Dear Bishop Quizon,

….Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed” (Jn.20:29).

When I was installed as Archbishop of Lipa on August 15, 1981, I, a true “Doubling Thomas”, believed that the reported Marian visions and showers of roses at the monastery of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Mediatrix of All Grace in Lipa Coty, were a “hoax”.

I first heard the rumors about Our Lady Mediatrix in Lipa Carmel when I was a student priest at the UST Central Seminary in 1951-53. At the time, I adhered to the common belief that some nuns used blowers to simulate a shower of rose petals out of a desire, noble and sincere, to establish a monastery chapel.

It would not be the first time that lesser measures were resorted to, for greater purposes. That, I believed, would explain why the Mother Prioress contrived with Teresing Castillo to claim having visions and receiving messages from Our Lady. It would have been a surefire way to raise funds.

There were other rumors then that I also believed – that because of the hoax, the Prioress and Teresing Castillo were banished from the Lipa Monastery by order of the Ecclesiastical authorities. In fact, Teresing remained in Lipa Carmel for three years, but was advised by the Prioress to leave the monastery until such time that she fully recovered from a lingering ailment.

I never bothered to consult a Church Authority, nor read any official church document on the subject matter. My belief then was based entirely on hearsay. In retrospect, I wonder whether this could explain the beliefs of countless others who may also have prejudged the Lipa Carmel case.

Petitions to Allow Public Veberation of the Image of Our Lady

A few months after my installation as Archbishop of Lipa several individual and groups approached me, to request that the Image of Our Lady Mediatrix of all Grace be brought our for public veneration. I politely refuse to do so, explaining that I had no knowledge about the investigation and findings of the Commission of Bishops regarding the events that took place at Lipa Carmel in 1948. I asked for more time to pray over and study the case.

From the year 1984 onwards the request multiplied, and with greater intensity. But for reasons I cannot explain, and despite a keen interest to do so at the time, it was only in 1986 or 1987 that I finally launched my own investigation.

I wondered why only a few of these petitions came from the faithful in Lipa City , much less the Archdiocese. More disturbing still, it appeared to me that except for a very few, the Clergy of Lipa was cold to the idea. Inevitably the words of Our Lord came to mind: “….. No prophet is without honor except in his native place, indeed in his own house” (Mt. 13:57)

It therefore provided no small amount of relief when sometime in 1988. I received a petition letter signed by about a thousand of the faithful in Lipa, led by the Governor of Batangas, the Mayor of Lipa City, and their respective wives. Comforting too were the number of lay leaders of the Archdiocese mostly from the San Sebastian Parish in Lipa City , who were among the petitioners.

Moreover, some truly trustworthy persons volunteered to testify as personal witnesses to the shower of roses. They argued (convincingly), that the use of blowers could not have been possible, as there was no electricity at that time. More importantly, they claimed that the roses floated straight from above, perpendicularly, thereby disproving that they were blown away from the monastery. Otherwise, the petals would have formed an arc before fluttering downwards.

Our Lady Mediatrix of Lipa and Her File

Allow me to explain the lack of exact dates, and of full names of persons and places in this paper. I left my file on Our Lady Mary Mediatrix of Lipa Carmel in the care of Archbishop Gaudencio R. Rosales, my successor. Before the Archbishop came, I entrusted the same file to Sister Vivian de la Cruz, MCST, who was then my private secretary. I instructed her to hand it over to Archbishop Rosales as soon as he settled in I also informed the Archbishop of the existence of the file soon after he arrived.

A year or so before Archbishop Rosales assumed his post, I formed a Special Committee to study the events directly relating to Our Lady Mediatrix of Lipa Carmel that transpired even after the promulgation in 1952 of the Decree of the CBCP Episcopal Commission which declared, among others, that no supernatural intervention took place in Lipa Carmel in 1948.

I informed the Special Committee of my private file on Lipa Carmel. Several times, I urged the members to view its contents.

Obviously therefore, I am working on this paper from memory. Nonetheless, I fear no scruples in attesting to the veracity — in substance at least — of what I shall lay bare in this “Reflections”. May the light of the Spirit of Christ may be my only Guide in my selfless quest for “the truth that sets (us) free” (Jn. 8:32)

The Search For Information Fro Certain Church Sources

To my great surprise and disbelief, the only document of value for this purpose that we found in the archives of the Chancery office of Lipa, were copies –repeat, copies – of the CBCP Episcopal Commission Decree of 1952

If I recall rightly, the Decree categorically declared that no supernatural intervention whatsoever took place in the so-called apparitions and showers of roses in the Lipa Carmel Monastery in 1948.

In addition, the Lipa Carmel nuns were strictly prohibited from talking about the said events. They were also order to destroy or burn all materials related thereto. Furthermore, the Image of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace was to be placed in seclusion, if not destroyed. Faced with this blank wall, I proceeded to the following.

1. I wrote a letter to the present Archbishop of Cebu, His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, who is also my immediate predecessor in Lipa, requesting information concerning the investigation by the CBCP Episcopal Commission of the Lipa Carmel case of 1948, and its conclusions.

   Cardinal Vidal gave me his reply when he visited me at the Bishop’s house in Lipa City . To my dismay, the Cardinal had not seen the records of the investigation. However, His Eminence heard much about the Lipa Carmel case from the revered Bishop Alfredo Obviar of Lucena, who was Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa in 1948, and evidently, a rich source of first hand information. Although Cardinal Vidal spoke in general terms, I gathered that the late Bp. Obviar was a believer in the Lipa Carmel story.

   I further surmised that Cardinal Vidal himself believed, veiled though his allusions might have seemed, that the Lipa Carmel story was credible, if not out rightly true.

2. I then addressed a letter to the Most Rev. Bruno Torpigliani, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines at the time, requesting for any record from his good office of the investigation of the CBCP Episcopal Commission. In reply, Archbishop Torpigliani apologized for sending back only copies of letters that were of practically no importance. The fact was that the Nunciature had no record of the investigation and decision of the same Episcopal Commission.
3. Soon after, I wrote His Eminence, Jaime Cardinal Sin, requesting that he permit Father Pio Bagamo, then secretary Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Lipa, to look into the archives of the Archdiocese of Manila and see whether documents relating to the Lipa Carmel investigations existed. Father Pio was assisted by a religious sister, the archivist of the Manila Archdiocese. But their long and arduous search was of no avail.

   The foregoing is significant considering that late Rufino Cardinal Santos was Archbishop of Manila, and concurrently the Administrator of Lipa. It was during his administration that the Lipa Carmel investigation was undertaken. Further, Archbishop Santos signed the CBCP Episcopal Decree as head of the Investigating Commission.

   It would be expected therefore that records, or copies of records of the entire process of investigation would be kept in the archives of Lipa or Manila , or both.

4. Just be baffling is the fact that we were notable to trace any similar record at the archives of the CBCP.
5. At about this time, Ms. June Keithly, a TV producer, was on her way to Rome to widen her own research about Lipa Carmel. She asked for a recommendation letter to the proper authorities at the Generalate of the Carmelite Fathers in order to gain access to their records about Lipa Carmel. Afraid that the fathers would not feel comfortable with Ms. Keithly as a media personality, I recommend instead Rev. Fr. Cecil Arce, of whose prudence and capability had full confidence and who was taking up doctoral studies in Canon Law. I requested him to accompany Ms. Keithly to the Carmelite Generalate.

