Grand Marian Procession 2011

Yesterday, 4th of December 2011 @ 4 PM the Annual Grand Marian Procession as part of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception was held in Intramuros. Despite heavy and intermittent rains, it does not hamper the celebration. It was still grand as the previous years.

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About the Festivity:

From the six images that initially made up the first Marian procession of the Cofradia de la Inmaculada Concepcion in December, 1980, the procession has grown through the years.

The annual procession on Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. around Intramuros will have 90 carrozas carrying  the various images of the Virgin Mary under her different titles.

Don Ado Escudero, chair of the comite de festejos, said the first procession tried to revive the traditions handed down by the Spaniards in Intramuros, especially the procession in honor of the Inmaculada Concepcion. Jaime Laya, then administrator of the Intramuros Administration (IA), suggested the participation of the military in the religious procession in keeping with tradition.  The Cofradia sought the help of Helen Espino, wife of Gen. Romeo Espino, chief of staff at that time of the AFP. Since then, the AFP military brass bands have been participating.

This year, the procession will again be assisted by the Intramuros Administration, now headed by Jose Capistrano. Marian devotees around the country are expected to bring their own venerated images, such as Our Lady of Piat  (Piat, Cagayan Valley),  the Namacpacan (Luna, La Union), Ina Poon Bato (Botolan, Zambalez), the Manaoag (Pangasinan),  Soledad de Porta Vaga (Cavite City), Nuestra Señora de Dolores de Turumba (Pakil, Laguna), La Salette (Silang, Cavite), Our Lady of the Holy Spirit (Guimaras, Iloilo); Mary Mediatrix of All Grace (Lipa, Batangas); and  the Caysasay (Taal, Batangas).

Source: Grand Marian procession on Dec. 4 to feature 90 ‘carrozas’


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Till next year! God Bless us all! Mama Mary, Virgin of the Poor, pray for us.


View Event Photos here :
2011  Grand Marian Procession
2010  Grand Marian Procession
2009 Grand Marian Procession

It's Grand Marian Procession Once Again! See you there!

This weekend, the 1st Sunday of December (December 4, 2011) @ 4 PM will be the Annual Grand Marian Procession in Intramuros as part of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

We are inviting all graduates of the Sisters of Mary School to witness this grand event and be part of the carozza of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Virgin of the Poor during the procession.

See you there! God Bless us all!

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Visit for more info visit: Grand Marian Intramuros procession slated

View Event Photos here :
2010  Grand Marian Procession
2009 Grand Marian Procession

Fr. Al's - Prayer for Beatification

Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz

(1930 - 1992)
Founder
Religious Congregation of the Sisters of Mary
and the Brothers of Christ

Almighty, ever-living God, giver of all good gifts, You have filled
Msgr. Al with an ardent love for You and for souls. You have inspired
him to dedicate his life to relieve the suffering of the orphans, abandoned,
the sick and the poor, especially the youth, which he did with all humility
and courage until the end of his life. May his holy life of love and service
to the poor be recognized by the Church through his beatification
and canonization.

For your glory and honor, we pray that the life of Msgr. Al be an
inspiration for us in striving for perfection in the love of God and
service to others.

Bestow on us, through his intercession the ...(mention the favor you ask for.)
We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son and the maternal
aid of Mary, the Virgin of the Poor. Amen.

Our Father ... Hail Mary ... Glory Be ...

(With Ecclesiastical Approval)

For favors granted, kindly write to:
The Sisters of Mary School
Brgy. Biga II, Silang 4118 Cavite, Philippines
Tel. No. 046-865-3097 or 02-529-8321
E-mail: faco_al@yahoo.com.ph

"A Miracle in Mexico" By Alejandro Grattan

"A Miracle in Mexico"
By Alejandro Grattan
December 2002 Guadalajara-Lakeside Volume 19, Number 4

In a deeply religious country which is fraught with inexplicable phenomena, we have seen one such miracle with our own eyes. Few people at Lakeside have heard of this modern-day marvel, even fewer have visited its site, though thousands of us probably have passed only a couple of hundred yards away from it.

At first glance, it would appear to be a beautifully-laid-out junior college campus which could be anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, a campus equipped with several dormitories, a large gymnasium, a soccer field, basketball and volleyball courts, a semi-Olympic-sized swimming pool, classrooms fitted with dozens of late-model computers, and an enrollment of more than two thousand students.

There, however, all similarity ends.

For this magnificent monument to one man’s courage, vision and indomitability is known as Villa de Los Niños, located about ten miles north of Jocotepec, on the highway to Guadalajara. It is a sight that has to be seen to be believed. Here some 2000 of the poorest boys in Mexico, under the firm but loving guidance of Sister Cecilia Lee and her staff of about fifteen Sisters of Mary, are provided with food, shelter, clothing and a secondary technical, vocational training, all free of charge. Upon completion of their three-year course, the graduates then proudly take their places amongst Mexico’s fast-growing middle-class.

The educational training is intensive, with the students given only a two-week yearly vacation, and allowed but one parental visit each year. But at the end of the three years, the boys have been given, in addition to the standard education for lads in the secondary age-range, vocational training in any one or more trades such as woodworking, cooking, computers, auto mechanics, refrigeration, baking, jewelry, music, electronics, etc.

The equipment and supplies are provided free by many of Mexico’s largest corporations, and the facilities we saw are state-of-the-art. The auto repair training center was equipped by Volkswagen Mexico, which provides the students with several late-model cars, and all the necessary tools. The area is maintained by the students, and is so spotless one could eat off the floor. Best of all, as with many of the other vocations, the students are guaranteed a job upon graduation with the sponsor company.

Finally, however, it is not the adult instructors or the corporations who have made this place what it is—but rather the Sisters of Mary and the students themselves. It was inspiring to witness the sense of quiet joy and deep dedication which seemed to permeate the very halls of this marvelous institution of learning. The boys we saw (and we saw hundreds of them!) seemed happy, focused and keenly aware that they had been given one of the greatest strokes of luck they are likely to ever encounter. All of them come from extremely poor backgrounds, and proudly wear the neat, clean regulation clothing they were issued upon admittance.

The day Cuca Tingen and I visited, our guide was Sister Zeny, a diminutive nun from the Philippines whose broad smile and cheerful cooperation made our short stay a delight. Of the fifteen nuns, most are from the Philippines and South Korea, with a sprinkling of Mexican sisters mixed in for local flavor.

The man responsible for this miracle in Mexico is the late Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz. Creating just one such monument to the power of courage, vision and love would be enough for any man—but over the course of his life, he founded other such facilities in Korea and the Philippines, as well as hospitals, orphanages and homes for the homeless. Little wonder that he was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Equally amazing was that he did much of this while confined to a wheelchair. In 1989, Msgr. Schwartz was stricken with the malady known today as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” an affliction which finally took his life in 1992. Now the good Sisters of Mary carry on with his magnificent dream, doing it mainly through contributions. Anyone wishing to know more about this great effort and who has the desire to take part in this charitable work may call Sister Cecilia Lee at (37472) 5-0207.

As we drove away, I glanced back at the hundreds of young boys and the beautiful grounds and buildings, and a line from a now-forgotten play came to mind, in which one of the characters—reflecting on how every now and then, good people and noble ideas can create miracles—says “Sometimes there’s God.”