Visita Iglesia: A Lenten Special

To some it’s abnormal to have a work during holy week but for us who works in a BPO company servicing countries with no Holy Week, there’s no such thing as Lenten Season. But reporting to work on a holiday didn’t hinder me in experiencing Visita Iglesia for the first time in my life. I overheard from the cubicle next to mine an associate asking another associate if he will be doing Visita Iglesia on Holy Thursday. “Yes, but I will do it online”, my office mate replied. It got me curious if there’s an online version of Visita Iglesia and indeed there is. It encourages physically challenged individual and those others who cannot attend Visita Iglesia personally. If a person is capable in doing the Visita Iglesia by visiting seven Catholic churches then the online Visita Iglesia should not be an option.

I texted my sister-in-law and asked what does a “Visita Iglesia” really mean and she answered “to visit seven different Catholic churches, pray and ask for forgiveness.” During that night I decided to do the Visita Iglesia the next day (Holy Friday) and listed seven different Catholic Churches.

Visita Iglesia Stop No. 1: Our Mother of Pertual Help-Baclaran

The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (also called the Redemptorist church; popularly known as the Baclaran church) is one of the largest churches in the Philippines. This church draws more devotees than other catholic churches in Metro Manila since it was erected. The church has a seating capacity of 2000 persons, with another 9000 standing (as many as 11,000 people can be inside during Masses). On each Wednesday, seven sessions of the Novena with benediction along with three novena Masses and two sung Masses are held. About 120,000 devotees visit Baclaran each Wednesday to pray the Novena. Far larger crowds attend on the first Wednesday of the month. Devotees arrive from 4:00 am and are still entering the church past midnight. Religious devotees flock to this sanctuary every Wednesday in what has become popularly known as "Baclaran Day", and participate in a novena offered for the Virgin's aid and intercession. An estimated 120,000 devotees are currently affiliated with the shrine.

San Agustin Church in Intramuros

Visita Iglesia Stop No. 2: San Agustin Church-Intramuros

The San Agustin Church is located within Manila's walled city Intramuros. It is the oldest existing stone church in the Philippines. Known as the first religious structure built in the northern Philippine island of Luzon during the Spanish colonization, it is the only surviving building in the country kept intact after Intramuros was burnt to the ground during the liberation of Manila in 1945.

The San Agustin Church is one of the four Philippine churches built during the Spanish colonial period to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the classification "Baroque Churches of the Philippines." Since 1976, it has also been named as a National Historical Landmark in the Philippines

Visita Iglesia Stop No. 3: Manila Cathedral

 Facade of the Manila Cathedral.

 It is located in the Intramuros district of Manila in the Philippines. The cathedral has been damaged and destroyed several times since the original cathedral was built in 1581; the sixth and current incarnation of the cathedral was completed in 1958 and was consecrated as a minor basilica in 1981. It is dedicated to the Patroness of the Philippines, Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The current Archpriest of the Cathedral is Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. The first cathedral, made of nipa and bamboo, was constructed in 1581. It was damaged by a typhoon in 1582 and razed by fire in 1583. The second cathedral, which was made of stone, was built in 1592. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1600. Construction of the third cathedral began in 1614. The new structure, consisting of three naves and seven chapels, was blessed in 1614. It was toppled by another earthquake which shook Manila in 1645.

Visita Iglesia Stop No. 4: Quiapo Church

Jesus on His deathbed on Holy Friday.  

Quiapo Church, officially known as Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, is a Roman catholic church located in the District of Quiapo, Manila in the Philippines. Quiapo church is one of the most popular churches in the country.  It is home to the Black Nazarene, a much venerated statue of Jesus Christ which many people believe has miraculous attributes. The Augustinian Recollect Friars brought the image of the Black Nazarene to the Church of San Juan Bautista in Bagumbayan, now part of Luneta/Rizal Park on May 31, 1606. The image was transferred to the bigger Recollect church of San Nicolas de Tolentino in 1608. In 1787, Basilio Sancho de Santas Junta y Rufina, S.P., then Archbishop of Manila, ordered the transfer of the image to the Church of Quiapo.

Visita Iglesia Stop No. 5: UST Church

It’s my first time to enter UST grounds and I found out that UST is also the alma mater of Pres. Manuel L. Quezon aside from our national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal. The catholic church inside the University is a modern one and the  first air-conditioned catholic church I ever attended. It was simple but unlike Quiapo and Manila Cathedral that was crowded with people who are doing the Visita Iglesia, there were only few people here. Maybe this is also the reason why I feel more about the passion of Christ here than that of the other churches I previously visited.

Visita Iglesia No. 6: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine-Cubao

Mama Mary pray for His son when He was crucified.

The church is located at Broadway St. in Cubao. Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and early to mid 13th centuries. They built a chapel in the midst of their hermitages which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whom they conceived of in chivalric terms as the "Lady of the place." Since the 15th century, popular devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel has centered on the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel also known as the Brown Scapular, a sacramental associated with promises of Mary's special aid for the salvation of the devoted wearer. Traditionally, Mary is said to have given the Scapular to an early Carmelite named Saint Simon Stock. The liturgical feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on 16 July. The Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is known to many Catholic faithful as the "scapular feast," associated with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a devotional sacramental signifying the wearer's consecration to Mary and affiliation with the Carmelite Order. A tradition first attested to in the late 14th century says that Saint Simon Stock, an early prior general of the Carmelite Order, had a vision of the Blesses Virgin Mary in which she gave him the brown Scapular which formed part of the Carmelite habit, promising that those who died wearing the scapular would be saved.

Visita Iglesia No. 7: San Roque Parish Church-Mandaluyong

San Roque Parish is located along Boni Avenue in Mandaluyong. This is where I hear mass every Sunday and this was my last stop. I prefer this church to be my last stop for the Visita Iglesia since it is near to my apartment and it is already a home church to me. I reached few people there praying and it is more quiet and peaceful than the other churches I previously visited. San Roque is the patron of the sick and people with different abilities.