candelaria celebration was a very wonderful experience. I managed to take photos of the celebration.