   I was made to understand that the ranking superiors of the Carmelite fathers in Manila had initiated the Lipa Carmel investigation.

   But as if to compound my perplexity, Fr. Arce and Keithly came back empty-handed except for a few papers that were of practically no relevance to our purpose.

6. Then like a shaft of light the good Fr. Pablo Fernandez, O.P., came to my acquaintance. A professor at the UST Central Seminary, Fr. Fernandez confided to me his great love of books on spirituality and related subjects, He was very interested in private apparitions.

According to Teresing Castillo, the good old Father expressed surprise and concern when she told him that her last confessor and spiritual director was the late Cardinal Santos who passed away in September 1973. Teresing told me that Fr. Fernandez strongly advise her to have a new spiritual director.

Fr. Fernandez revealed to Teresing that he had seen and read the records of the Lipa Carmel investigation in their seminary library, However when he returned after some years in Spain for Rome, to his amazement, the documents in the library were no longer there!

I was so impressed by Fr. Fernandez that I readily urged Teresing Castillo to have him as her spiritual director and confessor.

In 1991, I was overjoyed by a visit from Fr. Fernandez, who came all the way from Manila to Lipa, despite his age and bad heart. Teresing accompanied him. We had an animated conversation. It was obvious that he was not only interested in the Lipa Carmel story — he was also a believer. At one point he confided that he was convinced of the spirituality of Teresing Castillo.

Fr. Fernandez was called to his heavenly abode on June 1, 1993, Thanks to this man of God, we came to know that indeed, there had been a pile of records of the Lipa Carmel investigation, and its conclusions.

An Assumption Sister

Perhaps the most convincing healing I came to know about in connection with the rose petals from Lipa Carmel, was that of Sr. Melanie Sunga, an Assumptionist sister. On her own volition she visited my residence in Lipa City . Exuding reverence and sincerity, she narrated in detail the healing experience bestowed on her through Our Lady of Carmel.

A native of Ilocos Sur, Sr. Melania was born with right club oot. During her late childhood, her mother went on a pilgrimage to Lipa Carmel. She returned home with some water and rose petals that were given her by the nuns of Lipa Carmel. She applied the water and the rose petals on the afflicted foot of Melania. They then prayed a novena to Our Lady. Throughout the novena, they found petals of roses in different parts of their home. They then witnessed the foot of Melania turn completely normal. When Sr. Melania showed me her right foot, I could not believe that this was once a club foot from birth, I was truly normal.

Perhaps a year after her visit, Sr. Melania wrote me a deeply touching letter. She must have been assigned in the Diocese of Malaybalay at the time. She appealed for a speedy reopening of the Lipa Carmel case of 1948. She wanted to see in her lifetime the triumph of Mary Mediatrix for she was convinced that Our Lady truly appeared to Teresing Castillo.

Teresita Castillo

It must have been in the year 1989 when I finally invited Teresita Castillo to the Bishop’s residence in Lipa for an interview. Our talk started at 11:00 a.m., and lasted without break — until 2:00 p.m. Teresing was completely at ease throughout the interview. Utterly open and free, she answered my questions with alacrity and spontaneity. She could not control her tears when telling me about how one priest interrogator treated her roughly and threateningly. More so, when a high ranking church dignitary called her a devil when she paid him a courtesy call. All this notwithstanding, Teresing never showed rancor nor resentment. Instead she acted with reverence and charity.

From that time on, Teresing saw me for counseling at least once a month, until I left the Archdiocese. Always, she had the same humble, reverent disposition as when I first interviewed her.

Teresing Castillo was, for me, a person without guile. She is very much a woman of prayer, and throughout her life she retained the prayer life of a Carmelite nun. With childlike conviction she stressed that all she had narrated and written about our Lady of Lipa Carmel in 1948 and in subsequent years was the truth. “Salvis de internis”, I have no reason to question the genuineness of her piety.”

Through all our conversation Teresing was invariably consistent in her answers to my questions. Not once was she evasive, nor did she engage in double talk. She spoke spontaneously and clearly.

New Showers of Roses

It will be recalled that on November 12, 1948, the Lady Mediatrix told Teresing that the apparition would be her last. I do not know when exactly the shower of roses stopped, but it is likely that by 1992, with the Decree of the CBCP Episcopal Commission, the showers also ceased.

Doubtless therefore, it was a most pleasant surprise for the devotees of Our Lady when in 1991 a series of showers of roses occurred once again. The first took place on January 16, 1991 at the altar on the right nave of the Lipa Carmel chapel, where the Image of Our Lady Mary Mediatrix of All Grace had been once again exposed for public veneration (since 1990). This happened in the presence of Teresing Castillo and two male companion, a realtor, and her driver. The realtor companion of Teresing, exceedingly exited, repeatedly asked forgiveness for his sins and cried like a child.

Those familiar with the chapel of Our Lady would know that such a shower could never be explained by human machination.

More showers followed on different dates, particularly on Jan. 24th and 29th,all in 1991. Some showers occurred in the residence of Teresing in Parañaque, Metro Manila. Sometimes while she was miles away from home. Another occurred on Oct. 29, 1991 at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Higinio Custodio in Balayan, Batangas, when the Custodios had as their guests, Teresing Castillo and prominent members of the Center for Peace-Asia, Teresing, Nelly Lopez and Dely Mojares were napping in one of the bedrooms. When Ms. Mojares got up to go to the restroom, she was struck by the sight of petals of roses spread out across the room. She hurriedly awoke Ms. Lopez and Teresing Castillo. They then called in the Custodio family and the other guests. This made their day, as they prayed in thanksgiving.

The happiest of them all must have been Mrs.Eddie Custodio. Two days later, it would be her birthday. What a gift! Years before I became Archbishop of Lipa, Mrs. Custodio was already the Prioress of the Third Order of Carmel in the Archdiocese. Her devotion to Our Lady Mediatrix is outstanding.

On July 6, 1992 Teresing observed her birthday through a day of prayer at a retreat house in Tagaytay City . While laying prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament, she felt drops on her head. When she stood up, she found that rose flowers – not merely petals — fell on her. Ever so thoughtful. Teresing gave each of the flowers to Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and myself when she visited Ceby the following month of August. I still have this precious gift with me.

Confronted with these facts, one thing comes to mind: Could this be a sign of our Lord Jesus approval of my decision regarding the Image of His Mother? Is this not Mother Mary’s affirmation likewise? Would to the good Lord that a better mind and more deserving person help us find light!

Some Important Questions

Among the issues or questions which I deem of considerable consequence regarding the Lipa Carmel story are the following:

1. In the written account of Teresing Castillo’s extraordinary experience at Lipa Carmel from Sept. 12 suddenly became blind. This happened when she confided to the late Bp. Obviar that while in a trance she experienced a three-hour agony on the cross. Was this not a psychosomatic disorder? At that time Teresing also had fits of vomiting and stomach pains. Because of her health, she was advised by the Prioress to leave until she was healed. Did Teresing at that time suffer from a psychological imbalance? Teresing herself revealed to me that her doctor prescribed tranquilizer drugs for her. After some time she feared addiction, and so stopped taking the drugs on her own. This is attested to in a hand-written letter addressed to me by Rev. Fr. Leo James English, CSSR.

   Because of the foregoing ailment, Teresing also consulted a lady psychologist on the advise, I think, of Rev. Fr. Vicente Marasigna, SJ. Fr. Marasigan has studied in even greater depth than I, the case of Teresing. It was clear to me that Teresing is very confident of herself, and the lady psychologist, apparently, had a positive impression of her.

