UP Ibalon Bicol

Lost in the muddy confines of the river where the fluvial parade passes during the annual Penafrancia fiesta in Naga City, Philippines, the crown of Ina was finally recovered during last month’s waterway clean-up.

Shown by Rev. Msgr. Romulo A.Vergara, Rector of Penafrancia Basilica (right photo) is the valuable piece of Marian history---the once-missing bejeweled crown of the miraculous image of Ina, the Virgin of Penafrancia which disappeared when the icon tumbled into the river in the penultimate day of the feast, 21 years ago on September 19, 1997 during a fluvial procession.

Surrounded by myth and folklore, the crown's disappearance had been blamed for calamities that swept Bicol. The crown was returned to the local church authorities of Nueva Caceres. Source: Bicol Mail (09/12/08) =0=