(Pictures from left to right: Cardinal Rufino Santos who was then the Apostolic Administrator of Lipa in 1951, Bishop Alredo Versoza, Bishop Alfredo Obviar, Mother Mary Cecilia of Jesus, Sr. Mary Anne Cuna, Sr. Teresita Castillo)
At first, the local bishop of Lipa at the time Bishop Alfredo F. Verzosa was incredulous of the reported phenomenon and went to the monastery to put a stop to all that was happening there, the clamoring of people, the veneration of the image and the news of the apparition and of showers of rose petal. However, upon stepping in the monastery visiting room a shower of petal fell upon him, and looking up he was dumbfounded to see that they were coming from nowhere. He went home without seeing the Sisters and somehow allowed the veneration to Our Lady as Mediatrix of All Grace to continue. He then set up a committee to investigate the phenomenon to put things in their proper place. The investigative committee was headed by Fr. Angel de Blas, O.P. (the result of his investigation you will find on our eBook section – Fr. Angel De Blas Journal).
Noteworthy was the part of the then Auxiliary Bishop Alfredo Obviar, who was the Chaplain of the Lipa Carmel Monastery and confessor of the nuns at that time. He witnessed one of the showers of petals inside the monastery when the Blessed Mother asked for the apparition site to be blessed, that will be a place to remind us that she had been here. Bishop Obviar also witnessed the time when Sr. Teresita became blind, and when she regained her sight.
While the devotion enjoyed the approval of both the local Bishop and the Auxiliary Bishop of Lipa which speedily spread throughout the country and even to other countries, a sudden turn of events happened. In 1949 Bishop Alfredo F. Verzosa and Auxiliary Bishop Alfredo Obviar were removed from their posts and remained silent and obedient to the fate that was given to them. On February 27, 1950, the Prioress Mother Mary Cecilia of Jesus, and the infirmarian Sr. Mary Ann Cuna were suddenly exiled from Lipa Carmel.
The Apostolic Administrator Rufino Santos, who replaced Bishop Alfredo Versoza, later on, headed the committee of six prelates from different dioceses of the country who signed the April 11, 1951 negative verdict on Lipa Apparition that declared: “that the evidences and testimonies exclude any supernatural intervention in the reported extraordinary happenings – including the shower of petals – at the Carmel of Lipa.”
One could only imagine how this disapproval could hit the many people who have been coming to Lipa Carmel. Many were hurt and could not believe that the apparition was not true. Some were angry with the nuns thinking that they were deceived.
On April 12, 1951 the same Apostolic Administrator Rufino Santos decreed that:
1) No petals nor water should be given out to anyone,
2) The statue of Our Lady (actually in the church) should be retired from public veneration
3) All out-sisters must be admitted within the enclosure for the time being, excepting Sr. Elizabeth, who shall remain outside to attend to the needs of the Community; and finally
4) All visits are suspended temporarily, no letters will be allowed until final decision on the matter will come from the Holy See.
Meanwhile, all documents about the apparition, including the diaries of visionary Sr. Teresita Castillo and Mother Prioress Mary Cecilia were ordered to be burnt, including all the rose petals from the showers.
Not long after the negative verdict, Sr. Teresita left the convent as advised by Ma Mere (Mo. Theresa of Jesus), one of the founders of Lipa Carmel, who visited her from Gilmore Carmel in Manila. Ma Mere pointed out to Sr. Teresita that she was not able to stay within the walls of Carmel for one year as required by Carmel. She was out of the monastery mainly due to the illnesses and the investigations which were done in the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. It would be better for her to leave voluntarily to recover health than if the community sends her home in which case she will not have a chance to go back to Carmel. The interrupted novitiate (note that on May 31, 1949, Sr. Teresita was admitted to the novitiate), was the reason why Sr. Teresita had to leave Carmel.