In the Philippines, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary reaches its crescendo in May with the month-long celebration of Flores de Mayo. Literally meaning “flowers of May” in Spanish, the country’s “festival of all festivals” traces its beginnings just after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854.

In 1865, Filipino priest Mariano Sevilla wrote “Dalit kay Maria,” the vernacular for Flores de Mayo, based on Italy’s “Misa de Maggio.” He based what would become a church tradition on prayers and hymns he had written before, which was first performed as a whole at the Church of Nuestra Señora De La Asuncion in his hometown of Bulacan.