Republic Act 10966, declaring the 8th of December of every year a ‘special non-working holiday’ in the entire country to “commemorate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the principal patroness of the Philippines”, was signed on Dec. 27, 2017 by then President Duterte.
As part of the patronage, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is often observed both religiously and culturally, with processions and other cultural festivities.
The observance of this feast began with a Papal encyclical by Pope Pius IX, when he formally defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Ineffabilis Deus on Dec. 8, 1854. Several years later in 1858, the Blessed Mother gave her name to St. Bernadette at Lourdes stating, “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
In the Jesuit records, when the Spaniards came to the Philippines in the 16th century, the first missionaries built the first church in Manila in Intramuros under the name of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, now the Manila Cathedral, the mother church of all the churches in the Philippines.
When the Jesuits returned in the 19th century, they built their house near the Cathedral, took over the administration of a school called the Ateneo, and put it under the patronage of Mary Conceived without Sin.
Other than being a Catholic Day of Obligation, the date has more historical significance as on Dec. 8, 1941, Japan launched an attack on the Commonwealth of the Philippines, 10 hours after their attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The Philippines at that time was a semi-independent Commonwealth government under the colonial rule of the US.
By word of mouth at that point in time, many residents took refuge at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, and attributed their deliverance in the time of war to the patronage of Mary.
Historical records have also established that at Pearl Harbor, American aircraft were severely damaged in the initial Japanese attack. Lacking air cover, the American Asiatic fleet in the Philippines withdrew to Java on Dec. 12, 1941. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was ordered out, leaving his men at Corregidor Island on the night of March 11, 1942, for Australia, about 4,000 kilometers away.
Some 76,000 starving and sick American and Filipino defenders in Bataan surrendered on April 9, 1942, and were forced to endure the infamous Bataan Death March on which about 10,000 died, or were killed. The 13,000 survivors on Corregidor surrendered on May 6.
Japan occupied the Philippines for over three years, until their surrender. A highly effective guerrilla campaign by Philippine resistance forces controlled 60 percent of the islands, mostly forested and mountainous areas. General MacArthur supplied them with their needs by submarine, and sent reinforcements and officers. The Filipino population remained generally loyal to the United States, partly because of the American guarantee of independence.
General MacArthur kept his promise to return to the Philippines, which he did on Oct. 20, 1944. The landings on the island of Leyte were accompanied by a force of 700 vessels and 174,000 men.
Enjoy the holidays!
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