Articles and Related Readings

The Veneration of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, How it Started in Los Angeles
(by Hermito San Jose, Jose Factora and Alice San Andres-Calleja)

In reading the tales of Granada and the Alhambra (remember the story of Zayda, Zorayda Zorahayda and the epic of El Cid), we usually take the readings as pure literary enjoyment of romance and adventure in old Spain. Scarcely have we paused to consider that those goings-on of yore have led to important consequences in our lives as Bicolanos, particularly in so far as our veneration of Our Lady of Peñafrancia has shaped our religious and cultural orientation. For without the Mohammedan invasion of Spain, we would not be celebrating the Peñafrancia fiesta. <Read more...>

The Peñafrancia Story

Devotion to our Lady of Peñafrancia may well be said to have started at the turn of the 18th century when the young Spanish Cavite-born Padre Miguel Robles de Covarrubias was assigned to Caceres (the old name of Naga City) by the incumbent Bishop who had ordained him, Msgr. Andres Gonzales, O.P.But the devotion, Spanish in origin, can trace its history to much earlier than 18th century. <Read more...>