November 20 – 21, 2017.

The Original Miraculous Image of Nuestra Señora Virgen de la Regla

THE ORIGINAL IMAGE OF NUESTRA SEÑORA VIRGEN DE LA REGLA venerated at the national shrine of Nuestra Señora Virgen de la Regla in opon, lapu-lapu city, mactan island, cebu.

The church of Our Lady of the Rule is in Opon town on the historic island of Mactan. The people first saw a picture of the Virgen de la Regla in 1735, when the first parish priest, Francisco Avalle, an Augustinian monk, showed it to them. Father Avalle was a devotee, having lived for 10 years in the Monastery of Nuestra Señora de la Regla in Chipiona, Andalucia, Spain. St. Augustine himself venerated this image. When he died in 430, his monks continued the devotion to her. When the Vandals invaded Africa in 433, the monks fled to Spain, taking the image with them. For several centuries, the Virgen de la Regla was venerated under several names: Virgen Libica, Virgen del Sagrario, Estrella de los Mares and La Virgen Morena, or Morenita.