FINDING HISTORY & PIETY IN CAYSASAY CHURCH

Our Lady of Caysasay has been deeply and fondly venerated by Taaleños ever since the small wooden image of the Virgin Mary was found by a fisherman named Juan Maningcad in the waters of the Pansipit River in 1603.

- LISA ONGPIN PERIQUET

The name is probably derived from the local term for the collared kingfisher bird, casaycasay, which abounded in the area. A little-known fact is that the Caysasay shrine is the first officially sanctioned Marian apparition and pilgrimage site in the Philippines, predating other Marian sites in the country.

Interestingly, the Caysasay image is considered related in both form and attributes to the Taoist image of Ma-Cho (Mazu). Both share a close affinity to mythologies related to water and are patrons of seafarers. The Filipino-Chinese community of Northern Luzon who venerate the image of Ma-Cho in its temple in San Fernando, La Union, bring her in a yearly pilgrimage down to the Caysasay.