One of the plans I had last Holy Week was to do a Visita Iglesia. However, certain reasons didn't allow me to do that, but my sister and I already had a list of which churches to visit. On this day, we found the perfect time to go out and visit churches.
The churches we visited (in order):
01) St. Jude Parish - J. P. Laurel St. San Miguel, Manila
I have long heard of this church because friends and acquaintances go to this church to voice out prayers to help them in passing the board exams. I have wanted to visit this church, and so does my sister, so we decided to make this the first church our first destination.
02) San Sebastian Church - Plaza del Carmenquiapo, Manila
02) San Sebastian Church - Plaza del Carmenquiapo, Manila
My friend Kei was the first one to tell me about this church in 2009. Back then I didn't know this church was open to everyone as I first thought this was just a church for the students of San Sebastian College-Recoletos. Pictures taken by a photo buddy made me want to visit this church, and since this was walking distance (a very long walk, though) from St. Jude Parish, we visited this next.
03) Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene - Quiapo, Manila
We took another long walk to reach this church. My sister is a devotee of the Black Nazarene, and even if we have visited this church numerous times already, today was a day when she gave me a new Quiapo Church experience - lining up to the back part of the church to touch the image of the Black Nazarene.
After the visit, we went to eat lunch at Mang Inasal, located in front of the church.
04) Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception - Intramuros, Manila
Sister and I had to take the jeepney to get here. It was a lucky day for us, because the time we visited, there was no church service, so guests were free to roam around and take pictures.
05) San Agustin Church - Intramuros, Manila
Another walk trip brought us to this church, which is one of the four baroque churches in the Philippines, and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Although the San Agustin Museum opens at 1pm, the church was closed the time we arrived. Asking the guards, they told us they will open the church around 4pm because there will be a wedding, but we didn't have the luxury of time to wait that long (it was only 1:30pm), so we just stood outside for a minute, took pictures, and went on.
06) Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz - Binondo, Manila
Getting to this church, we had a choice to walk a very long walk, but because it was so sunny and hot that day and our feet were already having blisters, we decided to take the taxi going to this church as there was no direct jeepney ride going to this church.
07) St. Pancratius Chapel - Paco, Manila
I listed "Paco Church" as one of the churches I wanted to visit, but since it was my sister who searched maps to guide us, her map took us to the Paco Park, which was actually quite far from the Paco Church that I wanted to visit. It was still a blessing, though, because in the middle of the park was a chapel. It was closed, but still, we consider this a check on our list.
08) Church of Nuestra Senora de Guia - Ermita, Manila
A short jeepney ride took us to the Ermita Church, which was another church that I visited for the first time that day. People were preparing for the upcoming fiesta, and at first we thought the church was closed. Good thing sister checked the side door and seeing that it was open, we went ahead and enter.
09) Our Lady of Remedies Parish - Malate, Manila
The last time I visited this church was in November 2010, when K and I made a quick visit as our hotel was nearby. That day (in November), there was a mass, so I wasn't able to take pictures inside the church. When sister and I visited, there was no church service, so I was able to take pictures then.
10) National Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help - Baclaran, Paranaque
The only church not found in the city of Manila, sister decided to make this our last stop because there was a jeepney from Malate Church that would take us to this church, and that it was a Wednesday, the feast day of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Like the Malate Church, K and I also visited this church back in November. On my very first visit, the church was full of people, and today, since it was a feast day, there were more people. So many people that most were actually just took their own seats outside the church! Well, my sister and I tried our best to enter the church, and so glad we found a space, even if we were just standing near the door.
We then had our dinner and took the bus straight home.
A typical Visita Iglesia only covers about seven churches (but of course it is not limited to that amount), but my sister and I were able to visit ten. It was really a wonderful day for us, and I totally admired the strength we had for being able to walk long distances. Our muscles were sore, yes... to the point that we were having difficulties getting up after sitting for a few minutes, but we were given ample strength to pull it through.
In all the churches we visited, I said my gratitude for everything. As for my prayer intentions, I basically prayed for two major things: good health and strong family ties.
