After her appearances in Lourdes and Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared last in Medjugore - leaving one prophecy for the Philippines: that the nation will become the global spiritual healing center of the world.

The Chronicle motored to the breathtaking scenic Montemaria Shrine, a few kilometers in the outskirts of Batangas City last Sunday. This is the mountain site overlooking the Verde Island Bay and the ocean with cruising ships that looked like tiny toys crossing the blue waters between Batangas and Mindoro.

Incidentally this body of water is part of the habitat of the most bio-diversified marine life in the whole world.

Last Sunday was the culmination of a 40-hour vigil of thousands of pilgrims (Janauary 11-13) who spent a "Healing of the Nation through Prayers." Only a makeshift chapel with the image of the Blessed Virgin and a stage was there to grace the occasion.

On this "holy site" will rise the centerpiece: a 33-storey image of Mary Mother of the Poor which will be as high as the famous Statue of Liberty and higher than the current tallest icon of Christ the Redeemer.

This year the Oratory of the Blessed Virgin of Montemaria will be finished complete with chapels, prayer gardens, stations of the cross, retreat houses, lodging and a center for the poor. It will also contain an exact replica of the Mary House in Ephesus, Turkey.

The project done through Mary Mother of the Poor Foundation will be finished through the over P300-million contribution (mostly from abroad), the free architectural services of Nestor Mangio and the 20 hectares of land contributed by couple of Batangueño devotees.

Reportedly the stones themselves found in Montemaria have healing powers. Lately, bus loads of Bulacan devotees brought home 5,000 Montemaria stones and replaced with 4,000 Bulacan stones so as not to deplete the area.

At the center of this Project is a humble Batangueño priest Fr Fernando Suarez who at age 35 was ordained priest in Canada in 2002.

For 20 years (since age 16 where he had his first healing miracle), Fr. Suarez had kept his gift of healing in secret until he was ordained priest under the Companions of Christ Congregation in Canada.

Father Fernando's healing of the deaf, mute, blind, crippled, lame, the cancer-stricken and spiritually-afflicted has become a phenomenon known well across the world particularly in many Third World countries and Africa. In fact it is safe to say that Fr. Suarez is even better known as a healer abroad than in the Philippines.

Lately, his schedule in the Philippines is filled to the brim and he has been healing thousands - the rich and the poor - from the poor slum districts to the 10,000 devotees that jammed the Mall of Asia to the plush Polo Club in Forbes Park in Makati.

Among the most prominent of those who were healed by Fr. Suarez's gifted hands is the First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo, who underwent a dangerous heart bypass at the St. Luke's Hospital. The President was reportedly told by the attending doctors that they had extreme difficulty finding the vein to start the heart operations. A mistake could be fatal.

Father Suarez said mass and five minutes after mass the doctors were able to find the vein and did a successful heart bypass operation.

The fast recovery of the First Gentleman has been described by many medical experts as "miraculous." Last Holy Week the healer-priest already prayed over and touched the heart area of Mr. Arroyo. The First Gentleman has assumed a lower key presence after his recovery - he had also withdrawn the hundred libel suits he filed against media.

All of the healings are done after the Holy Mass - with the priest citing the power of Christ in the Eucharist as the source of the healing and therefore drawing attention away from himself.

Aside from the constant stream of healing Masses, the Foundation has been feeding 2,000 students daily, supporting 140 families, 25 senior citizens, 50 scholars and 6 seminarians, among the poorest of the poor.

Father Fernando Suarez was called to the priesthood late in the day. In fact he graduated as a civil engineer from the Adamson University run by the Vincentian priests. He applied with the Franciscans and stayed for one and a half year. Briefly he stayed in the SVD Seminary. It was there that, according to Fr. Suarez, the Blessed Mary appeared to him and requested him to go to a distant cold place for his Mission.

That was when he left for Canada where he became priest.

Eight years ago, he saw a vivid dream of God pouring grace upon him and then a flock of poor children surged forward asking for his help. That was when they set up the Mary Mother of the Poor Foundation.

In many of his talks, the priest had often cited the Godlessness and lack of prayer of men that have led to endless miseries and diseases for humanity. But he also talks of the abundance of grace, forgiveness and healing that can also come from the Above.

Last Christmas Eve, the security guard of Montemaria Shrine was stunned to see a beautiful light illuminating the shrine area where the makeshift chapel is located and reported it to the community. It soon disappeared as the guard approached.

There are enough miracles and tales of grace to make an epic story of Fernando. There are also enough miracles that had led to the burgeoning interest in making Montemaria, the site of the new global healing of the world - with the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the center of the movement.

Are we seeing the new fulfillment of the Prophecy of Medjugore for the Philippines.

Those interested to see the site can motor to Batangas City Shoemart area, and then ask for directions to get there. It is about 120 kilometers from Pasig going through C-5 route. We will write more about the exploits of Fr. Fernando Suarez in this Sunday's issue of this paper.

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