Peñafrancia Festival in Naga Date in the current year: September 15, 2024

The worship of Our Lady of Peñafrancia (Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia) originated in the Spanish province of Salamanca. The original image was discovered in the 1430s by a man named Simón Vela under a rock on the mountain of Peña de Francia. It is believed to have been hidden there to prevent it from falling into the hands of Moor invaders during the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.

The devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia in the Philippines began in the early 18th century, when a Spanish-born seminarian named Miguel Robles de Covarrubias fell seriously ill and was miraculously healed by a holy card of the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. After being ordained and becoming a parish priest in Naga, he ordered a copy of the imaged carved by a local artisan and built a stone church to house it. From Naga, the devotion spread to other parts of the Bicol Region and then beyond.

In 1982, the image was transferred to the newly consecrated Peñafrancia Basilica in Naga City. The Peñafrancia Basilica is one of the largest Marian pilgrimage sites in Asia, and the annual Peñafrancia Festival in Naga is the largest Marian celebration in the Asian region.

Our Lady of Peñafrancia is revered as the patroness of Naga City and the entire Bicol region. Her feast day is celebrated on the Sunday after the Octave of the Nativity of Mary, i.e. the Sunday after September 15. The celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia that involves solemn processions where the image is carried from its shrine to the cathedral and then back to the shrine originated in 1864.

On the second Friday of September, nine days before the festival, the image of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is brought from the Peñafrancia Basilica to the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral in the Traslación procession. The next nine days, called the novena, are filled with solemn masses and prayers, religious processions, and civic and military parades featuring marching bands, drum and lyre corps, marjorettes, school and scout groups, government employees, various organizations and associations, military bands, etc. The best bands and groups are presented with special awards at the end of their respective parades. The final military parade, held on the Friday before the festival, is the longest military parade outside Manila and one of the largest events of its kind in Southeast Asia.

On the eve of the feast day, the image is brought back to the basilica in a fluvial procession on the Naga River. Devotees escort the flatboat carrying the image aboard colorful paddle boats, holding thousands of candles to light the way. When the flatboat reaches the shore, the image is carried along the streets of Naga to the shrine, while the devotees wave handkerchiefs and shout “Viva la Virgen” (“Long live the Virgin!”). A solemn mass held at the Peñafrancia Basilica on the festival Sunday marks the conclusion of the festivities.