A Trip Down
the Memory Lane: 7 Go-to Manila Churches for Visita Iglesia
As a
dominantly Catholic country, one of our practices every Holy Week is Visita
Iglesia. Traditionally, Catholics visit around 7 churches to pray, reflect, and
honor the Blessed Sacrament during Holy Week. The visiting of churches is done
to commemorate the suffering of Christ, as well as to meditate and ask for
penance.
Here are
churches within the Metro which you can visit this Holy Week:
1) Binondo
Church
Photo by
Lawrence Ruiz - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51373004
Start your
journey in one of the oldest churches in Manila. Binondo Church is also known
as Minor Basilica of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary
Parish. It was built by the Dominicans and is located in Binondo, Manila. It
became a place of worship to converted Chinese Christians back in the day when
the trade between Chinese and Filipinos started to increase. Today, a number of
Binondo dwellers and curious tourists still visit the parish.
2) San
Sebastian
Photo by
Geela Garcia
San
Sebastian, also known as Minor Basilica of San Sebastian, boasts Gothic Revival
architecture, and is the only steel church in the Philippines and Asia. The
original structure was actually built using bricks, but because of a Chinese
Filipino uprising which burned down the original structure, the current edifice
was built to be fire and earthquake-resistant.
3) Quiapo
Church
Photo by By
Judgefloro - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49290514
Quiapo
Church, also known as Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, is one of the most
famous basilicas in the Philippines. It is because of the said-to-be miraculous
sculpture of the Black Nazarene which was carved in Mexico and was burned on
its way to the Philippines. Large numbers of devotees visit every Friday,
edging their knees forward to the sculpture to ask for miracle and or
forgiveness.
4) Baclaran
Church
Photo By
Ramon FVelasquez - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25183238
The Baclaran
Church is also known as the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help is
one of the largest Marian churches in the Philippines. The shrine was
established by Redemptionists when they began the novena in 1948. At first,
only 70 people attended the novena, but after several sessions, the attendees
doubled, and is now reaching thousands of devotees. Today, the church serves as
home to many Marian devotees.
5) San
Agustin
By Patrick
Roque (talk) (Uploads) - Taken using my camera with model DSC-HX5V, CC BY-SA
3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61019655
San Agustin
Church is one of the two religious sites inside the walled city of Intramuros,
and is the Philippines’ oldest church. Built by the Augustinians, the structure
was modeled after beautiful temples in Mexico. It boasts a grandeur in
architecture, very rich and grounded to the Spanish colonial history. The
building has its own museum inside, which features great artifacts about the
Philippines’ cultural heritage.
6) Manila
Cathedral
By
Patrickroque01 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61234185
Manila
Cathedral is a neighboring church to the San Agustin Church inside Intramuros,
and is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception or the Virgin Mary. Initially
built as a simple parish back in 1571, it received multiple reconstructions
after several calamities hit the city. The cathedral was then upgraded with LED
lighting, advanced sound system, and carbon-retrofitted structural foundations
which add a modern detail to its beautiful Roman stone facade.
7) Malate
Church
By Ramon
FVelasquez - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30755713
Last but not
the least is Malate Church, also known as Our Lady of Remedies Parish. It
follows a Baroque style of architecture and houses a statue that travelled from
Spain-- it is of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, the patroness of childbirth.
The small but beautiful house of prayer is also strategically located in front
of Plaza Rajah Sulayman and Manila Bay.
After a long
day of Church hopping and driving around Manila, have a quick stopover and
unwind at Century Park Hotel (CPH). Grab a soft and fluffy bibingka and hot
chocolate at Cafe in the Park before heading back home.
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