Discovery In 1603 in Caysasay, which was a small
barangay of Taal, a fisherman called Juan Maningcad cast his net into the Pansipit River instead of the sea. When he drew in his net, he caught a small, wooden image of the
Blessed Virgin Mary less than a foot high. Though waterlogged, the image had a heavenly lustre, causing the pious Maningcad to prostrate himself and pray before the statue, which he then brought home. The precise origins of the image and why it was in the river remain unknown. One theory is that the image was cast by a Spanish expedition into rough seas off Batangas during an expedition to pacify the waters, and that it was somehow pushed upriver. Another opinions are it was inadvertently dropped by someone exploring the river, or that it came from
China. News of the image began to spread until it reached the
parish priest, Fray Juan Bautista Montoya, and the vicar that represented the reigning
King of Spain. They went to Maningcad's house to investigate, and upon seeing the image, knelt down in veneration.
Disappearances Doña María Espíritu, the widow of the town's judge, was assigned as the image's
camarera or caretaker. She ordered that a precious
urna (a wooden, canopied shrine that sometimes has glass panes) be made for the image and kept it in her home. Every evening, she noticed that the image was missing from its
urna, returning the next morning. The worried matron told this to the priest, who accompanied her back to her house and saw the
urna was indeed empty, only to suddenly open as the image appeared before them. The priest gathered volunteers to keep vigil beside the image, and they reported how in the night they would see the
urna open by itself, and the image leaving and coming back again. The priest had the villagers come with lit candles and follow the image the next time it left. When this happened, they were led to Caysasay, where it was originally found. The priest decided to take the image to the
Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours for safekeeping, but the image continued to leave the church until one day it disappeared and was nowhere to be found. The news reached a native named Juana Tangui, from the town of
Bauan who was the servant of Don Juan Mangabot, one of the town's prominent natives. She was a simple, devout woman who had been suffering for a long time from a burning sensation in the eyes, leaving her almost blind. Her eyes could not be healed by the many remedies that had been applied to it, so she was resolved to go to the rock where people said the Blessed Virgin appeared. She went accompanied by one of her master's daughters to that place where the ray of light was first seen. She had also heard that everyone who bathed in the small stream was cured of any sickness of which they may have been suffering. For this reason, she bathed in the stream in the company of nine or ten other people doing the same. During the entire time of her bath, she noticed an unusual shadow by her side, though there was neither sun nor moon that could cause it, since it was already evening and it was very dark. After some time she felt that someone was holding her and turning her body. When she turned to the place toward which she was being turned, she saw a great light, like that coming from an enormous lit candle, which caused her great wonder. But she did not dare to move forward in order to examine what she had seen. She went to a nearby field where she recounted what had happened to some native women. But they told her to return and to examine closely what it was. Since she said that she could not see very well, on account of her eye disease, they offered a young servant to accompany her to that place. The recent account of Fr. Cruz is similar but says it was a young servant boy who was sent back with Juana. Upon arriving at the spot, she made the girl kneel down. Juana walked further and saw a very bright light and the image of our Lady, almost two palm measurements in height, dressed in white, with a crown on her head and a cross on her forehead. The image seemed to be alive, as it was moving and blinking. When the native woman moved closer to her, the image spoke to her, thanking her for remembering her and coming back to see her. Juana declared that the apparition told her, The native woman returned to the town, and did not tell anyone about what had happened until she had spoken with Fr. Juan Bautista Montoya, prior of the Taal
convento. She reverently asked him for the belt of or cincture the Confraternity, and after spending eight days in
confession, the prior vested her in the belt. They honoured the Virgin of Caysasay with
cannon fire as they passed by her shrine close to the river. The violent 1754 eruption of
Taal Volcano, which lasted over eight months, saw
ejecta from the volcano destroying towns around the lake, and covering the landscape with layers of deposits. The townspeople of Taal and their parish priest, fled the capital and sought refuge at the Church of Our Lady of Caysasay. Layers of ejecta and deposits blocked the entrance of the Pansipit River, eventually raising the waters of the lake, and permanently flooding part or all of Tanauan, Lipa, Sala, Bauan and Taal. All five towns relocated to much higher ground, away from the volcano and lake, with present town center of Taal established on a hillside near the Caysasay Shrine above
Balayan Bay. The townspeople believed the image had saved them during eruptions of Taal Volcano. The old town center is now the present
San Nicolas, Batangas. Eventually, a considerably narrower and shallower Pansipit River was formed as volcanic deposits rendered it impassable for large ships. Bombon Lake, later renamed
Taal Lake, slowly transformed from saline to a freshwater lake. ==Pontifical coronation==