Notes on the Pilgrim City and the Pilgrim Province

The celebration does not end with the 300 years. As the fiesta was winding up, an EO or Executive Order from the highest office in the land was released declaring Naga City and the province of Camarines Sur as the Pilgrim Capital of the Philippines.

Last night, as if to confirm the magnificence of the rituals held to honor the Virgin of Peñafrancia, the pagoda carrying the Icon blazed through the dark waters of the Naga River, the votive candles on the river banks never ever more incandescent, and the devotees humbled by the sheer power of this Faith that travelled through continents and dreams. A TV network has confirmed that some 2 million people have descended upon this small city of Naga. Maybe, it did not reach that number but the fact is there were just too many people in the small space of this pilgrim city that anyone estimating the multitude is bound to exaggerate and be convincing.