NAGA City — An unusually dry Bicol River delayed the annual Peñafrancia fluvial procession, prompting a Catholic archbishop to urge devotees to turn Marian devotion into care for creation.
The procession honoring Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Bicol’s patroness, began around 9 p.m. Saturday, several hours later than usual because of the river’s low water level.
Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon of Caceres said devotion should go beyond venerating the image and include caring for what God has entrusted to humanity.
“Our devotion is not only about touching the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, but about using our hands to care for and develop whatever the Lord has entrusted to us,” Alarcon told Radyo Veritas.
He linked his message to the Church’s Season of Creation, observed every September, describing Mary as “Ina, Our Lady of Peñafrancia, inang simbahan, at inang kalikasan (mother, Our Lady of Peñafrancia, mother Church and mother nature).”
“Devotion is really about having a heightened sense. A deepened sensitivity — to God, to others, to nature, and to oneself,” he said.
Msgr. Juan Buentiempo, who designed the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia and its carriage, said he had never seen the river this dry since entering the seminary in the 1960s.
“Since I was a seminarian sometime in the 1960s until I became a priest and until now, we have never experienced the river becoming this dry,” Buentiempo said.
Despite the delay, Buentiempo praised devotees for their patience, saying their willingness to endure the inconvenience reflected Bicol’s deep Marian devotion.
More than 1.2 million devotees attended this year’s Peñafrancia celebration, with Alarcon thanking pilgrims and authorities for helping ensure a peaceful observance.
The archbishop also urged sick and suffering devotees to remember Christ’s acceptance of human weakness, saying faith should deepen compassion for those facing hardship.
“In our illness, let us remember that Jesus also accepted our weakness, our tears, our sweat, and the shedding of blood,” Alarcon said.
