Visiting Carmel

On a pilgrimage trip to Lipa with my friends, we made a side trip to the Our Lady of Carmel convent made famous by apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary who manifested herself to two postulants at the time.

Our Lady of Carmel convent in Lipa at daybreak

A Youtube video documentary on the apparitions is made interesting by a voice-over of Danny Javier of the Apo Hiking Society fame. I digress... anyway, not many people remember how the poor girls were ostracized for their claims. Sister Teresing (as she was fondly called) was forced to leave the convent and retire to a life of solitude.

Early morning sunlight at Carmel

Their stories of the Virgin's apparitions were totally ignored despite  the fact that all over the convent a torrent of rose petals rendered the convent a virtual garden. The lady appeared atop a vine in the garden and made herself known as the Mediatrix of all Graces. Eventually, the story died down and the hype was all but a memory.

Image of Our Lady Mediatrix of all Grace venerated by devotee

However, true stories don't just die down. hey have a way of re-surfacing. The miracles that occurred in the Mt. Carmel convent of Lipa have not been forgotten. To this day, people of all sorts of persuasion, need, and status keep going to Lipa to visit the apparition site. The convent was opened in 1946, a year after WWII ended. The nuns moved there from Manila on the same day that the convent was opened. Not long after, the apparitions began. the convent was covered in rose petals that rained on the grounds out of nowhere and the air was filled with the heady scent of fragrant roses.

View of the garden from the Balcony

Many improvements have taken place since then. A gift shop near the stairway leading to the adoration area is now in place. There is a stairway that leads to an assembly area on the second level of the convent where Mass and religious gatherings may be held. And then the balcony comes into view. A perfect spot beckons any devotee to view the balcony and look down at the exact spot where the Lady had appeared to three young nuns. The vine has now reached a considerable height and a larger than life size image is set on the tiled area in the garden below.

Facade and courtyard of Carmel from the second floor deck

Carmel still retains its idyllic ambiance to this day. Its manicured lawns and tidy swept driveways have remained a silent witness to the divine events that took place in its grounds. Unfortunately so much effort to discredit the events that took place there succeeded in downplaying the role the nuns played in acquiescing to our Lady's request. But... did they really succeed?