Archbishop John Du of Palo, Leyte, which Pope Francis visited amid threat of a tropical depression last January, has asked famous sculptor Wilfredo Tadeo Layug of Barangay Sta. Ursula in Betis district in this town, to rush threefoot replicas of the Our Lady of Hope of Palo for each of the 78 parishes and 38 schools within his archdiocese.
Layug, a Presidential Merit awardee for ecclesiastical art, was initially commissioned by Du to do the statue in time for Pope Francis’ visit last January. He was also the one who sculpted the huge crucifix that was centerpiece of the pope’s Mass at the Quirino Grandstand, as well as the 18-inch statue of the Filipinized Immaculate Concepcion that he gifted to the pope after the Mass at the Palo church.
The original seven- foot statue of Our Lady of Hope of Palo has been permanently enshrined at the Palo cathedral where it was flown to in time for the papal Mass in Palo.
Layug said he has always prayed for widespread devotion to Our Lady of Hope of Palo in the midst of a growing threat from climate change worldwide. “It’s not just for the people of Leyte affected by Typhoon Yolanda, but for all people in these times of climate change disasters,” he said.
Layug said he would do the mold for the smaller replicas of the Virgin Mary and he would also do the finishing touches for each. He did not reveal the cost, but said this was less important than promoting devotion to Our Lady of Hope of Palo.
Layug recalled that when Pope Francis visited Leyte, the pontiff was reported to have abandoned his prepared homily after seeing his seven-foot statue. Comforting the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, the pontiff glanced at the statue and said: “Look to our mother, and like that little child, let us grab hold of her mantle, and with a true heart, say, mother.”
The statue shows the Virgin Mary in Filipiniana holding in her left arm the baby Jesus in the manner of what he calls Filipino “kilik,” with Jesus holding down a rosary for a struggling Filipino boy to cling to.
Layug said that the small replicas of the Virgin Mary statues are supposed to be all distributed to the Leyte parishes and schools before the second commemoration of the Yolanda tragedy on Nov. 8.
Copyrighted image
This, even as Layug expressed dismay over reports that fake images of Our Lady of Hope of Palo are being made and commercialized in other parts of the country.
In one case in Paete, Laguna, a replica has been put on display with a signage showing another known sculptor claiming credit for it. Layug has a photo of this on his iPhone.
Because of this, Layug said he has obtained copyright over his Marian statue.
In a press conference with local media, Layug showed his Certificate of Copyright Registration and Deposit issued last May 14 by the National Library of the Philippines and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
The copyright covered Our Lady of Hope of Palo and marked its “creation” on Jan. 12, 2015, in time for the papal visit that lasted from last Jan. 15 to 19. It also specified a “period of protection” spanning “the life of the author and for 50 years after his death.”
“I wouldn’t have minded had the fake statues been made to promote popular devotion and had there been honesty in the attribution of their author,” he added.
Layug was also the first-ever ecclesiastical artist from the Philippines to install a retablo (altarpiece) dedicated to saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod at the prestigious Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Rome.
He, however, had at one time strayed from his field when, in 2013, he won as Best Actor at the Metro Manila Film Festival New Wave Category for his work in the biopic movie titled “Dukit (Woodcarving)” that was about his life as an artist-sculptor.
