Marian exhibit opens at SM MOA for Jubilee Year

The Marian Exhibit titled “Mahal na Birhen, Kaisa sa Lakbay ng Pag-asa” opened at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Sanctuary on 5 May 2025, celebrating a journey of faith, peace, and love through a sacred space for spiritual reflection.

The exhibit organizers said it is meant to celebrate a meaningful journey of faith, peace, and love in a sacred new space for reflection and spiritual connection.

In an interview, Father Genaro Diwa, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Liturgy and director of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission of Manila, said the exhibit on the Blessed Mother is in line with the Jubilee Year of Hope.

“It is the desire to help us understand that Mary is also a pilgrim of hope and helps us to understand the power, the beauty, and the way of hope, Christian hope,” Father Diwa said.

He added, “Throughout the life of the Blessed Mother, her hope was in the power of God in her life. And especially in these times, we can see how the different images of the Blessed Mother depict and tell us of the importance of hope in our Christian life.”

Father Diwa also expressed gratitude to Mrs. Felicidad Sy, a great Marian devotee. He noted that the museum is a gift from Mr. Han Sy to his mother, aimed at providing a venue for Christian expressions through religious art and culture, deepening knowledge and love for God.

The exhibit features various titles of Mary, the constant companion in pilgrimage with Jesus, the true hope.

In a message displayed by the organizers, “In the Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year, the late Pope Francis reminds us that, ‘In the Blessed Virgin, we see that hope is not naïve optimism but a gift of grace amid the realities of life… In the travail of sorrows, offered in love, Mary became our Mother, the Mother of Hope.’”

Also, “Indeed, the Blessed Mother is always with us in our earthly pilgrimage, leading us toward her Son, Jesus Christ.”