Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa

Written by Rev. Fr. Ericson M. Josue

Editor’s note: While I am doing some research on the devotion and history of Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa of San Agustin Church of Intramuros, Manila for a blogpost dedicated to her, I stumbled upon this post and research regarding the devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa in Ilocandia and its current state by Fr. Ericson Josue which shows the sad state of the devotion to La Consolacion given that the Ilocandia region was in fact an Augustinian mission province and it is inevitable that the devotion to Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture will be propagated. The devotion to La Consolacion in Ilocandia was similar to the case in Bulacan province (the Augustinian Mission side) that it almost went into oblivion if not through the efforts of the members of the Cofradia de la Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa.

What I’ll be presenting in this blogpost is the full article on this topic written by Fr. Josue to let the readers have a grasp on the condition of this ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Augustinian family and have this one shared and hopefully revitalized the devotion in Ilocandia.

Annually, during the Month of September, some parishes in the Ilocos celebrate a feast of Our Lady in her title as Our Lady of Consolation. In my hometown of Pasuquin, I remember as a young boy of a petite image of Mary called by devotees as “Apo Consolación” being venerated on the first week of September, following the feast of St. Augustine at the end of August. I remember a group of old men calling themselves as “Diputados de la Correa.”

Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Paoay

Decades after, only few parishes still commemorate the Blessed Mother in this title, like in the old parishes of San Guillermo in Laoag, Santiago Apóstol in my hometown of Pasuquin and San Andrés in Bacarra.

In an old Book of Inventory (1898) of Ilocos Norte Churches being kept at the National Archives of the Philippines, it appeared that all parishes of Ilocos Norte had images of “Nuestra Señora de la Consolación de la Correa” (Our Lady of Consolation of the Leather Belt) with adornments of jewelries and regal clothings. This attests that there was a strong devotion of our ancestors to “Apo Consolación.” In the parish archives of Narvacan and Bantay in Ilocos Sur and Batac in Ilocos Norte, there are books marked as “Libro de la Cofradía [de la Correa]” (Book of the Confraternity of the Leather Belt). Here, the names of members of a confraternity related with the “Belt” were enlisted with their “Hermano Mayor” (Senior Brother) who served as the group’s Senior Member for a year. In the mid-1800’s, Bishop Juan José Aragonés, OSA reported to the Spanish King of the presence of the confraternity in all Ilocano towns.

Let us have an initial attempt in tracing how “Apo Consolación” became known to the Ilocanos?

First, we should know that “Apo Consolación” is the Mary of the Augustinians who brought Christianity to the Ilocandia. A story has it that when Augustine was immersed in his mundane lifestyle, his devout mother Monica saw an apparition of Our Lady handing over to her the leather belt (Spanish: correa). Tradition says that Mary’s appearance to Monica gave the latter consolation from her afflictions caused by her delinquent son. We know that it ended with Augustine’s conversion to the Faith.

Later, a devotion was developed among devotees by wearing a leather belt to gain Mary’s protection and consolation. This was primarily propagated by the friars from the Order of St. Augustine, the religious order following the ancient “Regla” (Rule) of St. Augustine who also wore the leather belt as part of their religious garb. Among their means of propagation was the establishment of the “Cofradía de la Nuestra Señora de la Consolación de la Correa” (Confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation of the Leather Belt) in all parishes of the Ilocandia, whose members were called “Diputados de la Correa” (Deputies of the Belt). The “Diputados” were deputized to wear the (Augustinian) leather belt. They celebrated “Apo Consolación’s” feast on the Sunday within the octave of St. Augustine’s feast (August 28).

Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Bacarra

Today, in Ilocos Norte, after more than a century since the eviction of the Spanish Augustinian “Frailes,” only the aforementioned parishes of Laoag, Pasuquin and Bacarra keep to their piety the devotion to “Apo Consolaciòn.” No traces were found yet when and how the devotion diminished. This could only be done in a serious and thorough research.

