Visita Iglesia is an old Roman Catholic Lenten Tradition that is
being done every Maundy Thursday of the Holy Week, where devotees visits at
least seven churches after the Mass of the Last Supper to pray in front of each
church's Blessed Sacrament.
Here in the Philippines most Filipinos
practice this tradition (Well since the majority of the Population is Catholic),
sometime we have a hard time looking for churches to visit specially we
consider the location and distance of each church we are visiting and knowing
that these churches will be crowded and parking/commuting will be difficult
since the LRT/MRT will be closed for the day until the Easter Sunday.
So here I am, I'll be a part time tour
guide for you who's reading this post. I'll be touring you to churches that are
within Manila, Quezon City, Marikina City and other churches near the area. Let's
begin.
Beginning in the City of Marikina, the
Immaculate Concepcion Parish located at Bayan-Bayanan Avenue Brgy. Concepcion Uno,
another church is nearby the St. Gabriel of Our lady of Sorrows Parish that is
located at Marikina Heights near St Scholastica,
Another church near the Immaculate
Concepcion Parish is the Diocesan Shrine of Nuestra Senora de Aranzazu though
it is already located at the farthest side of San Mateo in Rizal the church is
just one jeepney away from Immaculate just ride a jeepney going to Montalban
and then alight the jeepney when you reached the Municipal hall.
Next church is the Our Lady of the Abandoned
Parish, located at J.P. Rizal St, in Brgy Sta Elena, the church is just walking
distance from Bayan, the church is just in front of Marikina's famous Shoe
Museum, the next church will be the Monasterio De Sta Clara (This Church is
famous for Eggs). from Bayan ride a jeepney again going to katipunan, then
cross the foot bridge to get to the church.
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| The Parish of the Holy Sacrifice inside UP Diliman Campus |
Now we're in Quezon City after Sta Clara
you can go to either the Church of the Gesu in Ateneo (If they will allow
people to come in) and UP's Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, both churches are
inside their respective campus that is one UP Jeepney Away from Sta Clara.
Another one is the Archdiocesan Shrine of Saint Joseph in Anonas, just ride a
jeepney going to Cubao then alight infront of the church,
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| The Church of Gesu in Ateneo |
After the Diocesan Shrine, UP, and Ateneo
You can now go and visit the Diocese of Cubao the Immaculate Concepcion
Cathedral it is located Lantana St, Brgy Immaculate Concepcion. You can go here
by riding jeepney going to either Espanya and then alight at the Petron Station
in New York St. or Recto just go down before Seattle St.
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| Aisle and Alter of the Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral in Cubao |
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| In front of Carmelites |
You can also visit the only Latin Speaking Church in the Philippines, The Our Lady of Victories Church. It is just a few blocks away from the Cathedral, you can just walk or you can take a tricycle going to Cannon Street in New Manila, QC. after this you can choose to visit either the Our Lady of Mt Carmel Shrine, Carmelites Monastery both in New Manila near Broadway and Gilmore or you can go to the Christ the King Church inside the Christ The King Seminaries along E Rodriguez Sr. Ave.
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| Altar at the Carmelites Monastery |
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| Inside the St Jude Parish |
Next route is going to Manila, first stop will be the twin
churches in the Malacanyang Palace Grounds, the National Shrine of St Jude
Thaddeus and National Shrine of St Michael and the Archangels, a few blocks
away is the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat inside the San Beda College (Don’t
know if they let outsiders in during the Holy Week). Not to far away from San
Beda is the Basilica Minore de San Sebastian, the only steel church in Asia, also
near San Beda is the Bustillos Church just across Legarda, another Basilica
near San Sebastian to vist is the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene or also
known as the Quiapo Church.
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| St Jude Parish |
Also near the Quiapo Church is the Our Lady of the Pillar Parish
or as we know it the Sta Cruz Church situated in Plaza Sta Cruz near Chinatown,
another church is situated in the middle of Binondo the Minor Basilica of San
Lorenzo Ruiz commonly known as the Binondo Church.
Going to our next top the Walled City of Intramuros, before there
were originally 7 churches inside Intramuros but 5 of them were destroyed
either by war or by natural calamities. Today you can visit 2 churches the
center of the Roman Catholicism in the Philippines the Manila Cathedral and the
San Agustin Church, they are just few blocks away from each other so why not
visit both churches. (PS. I’m not sure if Manila Cathedral is open to the
public as the church is undergoing retrofitting for it to be stronger).
After the churches in Intramuros our last stop will be the
National Shrine of the Our lady of the Rosary of La Naval or the Sto Domingo
Church in Quezon Avenue. That ends the Visita Iglesia that's a total of 22 church to choose from hoping that all of us will be having a meaningful and peaceful Holy Week.
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| Altar of the Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval |
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