This is an update on new developments. The Vatican had ordered Lipa Archbishop Gilbert Garcera to ban all rites related to Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace within his archdiocese. So the Virgin was moved outside Lipa (that is the way I discern it) to a barangay ten minutes away but not in Lipa — Banay-banay in San Jose — outside Garcera’s realm.

The place is hard to reach. One has to walk about 150 meters on a cemented two-foot-wide path into a deep interior where a modest oratory or prayer room was built. One has to step aside for people coming from the opposite direction. There are modest homes surrounded by trees along the way.

On 18 February 2023, about 1,500 people came for the first anniversary of the “miracle of the oil,” squeezing their way to the tiny oratory which can accommodate a measly 20 people at a time. So there was a long queue outside. There were marshals for crowd control and to guide devotees. There are plans to widen the path to accommodate wheelchairs.

The second anniversary is coming up on 18 February and there are frenzied preparations for a crowd that could reach 3,000 to 5,000. Despite the fear that they may not be able to handle the crowd, I asked Aram, the custodian and caretaker, for permission to spread the news of the second anniversary in media and on social media. Aram said there was no problem. They are ready for it. Let Mama Mary take care of the rest, he said. Everyone is welcome, rich or poor, local or foreigner. Mama Mary will be glad, he said. (Read the invitation at the end of this article.)

The Miracle of the Oil

As I entered the oratory, I felt a sudden calm in the sacred place. The oil has been flowing for two years now, continuously, non-stop, at times slowly, but at other times profusely if there were people praying, Aram said.

The four-foot statue of the Virgin Mediatrix is encased in glass. I saw oil dripping from the nose and chin. The wooden pedestal was flooded with oil, so they place cotton all around it to absorb the oil.

When the cotton is fully saturated, they replace it with a new dry layer. The saturated cotton is packed in small sealed plastic cups which are given free to devotees. Cash donations are not allowed. The inside of the glass panel was full of beads of oil dripping down. As soon as Aram opened the glass panel, a powerful sweet smell of roses similar to that from the miraculous rose petals at the Carmelite church came out.

Inside the oratory, I met Mae Garcia who told me this healing story. She was praying with Rowena Tomeldan for a friend who was in a deep depression and wanted to commit suicide. When her cell phone rang, she answered the persistent calls only after they had finished the rosary. It was their friend, who said that she suddenly felt calm, peaceful and happy. Her depression had lifted. It was the gift of inner peace from the Virgin.

Invitation

A poster of the invitation now circulating on social media reads: “You are cordially invited: Second Anniversary of Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace. Shedding of oil. February 18, 2024, 10 am.”

Coming from Manila, exit the STAR Tollway at Lipa (Tambo). Turn left on J.P. Laurel Highway towards Fernando Air Base and San Jose, Batangas. At the Cuenca/San Jose junction beyond Jollibee on the left, keep left on J.P. Laurel Highway towards San Jose. The landmark is the Ping and Pacing sari-sari store on the left. Marshalls will be waiting to guide you.

The clash between the Vatican and the Virgin has been going on for 70 years now, since the first apparition in 1948. For every suppression by the Vatican, the Virgin’s reply is a miracle.

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