I was reading a posting of one of the Mabuhay Guides this afternoon and I got the idea for this article from Mabuhay Guide Bryan Ocampo. We always come across the painting of San Nicolas de Tolentino in our regular rounds of tours in Intramuros.
Saint Nicolas of Tolentine was named after Saint Nicolas of Myra to whom his childless parents prayed to at middle-age. Born to Campangonus de Guarutti and Amata di Giudani, Nicolas joined the order of the Augustinians at the age of 18. He was ordained in 1271 and at the age of 25 established a repuation for his sermons. He was know to have had visions of angels ascribing to Tolentino which prompted him to move to Tolentino. While there, he became peacemaker between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines. One faction was pro Pope, the other was pro Roman Emperor. He nonetheless did his ministry serving the poor and even curing the sick whom he made to promise not to speak about his healing prowess ashe believed he was just an instrument of God.
He did his charity work even when he was very ill. He would roam the streets until late at night. Once while he was sick it was believed that the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints Augustine and Monica appeared to him and instructed him to take a piece of bread dipped in water. He followed their instructions and was immediately cured. This was the humble beginnings of the Panecillos de San Nicolas or the Saint Nicolas Bread.
At least three hundred miracles were ascribed to Saint Nicolas of Tolentino upon his death. All these involved seemingly incredulous acts like raising the dead (at least one hundred children), saving souls from Purgatory. Nine passengers from a sinking ship who invoked his aid and saw him floating in the air with light radiating from his chest, a lily in his left hand and with his right hand quelled the storm. He is even credited for saving the Doge of Venice from fire by appearing onsite and throwing a piece of bread into the fire and quenching it.
When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines, the Augustinians introduced Catholicism to our ancestors and grudgingly we embraced the religion. As early as 1622, the HOLY SEE gave official concession for the blessings of the panecillos under the intercession of San Nicolas. So when the the Spaniards started exploring the archipelago and started establishing parishes the practice of making the PANECILLOS de SAN NICOLAS took root in Pampanga as early as the 16th century. This was particularly evident when Simon de Anda moved to Pampanga to establish a Spanish Government despite losing the colony to the British after the British interlude from 1762-1764. The Kampampangans used a mixture of lime, eggwhites, molasses, egg shells to construct the churches. With the egg yolk left unused, the decided to create desserts. Panecillos ( wafer thin crackers) were eventually created as an offshoot of these culinary experiments. The bread was also accorded the same powers as curing sick children, quelling fires, and a cure-all for diseases.
The process of combining arrow root flour, egg yolks coconut milk, sugar and vegetable oil and turning them into bread was passed on from generation to generation after these were taught to housewives by nuns. To this day, Lilia Borromeo has mastered the art of baking the panecillos and teaching willing students how to make them.
The GMA News Team released an feature on the Panecillos de San Nicolas as having miraculous powers just recently ( Bryan Ocampo's post). Has the potency of its miraculous powers remained strong after all these centuries?
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