REVERED | Apung Mamacalulu, the venerated wooden image of the dead Christ, is enshrined at the altar of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Christ Our Lord of the Holy Sepulchre in Angeles City. The image’s pillow and crown of thorns (right) were stolen on July 14 but were recovered by the police on Sunday. (Photo from the Facebook page of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Christ OUr Lord of the Holy Sepulchre)
ANGELES CITY, Pampanga, Philippines — Authorities recovered the stolen crown of thorns and pillow of the venerated wooden image of the dead Christ, known as “Apung Mamacalulu” (Merciful Lord), from a female resident of nearby Porac town in Pampanga province on July 16.
Footage from the security cameras inside the Archdiocesan Shrine of Christ Our Lord of the Holy Sepulchre located in Lourdes Sur village here captured the woman entering the chamber of the religious sculpture and taking the crown and pillow around 4:30 a.m. on July 14, authorities said on Sunday.
Immediately after receiving the report, the Angeles City Tourism Auxiliary (Acta) and the Angeles City Emergency Disaster Command Center tracked the movement of the suspect through security cameras installed in different parts of this city, which showed her proceeding to Porac town.
No charges
Acta members eventually managed to locate the woman at her residence in a subdivision there and retrieved the stolen items from her.
The woman was brought to the city police station for questioning but the shrine’s pastoral council decided not to file charges against her, the Acta and the city police said in separate statements.
Posts on social media of the woman’s neighbors and acquaintances described her as someone with a mental health condition due to severe stress caused by a family problem in the past.
On the shrine’s Facebook page, the pastoral council thanked the city government and the police for the recovery of the crown and pillow.
According to various historical accounts, the dark wooden image of Apung Mamacalulu in the archdiocesan shrine was carved by a sculptor named Buenaventura who was commissioned by Catholic priest Fr. Macario Paras between 1829 and 1849 to make an image of the dead Christ.
This highly urbanized city celebrates a twin fiesta every October to pay tribute to its patrons. One is the La Naval to honor the Virgin of the Holy Rosary and commemorate the Spanish fleet’s victory over the Dutch navy along Manila Bay in 1646. The second is “Pyestang Apu” to honor Apung Mamacalulu.