Legazpi Diocese holds pontifical coronation of Marian image

LEGAZPI CITY — The Diocese of Legazpi held a pontifical coronation of the image of Nuestra Señora de Salvación during a Mass on Wednesday to mark the 75th anniversary of its canonical establishment.

More than 6,000 faithful and hundreds of priests attended the celebration at Saint Gregory the Great Cathedral, presided over by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals.

In his homily, Tagle congratulated the diocese on its spiritual, communal, pastoral, and missionary efforts during the jubilee’s preparatory phase and looked forward to the post-jubilee period.

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READ: Legazpi bishop to devotees: Stop using ‘Inang Salvacion’ Marian titleHe described the diocese’s 75-year journey as one of blessings, guidance and accompaniment, and called on the faithful to continue the Church’s mission.

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“When you feel you are drifting away from Jesus, reach out to the hand of Our Lady of Salvación, whose hand is always outstretched to catch us and bring us closer to Jesus; and she will assure us, ‘Do whatever He tells you,’ which is to go and tell the good news,” Tagle said.

He said the diocese is a product of Jesus’ mission from the Father, the vision of the Holy Spirit, and the work of the Twelve Apostles and generations of missionaries, religious, clergy, bishops and ordinary people.

He cited parents, grandparents, teachers, friends, catechists, fishermen and farmers who introduced Jesus to their families and the next generation through their simple lives.

Speaking in Latin, English and Bicolano, Fr. Gem Norries Penetrante, diocesan chancellor, proclaimed the papal decree issued by Pope Leo XIV authorizing the pontifical coronation.

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In Diocesan Circular No. 36, Series of 2026, Bishop Joel Z. Baylon clarified that the image’s 1976 coronation, officiated by then Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, was diocesan, not a pontifical one.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments subsequently granted the pontifical coronation through a decree identified as Prot. N. 679/26.

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In his message, Baylon urged the faithful to keep their hearts burning with faith and share the good news of salvation.

“May our hearts continue to burn like those of the two Emmaus disciples after they had encountered the Lord in the breaking of the bread. So, as we do now, may our hearts continue to burn and may our hearts be passionate enough, and recognized to have been gifted, in order to share the good news of salvation to one and all,” Baylon said.

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The image was recognized as patroness of the Diocese of Legazpi in 1977, a separate ecclesiastical act. Its shrine in Joroan, Tiwi, Albay, remains a pilgrimage site for devotees./coa