Flores De Mayo: Commemoration of Mary in the Philippines

By Rechilda Estores and Zeus Legaspi

Many churches in the Philippines recognize and appreciate the significant role of Mother Mary in the life of Christ, a recognition that strengthens the faith of Catholics throughout the world.

Fr. Calixto Lumandas, a Filipino parish priest, is one of the priests who encourages the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the parish of St. Michael the Archangel, Diocese of Imus, at Bacoor City, Cavite, Philippines.

He has been serving as priest for 47 years, and he highlights the importance that Filipino Catholics place on celebrating Flores de Mayo every year.

“This is relevant to the Filipino community for it shows the strong devotion of the Filipinos to the Virgin Mary,”said Fr. Lumandas in an interview with Vatican News.

The Filipino priest also shared that this Catholic festival has become a way to demonstrate the faith and gratitude of Filipinos to the Virgin Mary. “Being religious is one of the most prominent values of Filipinos,” he added. “The Marian month is a way for our community to give thanks to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

Venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary

Bacooreños offering flowers to Mother Mary (courtesy of SMAP Communication and Documentation)]

To coordinate the Catholic festival in his parish, Fr. Lumandas assigned Gregorio Eusebio, Head of the Easter Ladies, to manage the month-long flower offering placed before the image of Mother Mary.

“As a member of the St. Michael the Archangel Parish Pastoral Council, we were tasked by our parish priest to head the celebration of the Flores de Mayo of the parish,” explained Mr. Eusebio to Vatican News. “Part of the program is the month-long flower offering for the image of Mary, the Immaculate Conception culminated by the Flores de Mayo.”

The Flores de Mayo parish project head shared that aside from flower offering there are also ladies who artistically represent the qualities of Mary in a procession.

“The highlight of the festival is to promote ardent love of Mary through the daily recitation of the rosary, flower offering, and Flores de Mayo is also represented by selected ladies signifying the virtues and qualities of Mary,” said Mr. Eusebio.

As the leader of the event, he also pointed out that Flores De Mayo originated from the influence of the Spaniards. “This religious practice is one of the legacies of the Spaniards to the Filipino culture as they tried to inculcate to the children the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” he said. “Flores de Mayo is as important as giving a bouquet of flower to a dearly beloved woman expressing to her our love and filial devotion.”

By being able to dedicate people’s sincere appreciation for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr. Lumandas believes that it will restore the faith of Filipino people after suffering for a long time during the pandemic crisis in the country.

“This would help us to bring back our values of being religious, especially during this time, because of the pandemic, we were forbidden to go to the church and we only rely on the online Mass and novena; it was difficult to us to even concentrate,” Fr. Lumandas recalled. “It has been three years and it is slowly going back to the normal state, little by little, and so are the religious activities.”

Personal relationship with Blessed Virgin Mary

Fr. Lumandas said, “Our faith is strengthened by listening to the word of God during the daily mass, the homily given and by praying of the Rosary.” He continued, “By doing so, we are creating a line of connection between ourselves and to our Mother Mary and her son, Jesus. This connection that we create can help us to strengthen our faith.”

As part of the spiritual connections created, a program of Santacruzan, a procession during Flores De Mayo, has also become a bridge to transmit religious devotion to young people.

One of the recent youth participants of the Santacruzan this year is Reicee Molanda, a 19-year-old Filipina, who represented Reyna Elena during the procession.

Reicee Molanda, a Reyna Elena at Santacruzan procession (courtesy of Reicee Molanda)

“It is important for the youth to be engaged in these kinds of activities in Church to strengthen their relationship with the Lord,” she believes. “When we engage in different activities in Church we receive spiritual nourishment which strengthens us spiritually and helps us grow in our faith.”

Ms. Molanda recalled that she felt joyful in witnessing the union of Filipinos at the festival.

“It made me also happy to see that the Santacruzan is not only a religious and cultural event, but a tradition that unifies everyone,” she added.

Fr. Lumandas conveyed at the end of the interview that Flores de Mayo has a significant sense in preserving the culture and faith of Filipinos. “By presenting to the community the different images of our Blessed Virgin Mary,” he said, “it inspires us to keep the tradition and the faith alive forever.”