In 1937, when she was 35 years old, Tita Luz (Luz Montinola), the third daughter of Don Felix Montinola (read blog here) traveled from Negros Occidental to Manila, probably with her older sister, Salud, to join the 1.5 million Catholics from the Philippines and around the world, at the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress, held from February 3 to 7 that year.
The first Eucharistic Congress was held in 1881 in Lille, France, 56 years before this gathering in Manila, Philippines. This was its first ever congress in Asia with events held at the Rizal Park and Quezon City with hundreds of thousands in attendance each time. It is also remembered as having the largest religious procession of more than 600,000 Catholics, which must have included Tita Luz and Tita Lud, both devout Catholics. At that time, it was considered the largest Catholic gathering in the only Catholic country in Asia. It was also the first time that a Catholic cardinal set foot in the Philippines. Dennis Joseph Cardinal Dougherty of Philadelphia came; hwas the former bishop of Jaro in Iloilo from 1908 to 1915.
To memorialize the Eucharistic Congress, two kinds of medals were minted and sold to attendees that could be worn by pinning. This is one of the two medals. Its obverse (principal side) features the Manila Cathedral in the middle, and the words "Congressus", "Eucharisticus", "Internationalis", and "Manilanus", meaning, International Eucharistic Congress (Manila) with the numbers 1-9-3-7 distributed around it.
The other side is a depiction of the First Mass in the Philippines with two Spanish soldiers on the left and a family on the right wearing modern clothes. On the background is a sea with mountains. Also featured are a few coconut trees. Sadly, no one in the medal is seen sipping buko juice nor is anyone seen taking a dip at the beach.😃
The number 1-5-2-1 are engraved, and the Latin words are written around the medal: "Praedicate Evangelium Omni Creaturae" - which means 'preach the Gospel to every creature'.
After Tita Luz gave this to my mother, she wore it to honor the giver. It was noticed by Father Bayona, a former parish priest who told my mom that her medal was lovely.
The medal is heavy and is shaped like a cross, and has a witness one of the largest Catholic gatherings ever in Asia.😃
#Catholicmedals #EucharisticCongress #Catholic #Philippinehistory #Philippines #medals #1937 #evangelical #CardinalDougherty
No comments:
Post a Comment