THE Virgen delos Remedios Parish in Sta. Rita, Pampanga will be hosting a grand procession of Marian images on the eve of the May 13 elections.

The event is spearheaded by the Camaderos ning Virgen Delos Remedios, an organization of image caretakers and owners in the parish.

The procession is in celebration of the Marian month of May and in petition for peaceful and honest elections.

Images were brought in from different religious art enthusiasts from the different barangays in Sta. Rita and neighboring parishes in Porac, Angeles City and as far as Laguna.

A thanksgiving mass will be held at 4 p.m. just before the procession.

Earlier, the same group hosted a six-day event of antique and newly commissioned Marian images on display at the parish’s multipurpose building from May 5 to 10. The exhibit, which was aimed at educating people on the different venerated titles and images of Mary, resulted in the patronage of parishioners and schools in the area.

The event is a yearly occasion for people to relearn the values and lessons from the life of Mary. The Christian custom of dedicating the month of May to the Blessed Virgin arose at the end of the 13th century.

Not long after the declaration of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by the Roman Catholic Church, the Spaniards practiced a devotion to Virgin Mary called Flores de Maria. The devotion is characterized by offering flowers to the Virgin Mary for the entire month of May each year.