“Apo Consolación” was among the important images of Mary. It was as important as the Our Lady of the Rosary to the Dominicans or “Nuestra Señora del Cármen” to the Carmelites. For devotional paraphernalia, the Augustinians have the “Correa,” the Dominicans have the “Rosary” and the Carmelites have the “brown scapular.”

It must be known that Ilocano Catholicism could not be understood fully without reference to its Augustinian origins. Our Catholic Faith came to us through the Augustinian Tradition. One good study is to retrieve or rediscover the Augustinian elements embedded or now hidden in our Ilocano practices of the Faith. This will help us more understand our identity as Ilocano Catholic. Pope Francis has these words to add: popular piety as “a fruit of the inculturated Gospel, is an active evangelizing power which we must not underestimate…[they] have much to teach us; for those who are capable of reading them, they are a ‘locus theologicus’ which demands our attention, especially at a time when we are looking to the new evangelization.”(Evangelii Gaudium, 125-126).

With this, let us retrace “Apo Consolación” in the elements of our Ilocano piety. The forgotten Mary of the Ilocanos is just there journeying with us unnoticeably.

Consolatrix afflictorum, Ora pro nobis!

Reference:

Josue, Ericson, “The Forgotten Mary of the Ilocanos”, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Currimao,Ilocos Norte, 2015.

Special Thanks to Mr. John Erish Albano and Dr. Fritz Bernardo, MD for the photogrpahs of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture of Bacarra and Paoay, Ilocos Norte.
A special thank you to Rev. Fr. Ericson Josue for sharing us this striking research on the devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa in Ilocandia.
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Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Intramuros

Intramuros, the famed and iconic Walled City of Manila, is a place of history, faith, commerce, and education in these modern times. One of the most visited sites in the Walled City is the still-standing San Agustin Church of the Order of St. Augustine, the oldest existing church in Manila, that survived numerous natural disasters and the Second World War.

The Parish was originally dedicated to St. Paul of the Apostle and is currently dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as its titular patroness. The iconic church is also known as the Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa, the Patroness of the Augustinian Order and one of the few surviving venerated images of Old Intramuros.

The Virgen de la Consolacion y Correa of San Agustin became a silent witness to the colorful yet tumultuous history of Intramuros and the nation itself and numerous devotees of hers from different eras in our history knew how she manifests her love and provided much consolation to them for centuries in their times of desolation.

The image

The beautiful image of Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Intramuros is that of a de vestir image of Madonna and Child of Old Manila where she wears a plancha as her dress, a lace collar and veil and a light blue cape, the color of the Virgin of Consolation by Augustinian tradition. The Child Jesus on the other hand wears a full vestment. Both Mother and Child wear a crown while the Virgin sports her areola with stars and wears a set of jewels like earrings and an atocha. The Augustinian Cincture is worn by the Virgin and she holds the end of the black belt offering it to its beholder.

The origin of the devotion

The Appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Sts. Monica and Augustine handed over the black leather cincture

The devotion to the Virgen de la Consolacion began when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Monica of Tagaste, Mother of the future St. Augustine of Hippo who was at that time a wayward child who was very invested in the pleasures of the world. The Blessed Virgin appeared in mourning clothes and gave her cincture and asked Monica to wear it as a sign of her maternal consolation and protection.

Tradition has it that the Chord (Correa in Spanish) was immediately worn by Monica who later gave it to his son after his conversion. The Correa would later become part of the habit of the Augustinian Order that can still be seen in all branches of the Augustinian family.

There were two separate confraternities founded in the 15th century, the Confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation and the Confraternity of the Cincture of St. Augustine which later united into one by the power of the papal bull and formed an arch-confraternity which has affiliations all over the world. In 1575, it was ordained that all confraternities of the black leather belt should be aggregated to the arch-confraternity at Bologna, Italy.

