AN ALUMNUS of the UST Faculty of Sacred Theology is spearheading the recreation of a pre-World War II retablo that housed the 400-year-old image of Our Lady of Loreto, the patroness of Sampaloc.
A retablo is a multi-tiered devotional structure usually found behind an altar that displays religious sculptures and artworks.
Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto Rector and Thomasian alumnus Fr. Enrico Martin Adoviso and other members of the clergy unveiled on Dec. 1 the retablo, which was patterned after the one used by the Bustillos church during the early 19th century. The original retablo was destroyed during the war.
The unveiling was part of the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Loreto, a depiction of Mary carrying the Infant Jesus while standing on a house. The Marian title originated from a legend that the house where Mary and Joseph raised Jesus was transported by angels from Nazareth to the northern Italian town of Loreto in the 13th century to protect it from Muslim invaders.
“At ngayong taong 2024, sa ika-411 taon ng imahen at parokya ng Mahal na Birhen ng Loreto, sa awa at habag ng Diyos, ang retablong nawasak ng giyera ay muling maibabalik at patuloy na isasagawa at pagtutulungan ng mga tao at mananampalataya,” Adoviso said in his speech during the unveiling ceremony.
(In 2024, during the 411th year of the image and parish of the Virgin of Loreto, by the mercy and grace of God, the retablo that was once destroyed by war will return with the cooperation of the people and faithful.)
The Sampaloc parish established in 1613 is home to the centuries-old image of Our Lady of Loreto. However, the original church was destroyed on Feb. 11, 1945 during the Battle of Manila, which resulted in the death of at least 100,000 civilians and the complete devastation of the city.
Only the original Marian image was saved. The present church was rebuilt in 1958.
Adoviso, who graduated from UST in 1987, said the parish seeks to go back to its roots and honor the past as it shapes the community’s lives today.
“We need to recall history. We must not abandon our history—the things done by the people who came before us. Because that is truly what they made, so we have to preserve it and recreate it so the people can see that this is our church,” Adoviso told The Flame in an interview.
“When the church was rebuilt after the war, the style of the [retablo] was adapted to modern design and has repeatedly undergone change over time,” he added.
The retablo features intricate designs such as wooden carvings and scroll motifs. It also adopts the baroque architecture style common in churches run by Franciscans, said to be the first missionaries in Sampaloc. Aside from the Marian image, the three-tiered retablo will also display sculptures of various Franciscan and Dominican saints and images of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Family and the Holy Eucharist.
According to the parish rector, the restoration cost P2.9 million and was funded by devotees through donations. Plans for the project began in August this year.
Adoviso said the restoration was completed just in time for this year’s holiday masses and the traditional dawn masses or Simbang Gabi. However, the images of saints to be placed on the retablo are still pending and would depend on the parish’s funds. As of this writing, only a painting of the Holy Family is displayed in the retablo.
Over the years, Our Lady of Loreto has been revered as a protectress against fires and calamities and an intercessor for students and educators as the capital city is the home of the so-called “university belt.” She was officially recognized as the patroness of Sampaloc by the Manila city council in 2023.
The image of Our Lady of Loreto will be granted a canonical coronation, a formal act of the pope to crown a venerated image, during her feast day on Tuesday, Dec. 10. F — with reports from Anna Victoria Asuncion
