Paula Riza Alarcon CLEDU

Grade 11- Blessed Humbert of Romans

Our Mother

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of La Naval de Manila or in short La Naval de
Manila is an image of Blessed Virgin Mary in the Philippines. The Holy image was
respected by several of Popes specially Pope Pius X, who granted the image a
Canonical Coronation on October 1907. I become a National Cultural Treasure of the
Philippines in 2009 by the government.

The La Naval de Manila visit had been simple, the students are to welcome her
in front of the Letran main building. There is also a short parade for her before entering
the Letran vicinity. She was greeted warmly by the students by waving flaglets, shouting
for joy, waving hands and clapping. Everyone want to see her, take a picture of her and
to touch her.

I was curious when this event had happened because in our pass school there
are no activities similar to this. There are questions in my mind that are: What does she
looked like? Why is she warmly welcomed by the students? Or why do we need to
welcome her? Everything was spiritually answered after I saw her, I don’t know how that
happened, but I felt like the La Naval de Manila is also welcoming me back. Meeting her
is a combination of a mixed emotion but in overall I was happy, an unexplainable
happiness. I think that she is embracing us in her arms just like a mother would do to
protect her child. I felt that everyone seems to be close to me, like a family, that my
classmates and friends just turned into my younger or older brothers and sisters. It felt
like we become a huge family because of the presence of La Naval de Manila.

Welcoming La Naval de Manila become a great experience to me. It taught me a

lot of things that I don’t know but hard to explain in words. It’s like I magically learned
something in an instant. I am grateful that I met the mother of all mothers in personal,
and I was thinking that I want to do this again next year, I want to meet her again.