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For more pictures, please click here.

Honoring Mother Mary and parading of queens

Mother's Day Celebration

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5 May 2025

IIn the beautiful morning of the 5th of May, the school celebrated Mother’s Day and honored St. Vincent Ferrer, patron saint of the Institute of the Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic (IRMSD). It is also the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer. St. Vincent Ferrer was a holy man from the Dominican Order. His feast day used to be celebrated on April 5th, but it was sometimes hard to celebrate because it often fell during Holy Week or Easter. So, in 2001, the Dominican Order moved its feast day to May 5th to celebrate it properly every year.

Having this year’s theme, “Embracing hope through the heart of Mary, the heart of a mother”, the celebration has two parts. Part One: Flower Offering and Prayer; Part Two: Parade of Queens.

Part One

The community was serenaded by D’TORCH Choir’s rendition of the Marian Hymn. This was followed by a flower offering to Mother Mary by selected teachers and staff. Vice Principal Sr. Rosa Dabhi, CCV, led the opening prayer. The mother-child tandem of DIS presented Mother’s Day prayer intentions. They are:

• Ms. Mafalda Wu and Catherine Wu (Grade 12)
• Ms. Rebecca Wu and Joca Schoeman (Grade 6)
• Ms. Jihan Borres and Keziah Borres (Grade 11)
• Ms. Elaine de Bruyn and Amy de Bruyn (Grade 12)
• Ms. Emily Lacangan and Psalm Lacangan (Grade 3)
• Ms. Clarencia Eddio and Samantha Eddio (Grade 5)
• Ms. Jessy Cardenas and Sophie Luna Cardenas (Grade 8)

The final blessing was administered by School Chaplain, Fr. Tomasz Zalewski, OP.

Part Two

Before the queens' parade, Directress/Principal Sr. Jacqueline C. Manuel, OP, gave an inspirational message centering on Mother Mary’s contribution to humanity. She highlighted the theme “Embracing hope through the heart of Mary, the heart of a mother”. Believing in a positive future and aspiring for good things to happen, even during difficult times. It’s about actively choosing optimism and finding meaning and purpose, even when faced with adversity.

The queens’ parade was patterned from “Santacruzan” in the Philippines. “Santacruzan” is a religious and historical beauty pageant in the Philippines that commemorates the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena. It is a grand procession held on the last day of the Flores de Mayo festival. The “Santacruzan” is derived from the Spanish phrase “Santa Cruz” meaning “Holy Cross”. It reenacts the search for the Holy Cross by Queen Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine. The characters in the pageant symbolize the virtues of faith, hope, and charity. The Flores de Mayo festival is a month-long celebration in May honoring the Virgin Mary.

Selected lower school students were chosen to represent the queens and their escorts. Ushering them were Grade Twelve students, Eric Lin and Lori Tai. They are:

• Queen of Faith – Fiat Marie Moje with escort George Lai, both from Kindergarten - Bl. Jane of Aza
• Queen of Hope – Hannah Yeh with escort Noah Lin, both from Kindergarten - Bl. Columba of Rieti
• Queen of Charity – Joanna Wang with escort Ollie Kuo, both from Grade One - Bl. Diana
• Queen of Peace – Kayla Chu with escort Jasper Liao, both from Grade One - Bl. Mannes
• Mary Magdalene – Melody Chang with escort Danny Liu, both from Grade Two - Bl. Cecilia
• Blessed Jane of Aza – Maria Andrea Espinal with escort Charles Lin, both from Grade Two - St. John Macias
• Queen of Migrants – Margaux Ganhao with escort Rofi Nguyen, both from Grade Three - St. Francis
• Queen of Angels – Psalm Lacangan with escort Joshua Huang, both from Grade Three - St. Francis
• Queen of the Most Holy Rosary – Elizabeth Hsuan with escort Albert Chang, both from Grade Three Bl. Imelda Lambertini
• Queen Helena and Constantine – Ms. Emily Howe (LS Drama teacher) with her escort-son Fynn

Humanities Department Head, Mr. Samir Eddio, serenaded Mother Mary and the queens. While Ms. Emily offered flowers to Mother Mary, the D’TORCH Choir rendered the Marian song. The emcees were grade twelve students Catherine Wu and Arthur Chen. Mr. John Eric Moje, the Religious Studies Department Head, thanked the community for participating and acknowledged all the participants, parents, and guests.

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