Paper Short Abstract:

The paper tackles the documented 17th century miracles of the Nuestra Señora de Guia investigated in the Consultas of Juan de Paz. The account talks about the provenance of the image and the miracle narratives and rituals of devotions attributed to the Nuestra Señora de Guia of Ermita, Manila.

Paper Abstract:

The focus of this paper are the documented seventeenth century miracles of the Nuestra Señora de Guia reviewed and investigated in the Consultas of Juan de Paz (UST Libros Tomo 23). The Nuestra Señora de Guia of Ermita, Manila is considered to be the oldest Marian image in the Philippines. The Consultas talks about the antiquity of the image and also its possible provenance, the focus however are the miracle narratives and the rituals of devotions attributed to the Nuestra Señora de Guia. The different miracles narrated in the Consultas (Lib 23.97 – p. 825 - 878) include miraculous cures received by devotees from among the native population to miraculous interventions in battles against the Dutch as reported by a Spanish soldier devotee of the Nuestra Señora de Guia. In addition to these miracle narratives, Juan de Paz also discusses the process of recognizing a miracle and the necessary considerations before a miracle is propagated to the rest of society. These accounts reveal a glimpse to the writing and unwriting of devotions and rituals within the context of colonial 17th century Manila.