   I have always found Teresing to be sound and sharp of mind, straightforward, completely confident and honest. I saw no psychological imbalance throughout our acquaintance.

2. I also find it hard to understand the account of Teresing’s having experienced three agonizing hours on the cross. Whether she was in ecstacy or in a trance when this occurred is not clear to me. What is more puzzling is that this agonizing experience happened hardly two months after she entered the monastery. However, the account adds that the devil tortured Teresing throughout her agony. At the same time, Teresing was comforted and strengthened by Our Lady Mediatrix.

   In seeking to understand the above, I recalled the sacred scripture that says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers…. (Gen. 3:15)

3. Also puzzling was the fact that in her last message to Teresing on November 12, 1948, Our Blessed Mother revealed that the apparitions would end. How then, that beginning from January 16, 1991 up until recently, showers of roses and a scattering of rose petals have resumed in different places on different occasions?

   Faced with this seeming discrepancy, I have no doubt that Our Mother Mary can explain herself in her own special way to our fullest satisfaction. It is plausible that Our Lord Jesus allowed these things to happen in order to pave the way for the reopening of the cause of His Blessed Mother Mary Mediatrix of All Grace. This, too is my humble prayer.

Sr. Mary Elizabeth, OCD

Sr. Elizabeth was the first nun of the Lipa Carmel Monastery whom I invited for an interview. Having entered the monastery as an extern nun before 1948, she was a witness to most of the happenings in Lipa Carmel. Sr. Elizabeth is also well known throughout Lipa and other diocese for her exemplary simplicity, contagious vivaciousness and childlike candor. Her tender love for the poor seems irrepressible. Because of her enticing personality, she has won quite a number of friends in Lipa Carmel.

Although I cannot recall the details of what she said during our conversation, one thing stands out — her conviction that the happenings reported in Lipa Carmel regarding Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace, Teresita Castillo, and the showers of roses are true. She also affirmed that there was no human intervention in the reported events, much less malice nor intent of deceit to induce people to contribute to the construction of a chapel. She was in tears as she recalled the innuendo and rumors that assailed the integrity of the Carmelite nuns. I find her a most credible witness.

Sr. Bernadette, OCD

Sr. Bernadette entered Lipa Carmel five years after the 1948 episode. Among the staunchest champions of the cause of Our Lady Mediatrix of Lipa Carmel, her exceedingly great devotion to Our Lay evoked a “mother and child” relationship between them. Time and again, tears flowed silently as she prayed and communed about her. Like a child, she makes “tampo” when Our Lady does not grant her prayers. (Deep inside her, though, she is always wholeheartedly resigned to God’s will.)

When she was the librarian of their monastery, Sr. Bernadette sent me a volume of letters that they have received from foreign countries including Spain and the US . Mostly handwritten, the letters came from Lipa Carmel. Together with the letters, Sr. Bernadette sent me her own. Her letters unfolded at length. They manifested how intimately personal her devotion was, and her steadfast confidence that the cause of Our Lady in Lipa Carmel would be “vindicated” in God’s time.

Having carefully gone over all these precious letters, I would not blame Sr. Bernadette if she believed that they confirmed the Lipa Carmel incidents.

Incidentally as of this writing, I received a letter, from Sr. Bernadette dated February 27, 1995. She could not have known that I was working on this paper at the time that she wrote the letter. With touching simplicity, she described what she shared during their “Vintage Years Seminar” held at St. Scholastica’s Center of Spirituality in Tagaytay City . Present were several nuns from different Carmel monasteries in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao , including a Carmelite Father. She explained to the group how and when she came to decide to enter the monastery. The immediate cause, according to the letter, was what she heard about Mary Mediatrix of All Grace as told to her by Sr. Stephanie, OCD, of happy memory. Before then Sr. Bernadette revealed that from her childhood she was not at all interested in anything religious. In fact, she was wordly. Her having embrace the religious life was just like the experience of St. Paul in Damascus – a sudden grace of conversion and mission. Also, her religious life evolved on the two-fold message of the Blessed Virgin to Teresing, mainly to pray for priest and to spread devotion of Our Lady, carried perhaps by the tearful narration of Sr. Bernadette, all those present, including the priest, were driven to tears.

I would like to pay tribute to the spirit of obedience of Sr. Bernadette when she consented that I keep in my private file all the letters regarding Our Lady Mediatrix which she entrusted to my care, including those of her own. Her sincere remonstration notwithstanding, she finally acceded to my request that I preserve the letters, after I explained how much I prized them, adding that these could be of some help to the cause of Mary Mediatrix sooner of later.

It is my studied belief that Sr. Bernadette is an invaluable asset in favor of the cause of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace.

Sr. Alphonse of Mary, OCD

Having made her perpetual profession on November 21, 1933 Sr. Alphonese joined the first batch of Carmelite nuns to establish their new foundation in the Archdiocese of Lipa. This was on May 23, 1946. Five months later, on October 15 th , they moved to the new building of the present Lipa Carmel Monastery with the construction work still going on. The first mass on the new site was celebrated on the same day.

A picture of “Lady Poverty” and innocence, Sr. Alphonse struck me as a great religious nun. My acquaintance with her, which I treasure, started in 1988. I was informed of her pressing desire to see me about Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace. She sent a handwritten letter about Our Lady Mediatrix. Remarkable in its simplicity and shortness, the letter ignited in me a corresponding desire to see her in person. Not too long after, I paid her a visit. We spoke at great length about her impressions and convictions regarding the apparitions, the messages and showers of roses that took place in Lipa Carmel from September 12 to November 12, 1948. In graphic terms, she narrated her experience when she accompanied Teresing Castillo, who held on to her shoulder, from the visitor’s parlor up to her cell on the upper floor of the monastery. This was after Teresing became suddenly blind during a talk with the late Most Rev. Alfredo Obviar, then Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa. Sr. Alphonse vividly recalled the petals of roses that were strewn like a carpet along the stairway up to the cell of Teresita Castillo.

The following quotation capsulizes my short-lived acquaintance with the late Sr. Alphonse and the imperishable impression she left on me.

“When we drew our Patron Saints for 1990, Sr. Alphonse was very happy because she got Our Lady Mary Mediatrix of All Grace. She followed with keen interest the development regarding Mary Mediatrix (Lipa). Two years earlier, she had written to our Archbishop, Mariano G. Gaviola, to tell him that she was already old and sickly, and that she wanted very much to testify. She wanted to live to see Our Lady’s triumph. One of her last and greatest consolations was the visit of our Archbishop early this year. For almost three hours she opened her heart to him and never tired afterwards of saying how happy she was that she was able to speak to him. On March 5, at her request, our good Archbishop entered to anoint her. In his homily at her funeral mass, he was to say that his visit with Sr. Alphonse had left a great mark on him. “Her faith was so alive, there was not even a shadow of painful resignation to the Will of God. All was gladness”. He considered this great religious of Carmel .” (Taken from the resume of the life of Sr. Alphonse as released by the Lipa Carmel Monastery after the latter’s death.)

Exposure of the Image For Public Venerations

After declaring that there was no supernatural intervention whatsoever regarding the events at the Lipa Carmel Monastery in 1948, the Decree of the Episcopal Commission of the Philippines Hierarchy also banned the Image of Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace from the public. The Image was withdrawn from the monastery chapel, and kept in complete seclusion.

