CALASIAO -- Puto business in Poblacion here is picking up again. Thanks to Señor Divino Tesoro.

Mayor Roy Macanlalay attributed this to the increasing number of devotees coming here again after the enthronement of the replica of Señor Divino Tesoro.

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The original statue of Señor Divino Tesoro (life-size crucifix of Jesus Christ) was believed to be miraculous. It was housed in a shrine built beside the Calasiao Municipal Hall. The shrine was being managed, not by the Catholic Church here, but by the Señor Divino Tesoro Association (SDTA) headed by Lourdes Fernandez.

Like the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, it was being flocked by pilgrims/devotees from different parts of the country and even from abroad.

Sales at the puto stalls slumped after Señor Tesoro was burned down to ashes along with the Municipal Hall and the shrine last month.

The stall owners had no choice but to close at night.

To bring back the devotees, Fernandez lent her replica of Señor Divino Tesoro, which she had commissioned to be made long before the fire.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz blessed and enthroned the replica in a mass held recently at the plaza. After the nine-day novena, Señor Divino Tesoro was transferred to the church where it is temporarily housed.

Mayor Macanlalay, who is also the chairman of the SDTA board, said the association will soon construct a new two-storey shrine at the old site. The project is expected to be completed in three months.

Señor Tesoro will later be transferred to His new home. (LCMY/Sunnex)

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(October 28, 2008 issue)
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