Devotees commemorate World War II exodus with image of 'Virgin of Antipolo'
By Nel Andrade
Antipolo residents who are devotees of the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, popularly known as the Virgin of Antipolo, are commemorating the World War II exodus of the people to a secluded mountain to escape the wrath of the war in 1945.
Referred to as the “Paglikas ng mga Taga Antipolo Patungong Sitio Colaique” (the evacuation of the people of Antipolo to Sitio Colaique), the Feb. 19, 1945 event is being commemorated today with the residents joining a procession together with the image of the “Virgin of Antipolo”.
The procession started at 6 a.m. from the International Shrine of the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage all the way to Sitio Colaique in Barangay San Roque, Antipolo City.
A holy mass was scheduled to take place at 9 a.m. at the site where the residents and the Virgin of Antipolo took refuge during the 1945 bombarding of the town proper by Japanese troops.
The devotees attributed the safe exodus of the residents to the intercession of the Virgin of Antipolo, whose image was also spared from the wrath of the Japanese forces.
Mar Bacani of the Antipolo Culture Arts and Tourism Promotion Office told Manila Bulletin that city hall officials are expected to join the residents in the re-enactment of the significant historic and religious event in the city that happened 78 years ago.
In 2016, Ryan Marińas of the Loreland Farm Resort commissioned the production of a mural by the local artists known as ARTipolo that depicts the 1945 historical exodus.
The event has been an annual tradition of the people of Antipolo, the Antipolo Cathedral, and the city government.