Santa Marian Kamalen
| Our Lady of Camarin Santa Marian Kamalen, Maga Haga |
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The venerated image enshrined at the Minor Basilica of Most Sweet Name of Mary
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| Queen and Patroness of Guam | |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Major shrine | Cathedral-Basilica of the Most Sweet Name of Mary |
| Feast | December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception |
| Attributes | The Blessed Virgin Mary on crescent moon |
| Patronage | Guam and Guamanian people, Mariana Islands |
Santa Marian Kamalen also known as Our Lady of Camarin and informally known as Maga Haga (English: Great Lady) is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a carved Molave wood and ivory image venerated by the Roman Catholic faithful in Guam as their Patroness.
The image is known to have escaped the Japanese war on bombing of Guam on 8 December 1941, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It is permanently enshrined at the Minor Basilica of the Most Sweet Name of Mary.[1]
History
Pious legends claim that the image is brought by Spaniards through the Galleon ship Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Zaragoza y Santiago which was shipwrecked on 2 June 1690 at the Cocos island of Guam. The image is thought to have adorned the ship by its sailors. Popular tales recount that a fisherman found the statue in the shore accompanied by crabs with votive candles, later interpreted as miraculous by the natives in the area.
The image gained the title of Kamalen, literally Barracks due to the image being stored in the infantry side after the original image was found by the fisherman.
The image measures approximately 28 inches and weighs 48 pounds. The image is composed of polychromed Molave wood and ivory head and hands and wears a human wig hair. Caretakers of the image rescued the statue on 8 December 1941 at the beginning of the Japanese war, when the image was hidden for safekeeping. The image was enshrined at the shrine again on 8 December 1945 on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
The image was taken to the Philippines where it was professionally restored in 1948 by renowned Filipino Santero artist Maximo Vicente, who also restored the Black Nazarene of Quiapo.
Popular legends also recount the survival of the 1902 earthquake in Guam, which destroyed the shrine and many statues within the church but the image remained intact.
Veneration
The image was stolen on three occasions but was then returned out of piety, 19 May 1968, 3 May 1971 and on 28 December 1992. A replica image is enshrined for public veneration at the main church while the original ivory statue is enshrined in the high altar.
Today, the ivory image is suspended at the high altar with no possibility of reaching from the sides, while a digital alarm is installed at the base pedestal which is accompanied by the main caretaker of the image, while the three panels of locked doors cover the niche behind the shrine, led by one staircase through the old rectory entrance.
Pope John Paul II mentioned the image on 22 February 1981 during his Apostolic visit.[2] A replica image was installed at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. on 17 September 2006.
