Piat Travel Guide

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The Shrine of the Miraculous Brown Madonna of Cagayan Valley, well-known as Our Lady of Piat is in Piat, Cagayan. History records point to Macao as the origin of the image before reaching Manila in the 16th century. But only sometime in the early 17th century did she find home in Piat. The basilica sits atop a hill. Lately there has been claims of a miraculous spring about 250m away from the church. The daily line of believers to this spring, located just down by the hill, is a sight from the church grounds giving a connectivity of these 2 miraculous places.

Trivia: The image is made of "Paper Mache".

Fondest memory: Pawa is a specialty of Piat. It is glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and has sweetened peanuts for filling. Chewy and delicious!

You can buy it from stalls at the back of the Basilia Minore. A pack of 10 cost P25.00.

Fondest memory: Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat
The Lady of the Visitation was originally called the Lady of the Holy Rosary, perhaps because it was supposedly brought from Macao to the Philippines in 1604 by devotees of the Rosary, the Dominican friars. This almost four-centuries old image of Mary was first enshrined in Nueva Segovia of Lallo but was brought to Piat to convert the Itawes people to Christianity. On June 20, 1954, the Church was declared a National Shrine for Catholic Philippines. The image is famous in the country and abroad as the Black Mary, thus making Piat the pilgrimage center of the Northeast. Pilgrims are drawn to the shrine every year, especially on the Lady’s feast day on July 2.