The devotion in Intramuros

Being the lone survivor of the Second World War, San Agustin Church served as the solace of some of the well-known images in the area and it is no surprise that its patroness, the Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Intramuros was spared from the ravages of War. The exact date of her arrival is unknown yet it is believed that the Consolacion was already enshrined in San Agustin Church in her own altar since the Seventeenth century.

The image was kept hidden during the Second World War and it was later enshrined on her altar once again years after the War and stayed there since then. The original Niño of the Consolacion was sacrilegiously stolen on February 13, 2005, and a replacement image was soon commissioned.

The Cofradia de la Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa was founded in Intramuros in 1607, one of the oldest Marian confraternities in the country, and Manila became the seat of this devotion in Asia. The devotion later spread to the provinces. Many chapters were formed to share its privileges and indulgences. The confraternity gives spiritual monetary assistance to people especially the poor who wish to pursue religious vocations.

The Asylum of Our Lady of Consolation was built to aid the victims of the cholera outbreak of 1882. It was situated at the site where Don Bosco University in Mandaluyong now lies. The confraternity’s headquarters at present is at the San Agustin Church where its members are obliged to wear the Correa and members gather every September 4, the Virgin’s feast day.

Church Recognition

The Canonical Coronation of Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Intramuros

Due to the numerous miracles attributed to her intercession, the Mother of the Augustinian Order was Canonically Crowned on her feast day, September 4, 2000 – then the Great Jubilee Year.

The devotion at present

Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Intramuros on her fiesta

The devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Intramuros continues to flourish up to the present day and endured through the centuries. Every Saturday, masses were held in her honor. Her feast day is celebrated every September 4. On the Virgin’s feast day, devotees and members of the Cofraida gather in San Agustin Church and hold a general assembly, retreats, the recitation of the Coronilla of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture, a solemn fiesta mass, acceptance of new members and procession.

The Very Rev. Fray Dante Morabe Bendoy, OSA, Prior Provincial of the Order of St. Augustine – Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in the Philippines, issued a decree shifting the fiesta celebration of the Virgen de la Consolacion y Correa in her Archdiocesan Shrine in Intramuros to the 2nd Sunday of September. The liturgical celebration on September 4 will be retained in honor of the Solemnity of the Virgin of Consolation in the Augustinian Liturgical Calendar. The decree was signed on October 9, 2023.

The Virgin also participates in the annual Grand Marian Procession every first Sunday of December where she is accompanied by the Augustinian friars, religious, devotees, and members of the Cofradia.

The Clausura Procession is held every last Saturday of the month after the mid-morning Mass. The image is passed on from one shoulder to another shoulder by devotees as the procession goes around the convent in the tradition of the early monastic period.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is venerated as the Mother of Consolation, because through her, God sent Jesus Christ the Consoler to the world. The devotion to Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture reminds us that there’s comfort, even in the parts of life’s pain and suffering. Mary is truly a mother to us because as a faithful disciple of her Son, she learned well the lessons of selfless love and generous service. As Mother of Consolation she is particularly near to those in need of companionship and comfort.

Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Intramuros, pray for us!

References:

Aviado, Lutgarda, “Madonnas of the Philippines”, Manlapaz Press, Quezon City, 1972.

Barcelona, Mary Anne, “Ynang Maria: a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines”. Ed. Consuelo B. Estampa, P.D. Pasig City, Anvil Publishing Inc., 2004.

Delos Reyes, Michael P., “Salve Regina: On Crowning image of the Virgin Mary”, Diliman, Quezon City, Claret Communications Foundation Inc., 2015.

“Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa Novena”, San Agustin Church, Intramuros, Manila, 2000.

Sanchez, Francisco, “La Virgen Maria Venerada en sus Imagenes Filipinas”, Manila: Imp. De Santos y Bernal, 1904.

Credits to the owner of the photographs that were utilized in the blog post.
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Tag Archives: Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa

Apo Consolacion: The Forgotten Mary of the Ilocanos – A Special Report

Nuestra Señora de la Consolacion y Correa de Intramuros – The Consoling Mother of Intramuros, Manila