The Mystery of 'Petals of Lipa'

Maning Gemino vividly recalled that the rose petals seemed to have come out of nowhere. They came from a point higher than the plant beside the altar. The petals fell one by one. The immaculate white rose petals did not drop suddenly but swayed as they fell. Unable to speak, Maning could only blurt, “Lord have mercy on me. If this is miracle, Lord, have mercy on me.” A certain Sr. Celine also saw the falling petals and exclaimed, “Mama Mary is working a miracle! It’s miracle! Miracle!”

The shower of petals made a deep and lasting impression on Maning. He was not a regular churchgoer. He took the shower of petals as a sign that God had a message for him. When Sr. Celine gave him a Bible and a prayerbook and told him to go to Mass, Maning felt such a strong emotion that he cried so hard for the first time in his life. Maning had since been going to church. This conversion, I believe, is more miraculous than the shower of rose petals that had just occurred.

A petal from the 1991 shower

It has been reported that petals have continued to occur with frequency in Sr. Teresing Castillo’s home and in other places. This was witnessed by Teresing’s (adopted) daughter who pointed to the area near the ceiling light in their bedroom where she saw petals fluttering or sort of suspended in the air. Several witnesses, including a priest, were present when the showers progressed to another stage – that of full roses materializing out of thin air and landing on the stairs, altar and bedroom of Sr. Teresing’s home.