Legazpi bishop to devotees: Stop using ‘Inang Salvacion’ Marian title

Bishop Joel Baylon of the Diocese of Legazpi (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Legazpi Bishop Joel Baylon is discouraging Marian devotees from using the Marian title “Inang Salvacion” when referring to the Nuestra Señora de Salvacion, the patroness of the Diocese of Legazpi.

“This shortened title is theologically problematic, for this Bicol term does not translate as ‘Mother of Salvation’ but as ‘Mother who is Salvation’, Bishop Joel Baylon of Legazpi said in a circular issued December 1.

The directive prohibits and strongly discourages Marian devotees from using the title of “Inang Salvacion” when writing devotional literature and naming groups, places, and events in reference to the Nuestra Señora de Salvacion.

Baylon also reminded Catholics not to let their Marian devotion distract them from the “proper worship” of Jesus Christ.

“The Blessed Virgin Mary is our Mother of Salvation because she is the Mother of Christ. She is not our salvation, but our devotion to her leads us closer to her Son. So let us not allow our popular devotion to distract us from the proper worship of her Son,” he said.

The centuries-old image of Nuestra Señora de Salvacion is enshrined at a diocesan shrine in Tiwi town’s Joroan village.

There is a recent resurgence of pilgrims to the Marian shrine “due in part to the lifting of pandemic restrictions,” said Baylon.

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