Mei ManuelKonnichasssuuuu world!
Hahaha, it has been a while since I last blogged and might I say it was one crazy interval from then and now. But I have loads of back writing to do here so I will get to it before I do the other most awaited stuff here.
Anyway, for this entry, I will share to you my Visita Iglesia 2018 experience with my family!
This year, my family decided to take a gander in doing our Visita Iglesia in the special Holy Week trail prepared by the Intramuros Administration for the year. My family has included Intramuros in one of our Visita Iglesia trips but only included the Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church in our vigil. Although I know there were other churches in the walled city with it being the old capital of the Spanish Empire when they conquered the Philippines centuries ago, only the Cathedral and San Agustin remain in use today.
This year, Intramuros opened opened some of the chapels and religious sites in the walled city and promoted it on media for months so Christians can check it out for their Visita Iglesia pilgrimage. My mum saw one of the advertisements for the special Holy Week trails and proposed we take the route for our pilgrimage. All of us agreed since we won’t have to drive for miles to get to various churches.
I won’t get into detail as to what transpired for us that day, but check out the pics below and their captions:
Start right here!
We began our Visita Iglesia with the Stations of the Cross. In Intramuros, the entire Stations of the Cross was neatly located in one street and it also showed artworks included in the special Filipino-Spanish art exhibition to be held this month.
Our first church for our Visita Iglesia was at the San Agustin Church, where we also heard mass before the actual pilgrimage begins.
Our second church for the Visita is at the compound of the Knights of Columbus, a special religious order in the Philippines. The chapel they have is quite small and open, but it was very solemn.
Our third church was at Mapua University. Simple chapel but it was quite large.
The next church is in the nearby Lyceum University. The chapel reminds me of one of the chapels in La Salle.
This next one is actually in a rebuilt structure of the old San Ignacio Church, which got bombed during the Second World War. Currently, the church is still being built, with this part serving as a museum/exhibition hall. You would also get to see the old foundations in the exhibition hall.
Our sixth church is the iconic Manila Cathedral. In front of it, there was a reenactment of the last few hours of Christ’s life. Unfortunately, they had to wrap up the show due to the sudden rain that got everyone soaked to the bone.
Because of the rain and the fact we haven’t eaten dinner yet, we decided to ditch the last stop in the Intramuros Visita Iglesia trail (Which was the Shrine of the Our Lady of Guadalupe) and wen to Malate Church. The rain did go away after a while and it was my first time to visit the church. We also joined the special raffle where the proceeds of the ticket sales would go to the revitalisation of the church.
Pretty much after the entire vigil, we went to have dinner in a nearby restaurant and got home completely wiped out. This year’s Visita Iglesia was a bit tiring to say the least, but it was a vigil that I wouldn’t really remove from my practice every Holy Week. Hope this little guide helps you get ideas for your very own Visita Iglesia next year!
Next entry is coming up soon! Its one of my favorites!!!
