Statue of Our Lady, Queen of Peace (Quezon City)

 statue, monument, place with historical importance, interesting place

A large statue of the Virgin Mary as Queen of Peace adorns the roof of EDSA Shrine. With smiling, ostensibly Asian features, it was executed in bronze by Virginia Ty-Navarro and installed in 1989. Saint Mary is depicted as crowned and surrounded by doves of peace as she blesses the surrounding urban landscape, her Immaculate Heart manifested at the centre of her breast.

The statue commemorates the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the 1986 EDSA Revolution. According to legend, military helicopter pilots sent to neutralise anti-Marcos protestors along EDSA saw nothing but a white cloud veiling the crowds below. The revolutionaries (which included nuns, seminarians, and clergymen) were documented as engaging in fervent prayer– in particular the recitation of the Rosary– as they faced Loyalist troops and tanks on the ground.

The statue has since been a backdrop for many protests held at the Shrine, the biggest being the January 2001 EDSA II Revolution that ousted President Joseph Estrada over a massive corruption scandal. The revolt, which erupted in the middle of Estrada's impeachment trial, installed his Vice-President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as the 14th President of the Philippines at noon on 20 January 2001.