page_title: Our Lady of Porta Vaga
section_title: Canonical Coronation
hierarchical_section_title: Our Lady of Porta Vaga / Church and Civil Recognition / Canonical Coronation
caption_attribution_description: English: The Decree of Canonical Coronation of the Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga sent by the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments to the Diocese of Imus.
context_page_description: Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga, or commonly Our Lady of Porta Vaga, is a Marian title associated with a religious icon which depicts the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Solitude.
  The oldest dated Marian painting in the Philippines and the Patroness of the Province of Cavite, permanently enshrined in the Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Solitude of Porta Vaga, San Roque Church in Cavite City. The image was ceremoniously crowned on 17 November 1978, having been long disputed as illegitimate. It gained an official canonical coronation on 19 March 2018 under the auspices of Pope Francis and received the state recognition as a National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines on September 27, 2017.
context_section_description: Through the joint efforts of Msgr. Baraquiel Mojica and Bishop Felix Perez, a petition was sent to Rome for the canonical coronation of the Virgin. The Holy See grants the privilege of crowning an image only in very rare and exceptional cases.  "The Catholic rite of crowning originated in 1640, when Alejandro Sfortia, Marquis of Placencia, died leaving in his will a provision in which a large sum of money was to be invested and the proceeds to form a fund for the purchase of crowns of precious metals for the coronation of the most celebrated images in the world. 
  After a favorable response from Rome, the Most Rev. Bruno Torpigliani, DD, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, solemnly crowned the  image of the Virgin on November 17, 1978. Present were Most Rev. Artemio Casas, Archbishop of Jaro, and the first Bishop of Imus; Most Rev. Cirilo Almario and Most Rev. Leopoldo Arcaira,
  In an effort to rectify whatever was lacking in the coronation of 1978, the present officers of the Cofradia de la Virgen de la Soledad de Porta Vaga, Inc., with the usual support and guidance of the present Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Dominador B. Medina and its Spiritual Director - Rev. Fr. Virgilio Saenz Mendoza, requested the Vatican for a Papal Bull and authorize the coronation of the sacred image during the reign of His Holiness, Pope Francis.
  On March 19, 2018, His Holiness Pope Francis issued the decree for the Pontifical Coronation of the 300-year old image of the Virgen de la Soledad de Porta Vaga. The act of coronation was done on November 18, 2018 by Papal Nuncio Gabriele Giordano Caccia with the Most. Rev. Reynaldo G. Evangelista, the Bishop of Imus.
  On the same occasion, her church was declared as the Diocesan Shrine of the Virgen de la Soledad de Porta Vaga. Because of this momentous occasion of the Catholic faith in the province of Cavite, the Holy See thru the Apostolic Penitentiary granted plenary indulgence from November 18, 2018 to November 18, 2019 for those who will visit the Shrine of the Virgin. His Holiness Pope Francis thru the Papal Nuncio granted his Apostolic Blessing to those who were present during the coronation and participated thru the internet, radio and television.
caption: The notarized decree of Canonical Coronation of the image.  From the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, circa 2018.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)"}