Our Lady of the Rule buried with a perpetually burning lamp

Fr. Bernard Corpuz, MSC, the parish priest of the Nuestra Señora de Regla (Our Lady of the Rule) Parish National Shrine in Lapu-Lapu City, said that at least 31 different images of the Virgin Mary are displayed inside this Marian museum, which the faithful, and hopefully the youth, can see and appreciate.

Nuestra Señora de Regla Parish celebrated its 12th anniversary as a National Shrine on May 26th, which coincidentally falls in the same month as Flores de Mayo, also a Marian tradition.

Corpuz is hoping that the exhibit will remind the parishioners, devotees, and the youth of the role of Mother Mary in the salvation of mankind through her son, Jesus Christ. “We are really hoping that the youth will come to the exhibit and see the different images of Mama Mary,” said Corpuz.

Among the 31 images of Mary inside the museum, the local patron, Nuestra Señora de Regla, is encased in glass at the center of the exhibit. Fr. Corpuz explained how Our Lady of the Rule came to be one of the most venerated images of the Virgin Mary. According to Corpuz, the Nuestra Señora de Regla was highly venerated by St Augustine of Hippo, who had a little black image of Mary in his oratory. Augustine said that it was the Mother Mary who gave him the rule to direct his monastic community.

It was in 1330 in Spain when the Virgin Mary appeared to a priest and told him to go to the location of the hidden sacred image so that the image might be safely placed inside a Marian Church. During his journey, the priest first fell asleep, then he heard a “sweet voice” saying that he was in the spot. A ball of fire struck a certain tree, but did not burn it, indicating the place where the sacred image was buried. The priest unearthed a huge rock that was actually the opening of a cave where St Augustine’s Lady of the Rule was hidden. It was inside a wooden crate with a perpetually burning lamp beside it. A church was soon built around the cave and the image was enshrined there.

The image reached the Philippines in 1735, brought by a Spanish priest, Francisco Avalle. The village of Opon chose Our Lady of the Rule for its patroness. Since then, various miracles have been recorded, credited to the intercession of Our Lady of the Rule. In 2007, the parish became the National Shrine for the Nuestra Señora de Regla in the Philippines.

Adapted from Cebu Daily News May 18, 2019