By Ben Cal/PNA
MANILA — Miraculous healings were reported during the past year since the Catholic Church in the Philippines revived the novena of the 385-year old holy image of the Nuestra Seńora de la Salud (Our Lady of Health).
Rev. Fr. Rommel Rubia of the Order of the Augustinian Recollect (OAR) made the revelation in his homily during the 385th year celebration of the miraculous image held at the San Nicolas Parish in Barangay Bahay Toro, Quezon City on Saturday.
“Miracles of healings and even pregnancy of married women who could not bear a child for years have reported, after the novena was revived last year after 72 years in hibernation,” Rubia said.
But one of the first miraculous healing attributed to Nuestra Seńora de la Salud was that of a 69-year old former bank employee, Greg Montes, who recovered from the brink of death after he suffered multiple organ failures while hospitalized last year.
In an interview with this writer, Montes said he was given a 50-50 chance to live, but after his family prayed the Novena of Nuestra Seńora dela Salud, the other title of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Montes fully recovered from his illness in just a week after they prayed the novena.
“My doctors could not believe my full recovery in such a short time,” Montes said.
Montes attended Saturday’s celebration of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Health at the San Nicolas Parish, the shrine of the holy image in Barangay Bahay Toro, Quezon City.
A procession preceded a Holy Mass at the shrine.
It was only the second time in 73 years that the novena was revived after the OAR priests decided to revive the public devotion to the holy image after the image was kept in their sacristy following the carpet bombing of Manila by American warplanes towards the end of the World War II.
The holy image survived the bombings unscathed, like it had survived many disasters in the past 300 years.
During the procession, the devotees continuously prayed the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary.
The 385-year old image of “La Salud” has a crown and a tunic of beaten silver and gold encrusted with stones of gold and silver. It is 63.5-centimeter long.
The holy image came from Mexico in 1634 and was brought to Manila by the Spaniards.
The first miraculous healing power of “Our Lady of Health” was manifested during the long voyage when the Spanish sailors who got ill with no medicines to take were healed after praying to the Blessed Mother.
That miraculous healings continued up to the present.