It is a tribute to the nuns of Lipa Carmel that not one of then had ever approached me with a request that I allow the Image of Our Lady to be put back at their chapel again. In fact in 1983, while recuperating from a major surgery, I was visited by Mother Aimee who was then the Prioress of Lipa Carmel. She disclosed her deep anxiety as well as of her Community, when she learned that some persons had been going around to solicit support to have the Image of Our Lady brought back to the chapel for veneration. Mother Aimee then assured me that, obedient to the provisions of the Decree of the Episcopal Commission, they had nothing at all to do with the endeavor. She said they were completely resigned to the Philippine Hierarchy’s Decree.

Then came that fateful night of May 20, 1990. While in my way to the chapel for night prayers, I was informed that the very dear Sr. Alphonse was called to her eternal abode. Thereafter, I immediately instructed my private secretary, Sr. Tomasa Lagman, MCST, to inform Mother Jacinta, the Prioress, that I would say the requiem mass for Sr. Alphonse the following morning.

On the morning of May 21st, while taking my shower, I suddenly decided to have the Image of Our Lady exposed in public during the funeral mass and throughout that day, until 6:00 pm. In hindsight I myself was surprised by this decision. Why did it come to me so spontaneously? How come I did not for a moment think of consulting anyone? But the Lord God knows I was truly grateful to the Holy Spirit, Mary’s divine Spouse, for this singular inspiration. It defies my imagination to think of the jubilation which engulfed the Carmelite nuns when they heard of the decision through my secretary, which was conveyed to them just about a hour before the funeral mass.

The Funeral Mass of Sr. Alphonse

Upon my arrival at the monastery chapel around 11:00 am. Of May 21 st , I was met by an extern nun who was jumping for joy. As I entered the chapel, I was exceedingly surprised by the number of devotees that had come despite the short notice. I learned later that they were already gathered at the chapel before the sisters received my message allowing the exposure of the Image of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace to the public as a homage to Sr. Alphonse.

Soon after we marched in procession towards the main altar I saw for the first time the lovely Image of Our Lady. In a simple setting, she was placed at the right side of the presbytery. I was deeply touched and could not describe my feelings then. I was in deep thought, when the realization came that this would be the first time the Image of Our Mother was seen public after being banned for 40 years.

I felt comfort and joy to see the handful of priests who helped concelebrate the mass with me. I could not help but wonder whether the congregation in attendance was aware that Sr. Alphonse was the last golden link in the chain of events that led to my decision to allow the public to again venerate the Image of Our Mother. This was the constant prayer of Sr. Alphonse. As one of the Carmelite nuns said, “Sr. Alphonse obtained in death what she could not obtained in life.”

Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, July 16, 1991

The solemn novena and masses in preparation for the feast of Our Lady of Carmel always draws a large number of devotees to Lipa Carmel. But as could only be expected in 1991, the turn-out was something else. The devotion to Mary Mediatrix was inflamed by the daily influx of pilgrims throughout the year. Devotees literally jammed the chapel on July 16, 1991.

The mass started at 10:00 a.m. and I was the main celebrant and homelist. Dozens of priests concelebrated with me together with Bishop Salvador Q. Quizon, Auxillary Bishop of Lipa, and Rt. Rev. Alfredo Madlangbayan, P.A., Vicar General of Lipa.

In conclusion, I explained the main reason for my decision, I simply wanted to find out, by the grace of God, what would be the spontaneous response of the faithful. Namely, whether the response would eventually develop into a form of “sensus fidelium”, a factor vital to the cause of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace in Lipa Carmel.

A Special Committee to Reinvestigate the Lipa, Carmel Case

Lest it be overlooked, I hereby state that I was never alone in all the measures I took as earlier described. I sought the prayers of many, many devout people for guidance from the Holy Spirit. I constantly prayed for the Lord’s blessing, and sought His will on whether his Mother’s cause at Lipa Carmel be revived. I ceaselessly sought that intercession of Our Blessed Mother and of Her Holy Spouse, St. Joseph patron not only of the Universal Church, but in particular, of the Archdiocese of Lipa.

Inspired by the overwhelming response of the thousands of devotees of Mary Mediatrix confronted by the increasing number of healings, both spiritual and corporal, that came to our knowledge; urged by filial love and devotion to Our Blessed Mother, and by a prayerful yearning for the truth, I finally firmed up the conviction that the time had arrived to create a Special Committee that would study in depth whether there were enough grounds to raise the Lipa Carmel cause to higher church authorities to determine whether a re-opening of the Lipa Carmel case is warranted.

I finally created this Special Committee at one meeting of our Presbyterial Council of Lipa. It was agreed that the Committee would be composed of seven(7) members whom the Council will choose by secret ballots from among the Diocesian and religious priests of Lipa. Also, that the first seven (7) to get the highest number of votes would form the committee. More still, that I order to keep secret the members of the Special Committee, only the Bishop would count the ballots. Furthermore, that the elected members be informed by the Archbishop through a formal letter of appointment. The secrecy was important so as to prevent undue influence or pressure on the members of the Special Committee.

Nature of the Assignment of the Special Committee

The Special Committee having been formally organized, the members were informed that their work as not to pass judgment on the findings of the CBCP Episcopal Commission, much less to question its decision of the Lipa Carmel case. They were simply told to make all the needed investigation and to study the repots about the many extraordinary incidence that occurred after the Decree of the CBCP Episcopal Commission. In short, the Special Committee was supposed to focus their investigation only on reports about Lipa Carmel that took place AFTER the promulgation of the same Decree of 1952.

However, I also authorized the Committee to gather testimonies of personal witnesses to the Lipa Carmel events in 1948 and the early years thereafter.

Far from wanting to impugn the findings of the Epicopal Commission, we simply wanted to know for ourselves what would be the testimonies of witnesses under the present circumstances compared to what they might have said under the circumstances when they were investigated by the CBCP Episcopal Commission.

The main purpose of the Special Committee was to verify cases of physical healings that were attributed to Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace after the Decree of 1952. For its guidance and information the committee was invited likewise to read for themselves the file on the Lipa Carmel case at the office of the Archbishop of Lipa.

BATANGAS CITY — Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles confirmed that he had lifted the 1951 ban on the public veneration of Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace.

In a phone interview Tuesday night, Arguelles said he lifted the ban on Nov. 12 as “there was nothing wrong in praising apparitions” as he was well-aware of “the love of the people for the Blessed Mother.”

MANILA, Philippines–Teresita Castillo, to whom the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared in 1948 then Castillo was a young Carmelite novice, has been declining interview requests following the lifting of the Church ban against the public veneration of the image of Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace, a devotion that stemmed from the apparitions.

“She [Castillo] has decided to maintain a low profile. We have to respect her [wishes],” said Fr. Richard Hernandez, the chair of the new commission created by the Church to reopen the investigation into the apparitions in Lipa.

Hernandez said he was able to interview Castillo, or Teresing as he refers to her, last Thursday.

He said Castillo was so happy and excited when told about the lifting of the ban that he had to calm her down.

Though she underwent so many hardships during the series of investigations into the veracity of the apparitions, Castillo has remained humble, he said.

“She never complained or even asked why she was being questioned,” Hernandez said.

He said Castillo, who is now 82 years old, cannot recall the dates when the Virgin Mary appeared to her but she can clearly state the message that the Blessed Mother wanted her to give the world.

