The Face We Follow: The Archdiocese of Caceres Officially Begins Peñafrancia 2026 With the Solemn Pagbalyo

By Atty. Christianne Mary Villanueva

This is the evening Naga begins to walk. From the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, the faithful gathered behind an image that has journeyed through generations of faith and devotion, the merciful face of Jesus, El Divino Rostro.

Yesterday, September 1, after the 5:15 p.m. Mass, the sacred image of the Divino Rostro was brought from its home at the Basilica Minore to the Parish of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, its Old Shrine. The Archbishop of Caceres, Rex Andrew C. Alarcon was at the head of the procession with the Caceres clergy, members of the Divino Rostro Association, other religious organizations, and hundreds of devotees following his lead.

The Pagbalyo is a solemn vow made by the Caceres clergy to carry and transfer the image of the Divino Rostro back to the original sanctuary of Our Lady of Peñafrancia at the Peñafrancia Shrine, Naga City. This event kicks off the fiesta celebrations, but according to historical narratives, the tradition came from the sacred oath made by the priests of Caceres when the [then] diocese was eventually spared from cholera epidemic. 

For the devotees, however, this is more than a tradition of transferring the El Divino Rostro. It is a journey toward the Face of Christ.

“Para sa sako, bako lang ini pagbalyo nin imahen,” (For me, this is not only a transfer of an image), a longtime elderly devotee said. “Pagkakataon ini na makabalik kami sa Diyos, magpasalamat, asin magkaigwa nin paglaom” (This is an opportunity to go back to God, give thanks, and gain hope).

There is something deeply Bicolano about this faith: it walks. Some come carrying petitions. Others come carrying grief. Some come simply to give thanks. Along the route, rosaries are prayed, songs are sung, and feet continue forward for half a kilometer (approx. 500m).

In the face of Christ, people bring what they cannot always explain. “Pamilya, trabaho, mga may sakit, asin an mga problema na dai mo masabi sa iba,” (Family, work, some with difficulties, and problems which you can’t share with other people), another devotee shares. “Sa atubangan kan Divino Rostro, masasabi mo lang na, ‘Lord, ilagpas Mo ako digdi.’” (In front of the Divino Rostro, you can only say, “Lord, help me get through this”).

The devotion traces its roots to 1882, when cholera reached Naga. The Parish of Our Lady of Peñafrancia earlier posted that tradition tells of the image being placed at the altar of the Cathedral and on the third day, the epidemic that had claimed many lives finally ended. What followed was not simply relief, but gratitude, and from this gratitude grew a devotion to Christ’s unfailing mercy that would spread across the region. 

On September 10, 1882, the first feast of Divino Rostro was celebrated and from then on carried out until the present time. In effect of the fervent pledge they made, the priests of Caceres carry the image of the Divino Rostro in a solemn Pagbalyo procession across Naga City and to Ina’s shrine where novenary masses are held in its honor until its feast day 

Today, generations later, the image still moves among the people, where an evangelizing power of the act of Pagbalyo ki El Divino Rostro can be found. Christ is not merely encountered inside the church. His face is carried along the streets, where ordinary people with their ordinary struggles witness the devotion to His love and mercy. The procession becomes a living reminder that faith is meant to be shared, witnessed, and lived.

Yet the journey does not end when El Divino Rostro reaches the Old Shrine.

A novena of Masses follows. The people remain. And the invitation becomes more profound. We are called to look upon Christ’s merciful face and allow that mercy to change the way we look at one another. The true destination of the procession, then, may not be a church at all. It may be the human heart.

As Naga begins another month of devotion, the holy face of Jesus once again gathers His people—not only to remember a cherished tradition, but to deepen their participation in His Body and to become, themselves, bearers of His mercy. 

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