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Friday, April 02, 2010

Lenten Event: Visita Iglesia 2010 (Part 1)

It is the time again that we Filipino Christians celebrate: Lenten season. It is the time to remember Christ's passion and suffering.

Among of our Lenten traditions is the Visita Iglesia (Church visits in English) which is held every Maundy Thusday of Lent. Usually, my parents and my brothers do this yearly, but as I got older, I go Visita Iglesia by myself and visit churches all over Manila. Though I commute to my starting point on my Visita Iglesia, from the starting point, I walked to the other churches by foot instead of commute.

I visited 9 churches this year with Ermita church (my first time visiting this church) as my starting point. Here are the churches I visited:

The Nuestra Senora De Guia (or simply Ermita church) is first established in 1606 and the present church was built in 1947 and presently located in Ermita, Manila facing the US Embassy.




The second church I visited was The Manila Cathedral which is located in Intramuros and the one of the oldest church in the country. It was established in 1581 during the Spanish period and it survived natural disasters for the last 400 years. The present church is built in 1958 and its also served as the seat for the Archbishop of Manila.

The third church I visited was the San Agustin church which is also located in Intramuros. Built in 1586 and completed in 1606 and it is the oldest church in Manila that is still standing and it is considered a World Heritage site in 1993 by UNESCO as the Baroque Churches on the Philippines. It is also the burial place for Governor Generals as well as prominent families during the Spanish period.

Next church I visited is San Miguel church which is located in San Miguel, Manila where the Malacanang Palace is also located. It was established in 1603 and it is a shrine for St. Michael the Archangel and the other Angels.



After San Miguel church, I went to San Sebastian church or Basilica de San Sebastian. Completed in 1891, it is the only church or basilica in Asia that was constructed in steel with the steel materials came from Belgium. The Gothic architecture was designed Genaro Palacios based on the design of Burgos Cathedral in Spain. In 2006, San Sebastian church is on a tentative list for a World Heritage Site.



TO BE CONTINUED...

1 comment:

dillyberto said...

Your photos are beautiful.

The walk was a great one, I bet. The weather looked great!

Happy Easter.

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