In 1948, the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared 19 times to Castillo, who was a postulant at the Carmelite convent in Lipa, Batangas. Rose petals with holy images reportedly fell from the sky. In the last of her appearances to Castillo, the Blessed Virgin is said to have identified herself, saying “I am the Mediatrix of All Grace.”

The bishop of Lipa at the time, Alfred Verzosa, believed in the apparitions and allowed the veneration of the image of Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace.

No miracle

In 1951, however, the Church hierarchy declared that “there was no supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary happenings, including the shower of rose petals in Lipa.”

Verzosa’s successor, Rufino Santos, ordered that “no petals be given to anyone by the Lipa Carmelite community and the statue of Our Lady of Mediatrix be withdrawn from public view.”

The ban was lifted 40 years later by Archbishop Mariano Gaviola in 1991.

On Nov. 12, Gaviola’s successor, Archbishop Ramon Arguelles issued a formal decree lifting the 1951 ban. Arguelles also created the commission, headed by Hernandez, to conduct a new investigation into the apparitions.

Arguelles said he was merely reiterating Gaviola’s 1991 order and was doing so because he saw “nothing wrong in praising the image of the Blessed Mother” and that he knew the “love of the people for her.”

He noted that despite the ban, the faithful have continued to go on pilgrimages to the Carmel monastery in Lipa to pray and ask for favors from the Blessed Mother.

He said the commission will evaluate the documents still available on the events of 1948 to advise the Church leadership on “the proper pastoral approach” to the continuing pilgrimage of people to the site of the apparitions.

International interest

The news that Arguelles had ordered a new investigation and lifted the ban on the public veneration of the Mediatrix has created interest not just in the local community of devotees but internationally as well.

The Spiritdaily.com website carried links to two articles published in Inquirer.net as well as its own well-researched articles from its archives.

Little wonder as the events of 1948 were headlined in national newspapers and reported internationally. Lipa was referred to as “the Lourdes of Asia” and Philippine Airlines flew special flights to fly pilgrims to Lipa.

A special pilgrim image of the miraculous Mediatrix was made and brought to New York and Madrid. More than 3,000 took part in the procession that was later held on New York’s Second Avenue.

Those were heady days indeed. Even former President Elpidio Quirino attended a Mass in Lipa in 1949 and joined the vast crowds in hopes of witnessing a petal shower. Thousands would line up for the water in which the petals had been immersed and miraculous healings and conversions were reported and documented.

The original statue of Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace, was commissioned from the sculptor Cristobal, in accordance with the instructions that Castillo had received from the Virgin Mary: “I want a statue of myself to be made so that my little ones can see me. Describe me to your chaplain because I want my statue to look as you see me, and to be as large as that of Our Lady of Lourdes which stands inside the cloister.”

“I ask this from Carmel, I wish that my image be placed here. This place must be cleaned so that it may become a shrine for prayer.”

When the image was finished and revealed for public veneration, many unusual occurrences and miraculous events were attributed to it. The fragrance of the amazing shower of petals that occurred from time to time on the grounds outside the convent would fill the air for blocks and draw thousands of devotees and curiosity seekers.

Harrowing events

A message that the Virgin Mary had given in 1948 seems to foretell the harrowing events that were to come: “Do not block or debase my sacred place nor despise my words. ”

Along with the ban it issued in 1951, the Church hierarchy instructed the Carmelites to destroy everything. The nuns obeyed and burned the diaries, petals and prayer cards, but could not bear to smash the image of the Mediatrix, so they bundled it up in rags and jute and hid it among the debris in a bodega.

It would be hidden for the next 40 years until Gaviola gave permission for the statue to be temporarily displayed in 1991. The archbishop soon issued the decree that the image be restored to public veneration and installed in the side chapel of the convent church where it remains to this day.

Blighted lives

Apart from the many miraculous healings and conversions that were ignored and the cruel rumors that the apparitions were a hoax foisted on the public by the nuns to raise money to build a church, there are the heroic actions and blighted lives of the main protagonists that are intrinsic to the apparitions.

Auxiliary Bishop Alfredo Obviar, the spiritual director of Carmel Lipa, was unceremoniously removed and remained in limbo until he was demoted and re-appointed to the diocese of Lucena.

Obviar founded the congregation of the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese and in acknowledgment of his great virtue, he has been lifted up to the Causes of the Saints and has officially passed the first step in the process toward sainthood.

His tomb and museum in Lucena is the site of many pilgrimages and a number of miracles have been attributed to his intercession.

Verzosa, who allowed the apparitions to be publicized and for the Mediatrix to be venerated, was stripped of all his administrative duties, remaining a bishop in name only.

Though he had used his family’s wealth to rebuild the churches and schools of war-torn Lipa, he was falsely accused of mishandling the war reparations and finances of the diocese. He lived in exile at his Vigan home, reduced to rolling tobacco leaves to augment the family income.

The prioress of Carmel, Mother Cecilia Zialcita, was transferred to another convent and treated like a scullery maid. She is said to have prophesied that at her death, the events of the Lipa apparitions would again be reopened and devotion to the Mediatrix restored.

Castillo has survived all the denunciations and humiliations to which she was subjected. The stress from the investigation resulted in her long illness, requiring her to live at the University of Santo Tomas hospital for long periods of time. She eventually had to voluntarily leave the convent as she failed to complete the required length of stay for a novice.

Discreet silence

She worked at the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran and assisted Fr. Leo English with the publication of the now widely used Tagalog/English dictionaries. The now grown baby girl she adopted often accompanies her mother on healing missions.

She has since received a few other messages and experienced showers of petals in her home and at the side chapel of Carmel Lipa, but has maintained a discreet silence about it.

Gaviola and Arguelles have allowed Castillo to speak publicly about the apparitions and there are also a number of accounts detailing the healing of some people that she has prayed over. However, now that the new commission has convened, she has thought it prudent to refrain from speaking or being too publicly visible.

In her 80s, Castillo has been given the grace of living to see the malicious tongues silenced and a resurgence of devotion to her “beautiful lady.”

On July 16, 2004, Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, I was installed as the shepherd of the Archdiocese of Lipa. Although I hail from Batangas City, from Minor Seminary on I belonged to the Archdiocese of Manila. All my years from infancy to becoming bishop I have frequented the Carmelite Monastery to seek solace and guidance from the Holy Mother, Mediatrix of All Grace. Even when I learned of some difficulties endured by main protagonists if the 1948 phenomenon, they did not mean much for me. Their sufferings for me were essential component of their being specially chosen by God and the heavenly Mother. Things turned differently, at least to me in person, when I became the Archbishop if this blessed Archdiocese. The anguish associated with the heavenly intervention got to me too. But I have no regrets. Neither did it intimidate me from continuing what actually the late Archbishop Mariano Gaviola courageously started. More than sixty years after the still disputed event, the Blessed Mother has still to say with joy “the People have finally heeded my plea in Lipa”.

This year the Archdiocese celebrates its Jubilee as a hundred year old local Church. I never hesitate to say, whether the Lipa apparitions were real or a big hoax, the best thing that happened to Lipa this entire century is the mark that Marian attachment has enduringly impressed on this archdiocese, this city and this province. Can it be that precisely this is the moment to make a public avowal that our archdiocese and province is in reality a unique Marian spot? Is it not the right moment to tell the world that Lipa accepts without condition the Blessed Mother of God and all her challenges of prayer, sacrifice and conversion to God!

