Governor General Juan Nino de Tavora brought the Brown Virgin to Manila in 1626. The statue was turned over to the Jesuits in 1632. She became known as the patroness of the galleons because the ships that carried her escaped harm no matter how harsh the travel conditions were.
The Brown Virgin’s miracles were not limited to the Pacific. The Virgin supposedly fell into the hands of the Chinese during their uprising in 1639. They tried to destroy the statue yet somehow only the scratch marks on the Virgin’s face remained as proof of that incident as she stands tall and proud to this day.
 On another account, 500 devotees and members of the religious journeyed by foot through the mountains of Rizal to escape the Japanese during the occupation; miraculously, there were no deaths or any catastrophes in their exodus. Nana Sela, the Virgin’s unofficial governess, said that a mysterious lady appeared before the fleeing devotees and told them to go the other way. If they had continued with their original path, they would have fallen into the hands of Japanese soldiers.
The Nuestra Senora was in Quiapo throughout the Japanese occupation. In 1945, the image was returned to Antipolo.
Marcela Bautista, or Nana Sela as she is fondly called, is the unofficial "kamarera" of Nuestra Senora dela Paz y Buenviaje. A "kamarera" is the church-appointed governess of the Our Lady of Good Voyage and Peace. She is in charge of Our Lady’s wardrobe, her accessories, and her general welfare.
Nana Sela has been taking care of the Our Lady of Good Voyage and Peace since 1963. Her predecessor, Rosario Ocampo Medina, was appointed by the church but for one reason or another Nana Sela was never given the official church appointment. Yet the church and everyone in the diocese acknowledge her as the Virgin’s governess.
As the present "kamarera," Nana Sela is closest with the Brown Virgin. She intuitively knows the Virgin’s mood and bases her decisions on this intuition on matters ranging from choice of dress to the possibility of an impromptu procession. She intimates that the Virgin prefers white as the dominant color of her flowers for procession.
Nana Sela, like other devotees, has experienced her own share of miracles from the Nuestra Senora but her story is not as earthshaking as the exodus during the Japanese occupation. Her full recovery from a stroke and the large loving family she gained even if she has chosen the path of single blessedness are miracles more than enough to last her several lifetimes.
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