After years of limited participation, the entire Ateneo de Naga University High School community finally joined the Traslacion Procession of the Lady of Peñafrancia last Friday, September 11, 2009.

Students from all year levels, administrators, faculty and staff solemnly marched along the traditional route of the Traslacion – Peñafrancia Avenue and Elias Angeles Street.  As the students drenched in occasional downpour, the event served as a sacrifice for the beloved “Ina”, patroness of Bicolandia.

The students prayed the Rosary led by the teachers until the entire contingent reached the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral, the endpoint of the procession where the novenario for the Lady has been held since the 1800s.

The procession started at 9 AM at the Plaza Miguel Robles de Cobarrubias of the Peñafrania Shrine dedicated to the bringer of the Spanish Marian devotion to Nueva Caceres, the old Naga City. An hour before the procession kicked off, Jesuits and diocesan priests said mass in the newly constructed plaza stage.   

The 2009 Peñafrancia Festivities is peppered with drastic changes. The Traslacion Procession, which has traditionally kicked off in the afternoon, started in the morning to accommodate participating institutions from all over the Bicol Region. This year’s procession features a newly engineered “andas” for the Lady and the image of the “Divino Rostro”. The carriages for the images are taller and sturdier.