The Our Lady of the Peñafrancia returns to its original home, the Shrine of Peñafrancia, as the festival named after her kicked off with the Traslacion procession Friday in Naga City.

This was the first time since 1982 that the image of the Virgin came back to the shrine, after it was transferred in the Peñafrancia Basilica and National Shrine in Balatas, Naga City where the venerable original image permanently resides.

The almost 300-year old religious relic has been confined in the Basilica since 1982 subsequent to its construction and following the return of the image after it was stolen the previous year.

“We want to reinstate the tradition of starting off the Traslacion in the Shrine. We want the devotees to become aware where the devotion to the Lady first began. We try to return it to give prominence to the shrine,” said Rev. Msgr. Romulo Vergara, rector of the Basilica of Our Lady of Peñafrancia.

The Traslacion or the transferring of the miraculous images of the Virgin and the Divino Rostro or the Holy Face to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Naga City commenced the nine-day novena, starting on September 11 to 19, 2009.

For nine days, the image of the Lady of Peñafrancia will stay in the cathedral for a novena of prayers and holy masses. But on the ninth day, on the feast day itself, the Lady will return to the Basilica via the fluvial parade in the Naga River.

This year, to cater to the huge number of devotees who will flock the city and will want to touch the Lady, the church had built a larger andas (carosa) which could be easily pushed by the voyadores (male devotees who guard the image) during the procession.

Last year, there were an estimated 600, 000 to 800,000 devotees and tourists who witnessed the festival, over 1.5 million in the span of three years.

“In 2001, the ratio of the Bicolanos and non-Bicolanos who participated in the festival was 70 percent to 30 percent. During that time, Bicolanos comprised the big percentage of devotees. In 2004 until last year, the ration was 60 to 40, with a tremendous increase in the non-Bicolano visitors. But it didn’t mean that the number of Bicolano devotees has decreased. Instead, the number of tourists just soars,” Rev. Vergara shared.

Meanwhile, the church and the local government had a mutual agreement on banning street parties, beauty pageants, and other commercial pursuits related to festival.

“The purpose of the church during the nine-day novena is for the people to focus on their devotion to the Peñafrancia.

We are alarmed with too much commercialization and securalization of the festival. People are distracted and confused about the real meaning of the festival. We should focus our activities why we have Peñafrancia,” said the rector.

Although there are still commercial events during the feast day, the church advised to hold it outside the nine-day novena.

“We have experience it (commercialization) here. That is what happened in Cebu. The Sinulog has become tourism activity rather than religious as well as the Ati-Atihan. We don’t want it to happen in Naga. That’s all our concern,” said Rev. Msgr. Vergara.