Further spread of the devotion to Ina is credited to Bishop Francisco Gainza, who arrived here in 1863.  He made it his priority after facilitating the imprimatur on the Novena to Our Lady. He sought the church’s renovation and made it the permanent home of Ina.  He also institutionalized the holding of the traslacion procession to the Naga Cathedral on the Friday before the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. After a 9-day solemn novena, the image is brought back to the sanctuary through a “Traslacion por el rio”, now called the Fluvial Procession. The next day, a Sunday, is when the principal feast day is celebrated.

In 1905, through petitions from the faithful in Nueva Caceres led by Jorge I Barlin (the first native Filipino Bishop in the Philippines), Pope Pius X ordered that the Solemnity of the Our Lady of Peñafrancia be permanently assigned to the Sunday after the Octave of the Blessed Virgin.

Thus we have the present practice of the Traslacion and Fluvial Processions, with the Feast Day itself on a Sunday.  The Traslacion is held on the afternoon of the Friday then days before. The return trip via the Naga River is done on the Saturday following the novenas.

Last updated on August 18th, 2024 at 05:11 am