The devotion to the Our Lady of Penafrancia in the Bicol region was brought here in 1710 by Rev. Fr. Miguel Robles de Covarrubias. The son of a Spanish official, Miguel studied as a seminarian at the Universidad de Santo Tomas. Still, he was called to the Diocese of Nueva Caceres where he was later ordained.  Eventually, he was designated parish priest and vicar general of the diocese.

Fr. Miguel was a sickly student at the seminary and a devotee of the Virgin Mary, to whom he turned for solace and comfort whenever he was ill.  In return for the favors he received, he vowed to build a chapel in her honor.

In Nueva Caceres, now Naga City, he saw an opportunity to fulfill a vow and started building a chapel for the Virgin Mary. Fr. Miguel asked a local artist to sculpt the icon from a picture he always carried. The image was that of the Virgen del Santo Rosario de Peña de Francia in Salamanca, Spain.

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