Aquino recalled Jesse Robredo in Rome

ROME—President Aquino remembered the late Jesse Robredo, as well as the 1986 Edsa Revolution, at the unveiling in the Vatican Gardens on Friday of the mosaic image of the Lady of Peñafrancia.

In his brief remarks, Mr. Aquino said the Virgin Mary had “protected us during many of our darkest moments.”

The Holy See’s recognition of the Philippines’ Marian devotion “is a great blessing for all Filipino Catholics,” he said.

Robredo, the first secretary of the interior in the Aquino Cabinet, was a devotee of the Lady. He died in a plane crash in August 2012.

Mr. Aquino recalled how the Lady of Peñafrancia brought comfort to Robredo’s family and friends.

“And I remember, as we commemorated his life of service in his home, our heads bowed in mourning, it was the cries of “Viva la Virgen!” that raised everyone’s spirits. Indeed, it was through this humility and faith in the name of Mother Mary that we found the greatest comfort, and the strength to carry on,” he said.

The President said that the various titles of the Virgin Mary remind him of “how she has become a tangible sign of unity and of universality.” Nikko Dizon