La Naval and Santo Domingo

By: Alfredo Navarro III

October is the month in the Catholic calendar devoted to the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. In this month, the La Naval de Manila also celebrates its feast and procession which is attended by tens of thousands of devotees.

It is very timely that the National Museum declared the Santo Domingo Church, housing the La Naval image, as well as its liturgical objects inside as National Cultural Treasures last October 4, 2012.

According to the National Museum, the building and the liturgical objects in Santo Domingo are qualified to be declared because of its outstanding value to the history and identity of Filipinos. Besides the rich history of Santo Domingo and La Nava, it also became witnesses of different events in history. Santo Domingo served as the venue of the wake of Ninoy Aquino and the image was used in the procession in the1986 EDSA revolution.

La Naval History

The origin of the deep devotion instilled to Filipinos on the image of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Santo Domingo dates back to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, when Christian armadas overthrew the propagation of Islam. This naval victory was attributed to the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary.

In October 1646, the Dutch attacked the Philippines with a fleet of battle ships. With only three trading galleons, the Filipinos and Spaniards drove away the invaders. This is when the Spanish fleet believed that the image of Our Lady interceded their battle. However, before each battle, Spanish soldiers, religious and Filipinos promised special reverence to Our Lady for a successful battle. They vowed that if they emerged triumphant, they would make a pilgrimage to the church-barefoot.

Sixteen years after the successful defense of Manila, the battles were proclaimed miraculous by the Cathedral Chapter of the Archdiocese of Manila and after studying all the written and oral testimonies of the participants and eyewitnesses, the Council declared that the victories were:

“Granted by the Sovereign Lord through the intercession of the Most Holy Virgin and devotion to her Rosary, that the miracles be celebrated, preached and held in festivities and to be recounted among the miracles wrought by the Lady of the Rosary for the greater devotion of the faithful to Our Most Blessed Virgin Mary and Her Holy Rosary”

The Image

The miraculous image of La Naval de Manila was created in the late 1590’s by a Chinese Catechumen commissioned by Governor-General Don Luis Perez Dasmarinas under the direction of captain Hernando de los Rios Coronel.

It stands fifty-six inches tall and is made of hardwood, with ivory face and hands. The image was carved with such a great skill that after 400 years, it still retains its grandiose and magnificent beauty which commands veneration and devotion before its presence. Thereafter, no one was able to produce a similar one no matter how hard they tried.

The face of La Naval de Manila is almond-shaped, with high-set cheekbones and slanting eyes. It is dressed as a royal lady and carries on her left arm her beloved Holy Child Jesus purely made of ivory. With her right arm, she holds a royal scepter and staff and her Rosary. The statue is covered with jewel given by rich families as a sign of their devotion and thanksgiving. Each jewel has its own story. The earliest one is dated back in 1770’s. The halo is surrounded by 24 stars, and she wears a queenly crown.

According to the Dominican Province of the Philippines, the image suffered damage during the 1762 pillage of Manila by British troops. It nearly suffered from the attacks of the Japanese in 1946 but was evacuated to UST. By 1954, the image was finally brought to the new Santo Domingo church.

Old Santo Domingo

The original structure was built in January 1, 1588. Santo Domingo church began as a small wooden chapel on the land given by Bishop Domingo de Salazar, OP, the first bishop of Manila, in Intramuros, Manila. After a year, it was destroyed by an earthquake and the Dominicans commissioned Fr. Alonso Jimenez to build a concrete church and convent in 1852.

Santo Domingo enshrined the miraculous Our Lady of La Naval in 1853. But the church was destroyed by fire and earthquake in the 1800’s. However the Dominicans never stopped and reconstructed it many times.

The last reconstruction happened in 1867 and had a neo-gothic style designed by an architect named Felix Roxas.

In 1941, the neo-gothic structure was destroyed by the bombing of Japanese soldiers during World War II. The whole church was ruined except the ivory image of the La Naval that was kept by the Domincans inside a vault. They then transferred it at the University of Santo Tomas for safe-keeping.

Santo Domingo in Quezon City

After the war, the Dominicans rebuilt the church in Quezon City. It was inaugurated by Rufino Cardinal Santos in 1954 and was declared National Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary by the Philippine Hierarchy in the same year.

The 58-year-old Santo Domingo church measures 85 meters in length, 40 meters in width and 25 meters in height, with a total floor area of 3,300 sq m. It is considered as the biggest church in Metro Manila and one of the biggest in Asia.

The new church is a blend of modern and Gothic architecture. Its façade has beautiful bas-reliefs and its interior has arched stained-glass windows, murals and sculptures that add up the ambiance of the beautiful Santo Domingo church designed by Jose Ma. Zaragoza.

Upon entering the church, a union of faith and art could be witnessed. La Naval is enshrined at the middle of the altar together with Dominican saints at the side wings.

A dazzling sunlight made by stained-glass windows made by Galo Ocampo could be seen. It depicts the original 15 stations of the Holy Rosary as well as the Battle of Lepanto and La Naval de Manila.

Attractive paintings in the ceiling and nave also add the beauty of the interior; eight copula murals by National 

Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco depicting Santo Domingo de Guzman’s life and the painting of the four evangelists by Vicente Garcia Llamas.

In its choir loft, a 76-year-old pipe organ made by Fr. Gregorio Hontomin, OP, could be seen. It is being restored to accompany the ennobling voices of the Tiples de Santo Domingo, one of the oldest choirs in the country.

Its exterior has a giant bas-relief of Santo Domingo and another depicting the battles of La Naval by Francesco Monti.

The church also has counseling rooms and clinics for the parishioners. Its spacious corridors transforms into a relief and refugee center in times of storm and flood.

Along the corridor is the Sto. Domingo Museum which houses other valuable objects such as ivory crosses, ornaments made of gold thread, centuries-old crucifixes made of gold and silver, rosaries, relics of various saints and a tabernacle. Liturgical objects seen in the museum are all used in the old Santo Domingo church in Intramuros. The headquarters of the Dominican Province of the Philippines is also with Santo Domingo’s vicinity.

Because of the accessibility in its present location, residents and devotees visit the church regularly.

This declaration by the National Museum extends the legacy made by the Dominicans in preserving the heritage of the Philippines, the deep devotion of the Filipinos and the propagation of the Holy Rosary.