The centennial Jubilee sees the publication of a simple book entitled: “Miracles of the Rose Petals”. Ordinary faithful put their experience into writing as requested by the Commission on Research and Documentation. The number of testimonies continues to increase. Many have been inspired by these testimonies. The intent of this publication is to reach may more simple faithful who trust only in God and in the Blessed Virgin Mother. They need this spiritual assurance that the heavenly blessings are never wanting. God has never abandoned His people. The Holy Mother’s love never weakens. Lipa is the place where a lot of these graces are experienced. The archdiocese is so eager to share its Jubilee blessings with as many people as possible. The blessings continue to grow. Thanks to God and to the most Holy Mother!

RAMON C. ARGUELLES DD, STL
Archbishop of Lipa

It was during the episcopate of Bishop Alfredo Versoza (1916-1950), the first Filipino bishop of Lipa and his auxiliary bishop, the then Msgr. Alfredo Obviar, the so-called Marian Apparitions in the Monastery of Carmel in Lipa (founded 1946) took place.

Teresita Castillo celebrated her 21^st birthday on July 4, 1948 by “escaping” early in the morning at five from her father’s house to enter the Carmelite Monastery of Lipa. She is the youngest of seven children of former Batangas Governor Modesto Castillo. At the time of the apparitions, Teresita’s father was the Judge of the Court of Industrial Relations. The Castillos were very influential and distinguished both in the town of Tanauan and the whole Batangas province.

Teresita’s entrance into the monastery was not well received initially by the family, who tried all means to get her back. Teresita steadfastly refused to return home, preferring to follow God’s call. The trials of Teresing did not escape the devil’s interest. Satan tried to draw her away from her chosen vocation. On the 31^st of July, at fifteen past eight in the evening, moment of great silence as observed by the Carmelite community, Teresita was startled by knockings at her door. A male voice introduced himself as satan, while emitting foul odor in her cell. The postulant would be subjected to such infernal visits several times in the next days and weeks.

At around five in the afternoon of September 12, 1948, Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, postulant Teresing Castillo saw the vine in the garden shake though there was no wind at all. A woman’s voice was heard to say: “Fear not my child. Kiss the ground. Whatever I tell you to do, you must do. For fifteen consecutive days, come to visit me here in this spot. Eat some grass, my child.”

The next day, September 13, Monday, again at five in the afternoon, the postulant returned to the place, knelt down and intended to say the Hail Mary. She has only recited until the phrase “Full of Grace” when again the vine moved. A beautiful Lady appeared, her hands clasped on her breast, a golden rosary hanging in her right hand, slightly stooping, her dress was simple and pure white held in the waist by a narrow cloth belt. Her feet were bare and resting on clouds about two feet above ground. Her face, indescribably beautiful, was radiant.

On September 14, Tuesday, the first shower of rose petals took place. Some nuns, awakening early in the morning, found fresh rose-petals of exceptional sweetness, strewn around their rooms or outside their quiet doors. Again at five in the afternoon, the Lady as if enfolding the postulant in a tender maternal embrace said “I wish this place to be blessed tomorrow”. ‘At what time Mother?’ asked Teresing. “Anytime your Mother prioress wants, my child. I forbid you to forget the incidents of these fifteen days”, the Lady said. Then she disappeared.

Meantime, Mother Prioress decided to consult His Excellency, the Most Reverend Alfredo Obviar, auxiliary bishop of Lipa and spiritual director of Carmel, on what to do with the alleged apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The bishop instructed Mother Prioress to tell Postulant Teresing to demand from the Blessed Virgin some proof that the apparition was from heaven.

Days after the first shower of petals, total blindness afflicted the postulant. Mother Prioress heard a voice telling her that the only way Teresing’s blindness would be healed was for her to kiss the eyes of the postulant. Mother asked the bishop to be present at a face off with Teresing. So one day in the presence of Bishop Obviar, the Mother Prioress lifted the veil of Postulant Teresing and imparted a kiss in her eyes. Instantly the girl recovered her sight. Her blindness was cured. Bishop Obviar doubted no more that the apparitions were heavenly.

Here are some of the messages of the Lady to Teresing:

“I want a statue of mine to be placed here. I want you to describe me to your chaplain because I want it to be as you see me, and as big as the statue of Lourdes that is in the cloister. Tell Mother Prioress to have the rosary recited by the community here every afternoon during these days. Clean this part of the garden so that it will be a real place of prayer.”

On September 26, Sunday, the last (15^th) day of the apparitions, the Lady said: “My child, you must love and obey your mother. Tell the sisters to love and obey their superiors and not to forget the things I ask. I shall not ask bigger things from you as you expect, because you are my little ones. Do not forget to consecrate yourselves to me on October 7.  Be very good, I am Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace. I shall always bless the community morning and evening.” Departing for the last time, the Blessed Virgin identified Herself as: “Mediatrix of All Grace.”

The Lipa phenomenon is often and principally associated with the shower of rose-petals. Such took place also on September 30, the fifty-first anniversary of the death of St’ Therese of the Child Jesus. Rose-petals were strewn in the cells of the monastery.  Likewise on October 3, feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. During those times, the shower of rose-petals fell on the staircase. Most showers took place within the cloister. Later however they also fell outside the monastery at the sight of many visitors. On November 11, Mrs. Aurora Quezon, the wife of the late President of the Commonwealth, and her party witnessed such shower of roses at the monastery grounds. Bishop Alfredo Obviar himself stated that petals fell on his feet as he went out of the door of the nunnery:

“I was inside the parlor of the Carmelite monastery.  The windows and doors were closed. When I was about to step out of the door, outside, several rose-petals fell on my feet, to my great surprise. I picked up some of them.”

Then the Supreme Court Chief Justice Manuel Moran fervently remarked:

“The miracle of the shower of rose-petals at the Carmelites’ convent in Lipa City is not the work of man but of God. There can be no doubt about it. If I am not absolutely convinced, I would not waste my time coming to this place.”

Most petals bore images of Jesus or Mary or St. Joseph or one of the saints, most particularly, St. Therese of the Child Jesus.

The 1948 apparitions in Lipa highlighted the Blessed Virgin’s plea for humility, penance, prayers for priests and for the Holy Father. As in Lourdes and Fatima the Blessed Mother insisted on the need to pray the Rosary. Our Lady complained about the people losing faith. Teresita added that there was a secret for herself, another for the Carmelite convent in Lipa City and one for China.

The Negative Church Verdict

The veneration of Our Lady Mediatrix of all Grace was permitted by Bishop Verzosa. However on April 11, 1951 the Philippine church hierarchy issued ‘The Verdict’ in a document which read:

“We, the undersigned Archbishops and bishops, constituting for the purpose a special commission, having attentively examined and reviewed the evidence and testimonies collected in the course of repeated, long and careful investigations, have reached the unanimous conclusion and hereby officially declare the above-mentioned evidence and testimonies exclude any supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary happenings –including the showers of petals– at the Carmel of Lipa.”

The signatories were: Archbishop Gabriel Reyes of Manila, Bishop Cesar M. Guerrero of San Fernando, Bishop Mariano Madriaga of Lingayen, Bishop Rufino Santos, Administrator of Lipa, Bishop Vicente Reyes Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, and Bishop Juan Sison, Auxiliary Bishop of Nueva Segovia. The document was also signed ‘concordat cum originali’ by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi.

