Joyce Pilarsky is Queen Helena in santacruzan

To walk in a dramatic self-designed gown with a long canvas train rendered in textile and acrylic paint, then embellished with beads upon beads and appliques upon appliques of flora and finished by crown glitter, Mrs. Universe South Asia 2017 Joyce Peñas Pilarsky as escorted by Cian Fider is Queen Helena of the Santacruzan of the 60th anniversary of Santa Rita de Cascia Parish, Philam Homes, Quezon City on May 28, starting 6 p.m.
With all its splendid glory and pageantry and withstanding the 36 traditional characters and Biblical personifications in eye-catching costumes and carrying symbols that contribute to the religious ambiance, the main queen is still the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her image consistently occupies the final spot while a choir chants “Dios Te Salve (Hail Mary)” throughout the colorful procession.
Queen Helena and Queen Emperatriz, second and third to last of the long row before Virgin Mary, are the same biblical personalities who have distinct characters. Queen Emperatriz is another representation of St. Helena, alluding to the imperial Roman title of Agusta, which her son Constantine bestowed upon her. Queen Helena is the actual personification of St. Helena, who carries a crucifix in her arms, escorted by the young Constantine dressed in princely raiment.

STA. RITA @ 60. Sta. Rita de Cascia, Patroness of Impossible Causes, abused wives and heartbroken women, was an Italian widow. Rita married at an early age that lasted for 18 years, during which she is remembered for her Christian values as a model wife and mother who converted her husband from abusive behavior. Upon his murder, she dissuaded her sons from revenge.
With many rejections, she subsequently got accepted by an Augustinian community of religious sisters, where she practiced mortification of the flesh and for the efficacy of her prayers. Various miracles were attributed to her intercession, and was often portrayed with a bleeding wound on her forehead, usually carrying sweet-smelling red roses that remove the malodor coming from her stigmata.
Originally a community chapel built for the homeowners of the Philamlife Village, the Sta. Rita de Cascia Parish Church was inaugurated and blessed by Rufino Cardinal J. Santos on June 2, 1957. Philamlife Homes is Quezon City’s first middle-class gated subdivision planned by Harvard graduate Angel Napkil. All sub-parishes under the Sta. Rita Parish were converted into parishes and the Parish started to serve all the spiritual needs of parishioners and Catholics who opt to receive them from there.
Sta. Rita Parish Church evolved into a fully airconditioned church that assures the solemnity and comfort of services. Located in a sprawling, maintained surrounding, it has amenities such as a covered atrium, a three-story fully equipped social hall complete with elevator, winding staircases and administration offices. Children can play and photos can be shot in the surrounding park.
To give importance to this well-loved annual celebration to commemorate the feast day of Sta. Rita celebrated on May 22, the Organizing Committee under Rev. Msgr. Daniel Sta. Maria, Parish Priest and Vicar General of the Diocese of Cubao,  decided to hold a grand celebration entitled “Sta. Rita @60” and subtitled “Maturing as a Communion of Communities” beginning May 14 to May 28, 2017.
It opens with the screening of Regis Films and Entertainment Inc.’s Tatlong Bibe, a star-studded advocacy film promoting the power of prayer at the Philam Homes Clubhouse on May 6. Fr. Bong Bongayan gives the post-screening talk.
An agape featuring a three-suite fashion-dance revue with a Filipiniana theme and sit-down dinner is scheduled on May 21 at 6 p.m. at the Sta. Rita Social Hall. Featuring Pilarsky’s couture collection with the members of the Sta. Rita Parish Youth Ministry as performers and models, former GMA Network artist Stephanie Henares is guest model. Choreography is by former Bayanihan member Romeo Abarro and Christine Hibe.
The Flores de Mayo held daily at 6 p.m., this is highlighted by the innovative Santacruzan featuring senior citizens as sagalas. This marks the closing of the Jubilee Door.
Other weekend spiritual and fun-oriented community activities are also scheduled. Coordination by Lina Tuazon, Pilarsky, Edith Fider and Edgar O. Cruz are volunteers.
 
SMART LAUNCHES GILAS SEABA AND MOTHER’S DAY VIDEOS. Smart Communications recently launched a viral video that encourages the use of data and smartphones to create more bonding times with mothers instead of treating technology as a barrier.
This internet-dependent era has always seen millennials glued to their smartphones for entertainment, social network and work needs. #TimeForMomHabit pushes for creative ways to use the power of technology into a tool to interact more with the most important women of our lives.
In a viral video uploaded by Smart, a mother reaches out to her millennial daughter via text messages all throughout the day but the daughter only gets the opportunity to look at the messages when she gets home from work. In a pivotal and touching scene, she makes sure she spends quality time with the mother via video call.
Moving forward, the daughter makes it a point to stick to #TimeForMomHabit. She is shown including her mom via video call whenever she can. This way, she doesn’t sacrifice much of her routine because her mother is already part of it.
After all, “it only takes a few minutes a day” to get into the #TimeForMomHabit.
Smart subscribers can rely on video calls made via subscribing to Gigasurf50. Just send GIGA50 to 9999 for the following package: one gigabyte of data; additional 300MB for iflix, YouTube, Spinnr, Dailymotion and Dubsmash; and unlimited texts to all networks valid for three days.
#BeThereLikeNeverBefore for your mother this Mother’s Day, share your #TimeForMomHabit posts. To watch the video, go to Smart’s Facebook page.
Support Gilas like never before with Smart360. For one whole week, Filipinos will be glued to every game to be played by the Philippine selection tasked to rule the 12th Southeast Asian Basketball Championship (SEABA) on May 12 to 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in order to qualify for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, which to us can only mean one thing: A clear shot at basketball glory. SEABA is our only return ticket to FIBA Asia, which will lead the Philippines back on the Olympic basketball map.
Filipinos all over the Philippines can support our Gilas heroes like never before when they watch the non-stop action with Smart360 via http://360.smart.com.ph/, which will live stream all of Gilas Pilipinas’ six games beginning on May 12. The nationals will continue to battle it out against SEABA’s on May 13 and 14 before having a one-daybreak on May 15 only to play again from May 16 to 18.
To maximize your viewing through Smart360, load up with Gigasurf 50 by keying in GIGA50 and sending it to 9999. Gigasurf 50 comes with 1GB of data plus 300MB for iflix, YouTube, Spinnr, Vimeo, Dailymotion and Dubsmash. It also comes with unlimited texts to all networks, valid for three days.