Was it a “miracle”? The work of the devil? Or a hoax?

The Catholic Church has always been rocked by scandals — from child abuse to money laundering — with countless films and literature already boldly depicting these issues. Therefore, Grace, the late Floy Quintos’ last play, can no longer shock unbiased audiences. 

Directed by Dexter M. Santos, Grace examines all possible angles of a true story — why the See of Rome labeled the Marian apparitions and petal showers in 1948 Lipa, Batangas as “fraudulent” and “non-supernatural.” 

In Quintos’ ultra-hyped but arguably solid and competent play, running for nearly three hours every weekend at the Power Mac Center Spotlight until 16 June, the celebrated playwright did not hold back and penned piercing conversations, arguments, and debates that provoke critical thinking and invite open-mindedness.

The drama is a mix of fact and fiction, and illuminates the intelligence and writing talent of Quintos, who apparently refused to become a blind follower and viewed the Catholic Church as an entity not exempted from scrutiny. 

Grace has no scenery, using sparse, economical props, and relies on the power of language. The block of stage transforms into a blank canvas, and Quintos’ written words, vivid and descriptive, come to life through the fine work of the cast.

White lighting is used like spotlights from heaven. The music is subtle and atmospheric — from a choir of nuns to ominous scores, and scattered percussions. Ironically, there are no sounds of monastery bells for some Lipa-convent feels. Textual and visual aids are projected onto the valance, which requires effort to read because of the stage curtain’s pleats. 

The Palanca-winner Quintos understood the nature of mortals — man of cloth or not — and used their flaws and weaknesses to propel the tale of the so-called supernatural appearance of what they refer as Mary, the Mediatrix of All Grace (or Our Lady of Lipa).

In Grace, vestments and habits are mere clothing and do not necessarily signify holiness; hence, the play’s fearless dismantling of Church politics. There are fiery talks on Catholic theology, dogma, and hierarchy, blended with all-too-human frailties.

The apparition case became the playground for the playwright to explore the players’ motives, values, and sins. 

There are some instances, though, when the play falls into spoon-feeding and it is sometimes too on the nose. Still, Quintos’ words are provocative and engaging, sprinkled with clever humor. The experience felt like eavesdropping on private conversations, which are effectively delivered by the actors, especially Leo Rialp as Monsignor Vagnozzi, who spoke his lines as if no script existed.

Sometimes the characters speak to the audience from the left or right downstage, narrating thoughts or events, their performances deliciously devoid of histrionics.

It is SOP for the Catholic Church to screen numerous claims of miracles and appoint theologians and science experts to investigate them. Meanwhile, bishops are the main authority figures when it comes to apparition cases. “Grace” dramatizes this ecclesiastical process and conjures a worldly environment within supposedly holy walls. It questions whether power, greed, ambition, patriarchy, racism, envy, jealousy, misogyny, deception, sexual abuse, and even a possible lesbian love triangle, led to the invalidation of the Lipa Carmel “miracle.”

Quintos died of a heart attack in April this year even before the rehearsals began for Grace, which he wrote and deeply researched in a span of three years — but not before Rome, just three months ago, released the official 1951 papa bull to assert that the alleged Lipa miracles are fake and not from God. 

In the end, whichever stand the audience takes, the engrossing play clearly encourages a questioning mind. And in a world where our voices can be silenced by those in the position of power, it leaves us with the choice to either resist or serve.