Bishop Rufino Santos, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Lipa, followed up such declaration with a decree that went this way:

Having been declared by the Special Commission composed of several members of the Philippine Hierarchy that, after long, repeated and careful investigations, the evidences and testimonies on the matter exclude any supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary happenings –including the shower of petals—at the Carmel of Lipa, I, the undersigned Apostolic Administrator of Lipa Diocese, in keeping with the Decree-Statement of the said Episcopal Commission, BY THESE PRESENT LETTERS dispose and order:

1) No petals nor water should be given out to anyone;

2) The statue of Our Lady (actually in the church) should be retired from public veneration;

3) All out-sisters must be admitted within the enclosure for the time being, excepting Sr. Elizabeth, who shall remain outside to attend to the needs of the Community; and finally

4) All visits are suspended temporarily, no letters will be allowed, until final decision on the matter will come from The Holy See.

The decree was issued at the City of Lipa on April 12, 1951.

The Tragic Aftermath

Bishop Verzosa was forced to resign and sent back to his hometown in Vigan, Ilocos Sur in Northern Philippines. The Auxiliary Bishop, Most Reverend Alfredo Obviar was moved to Lucena, a newly erected diocese, where he served as a mere apostolic administrator for the next twenty-two years. In 1974 he was finally given full episcopal powers as the resident bishop of Lucena Diocese. On October 1, 1979, Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, the bishop died a holy death, having declared earlier: “They can oblige me to keep silent; but they can never compel me to say it was not true.”

In recent years more and more people go on Pilgrimage to his tomb in the Mother House of the Sisters’ Congregation he founded in 1958, the Missionary Catechists of St. Therese. Numerous reports of miracles are ascribed to this so-termed ‘saint of Holy Obedience’. Bishop Obviar’s cause for beatification has been introduced and is progressing well.

On the other hand, the memory of Bishop Alfredo Versoza, buried in the Cathedral of Vigan and overlooked for four decades, is now the object of research. He too has been invoked for favors miraculously granted. His cause for possible beatification is being considered.

Mother Prioress and the other perpetually professed sisters, notably Sister Mary of St. Joseph, the sub-prioress, and Sr. Mary Anne, the infirmarian, were purposely separated and dispersed to other Carmels. They suffered and died also in the odor of sanctity.

Meanwhile all materials connected with the apparitions were ordered destroyed. Teresita’s diary, as well as that of Mother Prioress, were burned. The statue was also destined for ruin, but the nuns quietly kept it away, saving it from oblivion. The convent was sealed, and the nuns could talk to no one outside of the convent. These events confirm the Blessed Mother’s warning that there would be persecution.

Teresita was subjected to investigation by the ‘commission’. As far as she was concerned the investigating commission consisted only of Bishop Rufino Santos, Bishop Cesar Guerrero, Fr. Blas, OP, and another Dominican priest. Cardinal Santos was always kind to her but would get her any unholy hour and brought to Manila for investigation often times with little time to prepare. Finally, Ma Mére, the French prioress made to replace Mother Mary Cecilia of Jesus, tearfully advised Teresita to leave the convent on her own volition so that she could later be readmitted when she would be ready. She could not be admitted for profession because she failed to stay a full year in the novitiate. This was however due to her being often brought hastily to Manila for inquiry. If she chose to remain, the prioress will be forced to send her out depriving her of the possibility to reapply. She returned then to her parents. But, later, each time she would ask to return to the cloister, she would be required to have a medical clearance due to her health. Her health admittedly has never been satisfactory due to the traumatic experiences she endured during interrogations. At one point, because she refused to sign a declaration stating that the apparitions were a hoax, a priest-investigator threw the ash tray at her, fortunately missing her. No medical clearance was ever granted her. The story of the apparitions was buried for 40 years, though the faithful believed in silence and persisted in praying to the Mediatrix of All Grace.

Years After

Almost forty years after, on February 11, 1990, Reverend Father Lorenzo Maria Guerrero, SJ, nephew of Bishop Cesar Guerrero of San Fernando, executed an affidavit asserting:

“that while my uncle, Bishop Cesar Gerrero, was still alive, I heard from his lips that he signed the above Official Statement under duress,: and “that the said Bishop had expressed his personal belief in the fact of the apparitions of Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace in the Carmelite Convent of Lipa during the year of 1948.”

The late Bishop Godofredo Pedernal, who worked with Bishop Obviar for twenty-five years as Vicar General and Episcopal vicar, testified that, while accompanying Bishop Obviar in the sixties to console his dying friends, Bishop Guerrero, Archbishop Cuenco and Archbishop Sison, he heard Bishop Obviar ask: “Why did you sign that declaration about the foolishness of the Lipa Carmel Sisters?” The three bishops would silently show their own rose petals and replied: “We were forced to sign.”

Sometime in February 1990 a strange new phenomenon was reported in the Granja District of Lipa City. A white glowing outline of a female in prayer began allegedly to appear nightly on one of the leaves of a tall coconut tree. It was visible only in the evenings. Then on May 21, 1990, Sr. Alphonse pleaded on her deathbed that the Mediatrix statue be exposed again in the chapel at the Carmelite convent. Her request was granted the very next day. She died on that day. For the first time the statue was displayed after 40 years! On January 24, 1991, rose petals began to fall straight from the sky again at the Carmelite convent in Lipa City. A few days later, six children playing in the front garden of the monastery saw the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at the monastery grounds come to life and shed tears.

Archbishop Mariano Gaviola granted the permission to display again the image of the Mediatrix of All Grace. The year after, he declared his personal conviction that the Lipa apparitions were worthy of belief. Miracles of physical and spiritual healing took place. Once more again there were reports of showers of rose-petals. Stories of marvelous happenings, as in the late forties, pile up. The faithful never really ceased visiting Carmel in spite of the 1951 decree. The number of pilgrims however swelled since the revival in the early nineties.

Archbishop Gaviola created a new commission headed by then auxiliary bishop now emeritus, Most Reverend Salvador Quizon and largely documentarily accomplished by Justice Hariet Demetriou. Documents from then surviving persons who experienced the events in the late forties as well as new evidences of wonders grew rapidly. Unfortunately, Archbishop Gaviola retired. Was he overwhelmed by sufferings due to what he did for the Blessed Virgin Mary? His successor did not do anything about the said phenomenon except asserting that the authorities of the early fifties could not have been less competent in their investigation than those fifty years after. That means that any recent investigations can never convincingly correct the conclusions done decades ago. The Gaviola commission ceased its inquiry.

Did Mary really appear in Lipa?

From the very start I, the Archbishop of Lipa since July 1994, had never put into doubt the truth of the so-called Marian happenings in Lipa. As a child I was brought there together with my other siblings by my parents. I have frequented the place since then. As a young seminarian, then priest and bishop, I would come to Lipa Carmel to willingly and trustingly entrust to Mary, my concerns, my whole life and all my activities, ignoring the controversies which had enveloped the events from the outset and which lingered thereafter. I have not personally met, nor known nor bothered about Teresing Castillo until years later as a newly ordained bishop.

The controversies surrounding the Lipa apparitions did not at all worry me as a young bishop. I could not fail to notice, in the meantime, how the events in Lipa have taken a new turn since I was a child. Lipa has gained the reputation of being Mary’s privileged place. In fact people from all over do not hesitate to consider it as the Marian capital of the Philippines.

Things became more complicated for me upon my appointment as LipaArchbishop in 1994. I realized I have become part of the controversy. The intricacies of the past that overflow into the present have upset me for the last more than four years. People expect much from me who am reputed to be a profoundly Marian bishop. Some even sort of pressure me to declare the authenticity of the Marian apparitions, so that when asked if I will now give official approval to the Lipa phenomenon, my getaway response is: “Archbishop Ramón Argüelles has long approved it; the present Lipa Archbishop however has not.” Time and again I feel at fault for seemingly dodging the issue. Fellow Marians would prick my conscience by saying: “It is the Blessed Mother Who wants you in Lipa. And for a purpose.” An easy way for me to steer clear of arguments is to state that regardless of the truth or non-truth of the 1948 events, the Mediatrix of All Grace remains a mystery tied up with and to a certain extent advanced by Lipa. Yet deep inside I sense that more is demanded of me.

Pilgrimage to Lipa never ceased. Every 12^th of the month people will congregate at the Cathedral and make a penitential procession to the Carmelite Monastery of Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, at three in the afternoon. Likewise on first Saturdays increasing crowds join the five o’clock dawn procession from the Cathedral to the monastery ending with the six o’clock morning mass. I often join the procession and preside the Mass. Moreover for the five consecutive years, September 12, the so-called first apparition day, has been declared by government as a National Day of Prayer and Reconciliation. The consecration of the entire nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary during the afternoon Eucharist is the key point of the annual Pilgrimage to, what forty years ago Bishop Versoza called, Our Lady of Lipa.

The research silently goes on. More and more testimonies need yet to be examined to determine whether the events deserve to be believed in as they are already believed in by many. What more interesting testimony can be had than that coming from the supposed visionary. Sister Teresing is allowed by God to live long. She is already eighty-one. Those who love the Blessed Mother can reflect on her story with her. It is up to the reader or listener to judge whether Sister Teresing is credible or not, if her experience is subjective and if it deserves to be conveyed to numerous souls.  But it is my opinion that we have to thank Sister Teresing for telling us the story of Mary in Lipa and for suffering with Bishop Versoza, Bishop Obviar and the other professed nuns of that time.

There is in fact some kind of parallelism in the statements of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes and in Lipa. Teresing was told by the Virgin: “For fifteen consecutive days, come to visit me here in this spot”. Bernadette on the other hand was told: “Will you do me the favor of coming here for fifteen days?” The Virgin revealed to Teresing: “My daughter, sufferings and trials will be with you until the end of your life”. To Bernadette: “I do not promise you happiness in this world, but in the next!” Again to Teresing: “My child, kiss the ground and eat a little grass.” To Bernadette: “Go on your knees, kiss the ground in penance for sinners” To Teresing: “I wish this place to be blessed tomorrow.” To Bernadette: “Go, tell the priests that I want that a Chapel be built here!” To Teresing: “I am Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace” To Bernadette: “Que soy era Immaculada Concepciou.”

Can the documents issued in April 1951 be considered a genuine document expressing the definitive stand of the official Church of that time regarding the Lipa apparitions? First, it cannot be considered a final document from the Catholic Hierarchy of the Philippines since only an Archbishop (Gabriel Reyes of Manila), a resident bishop (Cesar Guerrero of San Fernando), an apostolic administrator of the place at issue (Rufino Santos) and three other auxiliary bishops (Sison of Nueva Caceres, Madriaga of Dagupan and Reyes of Manila) signed the document ‘as Archbishops and bishops, constituting for the purpose a special commission’. Second, vis-à-vis the fervor of the many ordinary faithful, there is yet the so-called claim of many of the bishops that they believe in the miracles while those who signed claimed that they were under duress.  Third, except for the above-mentioned documents, no record can be shown either by the Carmelite Generalate in Rome nor by the Nunciature as well as the Vatican archives themselves. Of course it is possible that the records of the fifties are not made available by Rome nor by the Nunciature for some reasons only they know. But for the sake of the Truth, and for the good of the faithful, such questions must be answered. Finally, as noted by the late Archbishop Mariano Gaviola, no document from Rome has, as of now, been issued us mentioned in the decree of then Apostolic Administrator Bishop Rufino Santos.

Did she really appear in Lipa?

Did Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace appear in Lipa? I as simply, Ramón C. Argüelles, will readily say, like many others in the Philippines and elsewhere (in fact I will never ever regret saying this: “Yes, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, did appear in Lipa.” It is not only in the fifties that most of the bisops believed in the Lipa Apparitions. Today, many bishops, surely led also by the simple faith of many faithful, believe that the Lipa events were not invented. God and Mary surely favored our land, especially the province of Batangas.

As Archbishop of Lipa, however, due to the unfortunate and confusing historical circumstances that may not be ignored, obviously I vacillate in making a clear-cut pronouncement. Certainly I am privately and silently doing, and I know I must officially initiate, a new inquiry. But no doubt, whatever be the outcome of any serious and thorough research the Archdiocese of Lipa, the City of Lipa or the whole Batangas Province will not become less a specially celebrated place where Mary is intensely honored, loved and sought.  A final Church statement may be most desirable by a good number of devotees. But the majority of the faithful will not at all be affected by whatever position the official Church will take. They will go on believing that Mary is powerfully present to her people in this place.

Personally and officially it is my earnest prayer and wish that Mary had truly appeared before and will still reveal herself in Lipa, and even everywhere, to tell the whole world that She is indeed Mediatrix of All Grace. Her call to prayer, penance, return to her Son Jesus, to humility, simplicity and fidelity to God is even more pressing in today’s world. Lipa is a blessed and marvelous site to hear and heed this maternal plea.

Fr. (Dr.) Manfred Hauke’s book is not just one added volume on Mary. In MEDIATRESS OF GRACE, the President of the German Mariological Society expounds more glaringly the convergence of the mystery of Jesus and of Mary in relation to the salvation of humanity. He provides a rich collection of insights and points for reflection to deepen the readers at prayer and meditation on the life Jesus, Mary and all genuine disciple should live in total unanimity. On the Jubilee Year of the Archdiocese of Lipa (2010 – April 10 – 2011) which celebrates its centenary as a local Church (erected a diocese by pope St. Pius X on April 10, 1910), the Most Holy Mother gives us an irreplaceable present the don de soi of this Mariological expert who leads us in an even deeper Marian Prayer and attachment on the Seventh National Day of Prayer for Peace and for the Sanctifications of Priests. An even lasting gift is the permission to print his book and make it available to Filipinos at an affordable price. This Pueblo Amante de Maria experiences again a manifestation of Mary’s love. The book of Fr. Hauke will accompany our Marian faithful to still more fervent Marian commitment. Our gratitude to the Academy of the Immaculate, New Bedford, MA – the publisher and copyrights holder of this book, for granting us permission to reprint. Endless thanks to Fr. Manfred Hauke.

I encourage all our Marian devotees to make the book a daily companion and instrument for deeper prayer. After all more than anything else the desire of the Blessed Mother is for us to live a life of constant prayer. We will not disappoint her. Fr. Hauke’s book will help us not only know Her and Her Son better but to love Her and Her Son and live always in profound union with the Mother of God and with our Lord.

RAMON C. ARGUELLES DD, STL
Archbishop of Lipa

Fr. (Dr.) Manfred Hauke’s book (Mary, Mediatress of Grace) is available at the Carmel Monastery Gift Shop, Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines.