Visita Iglesia 2025 (part 2)

After a quick lunch at a Chinese restaurant in the Banawe area, our 5th church was the National Shrine of our Lady of Lourdes in NS Amoranto corner Kanlaon Street. It houses the miraculous and celebrated image of the Our Lady of Lourdes under the care of the Franciscan Capuchins.

The next stop was the Basilica Minore of San Pedro Bautista in the San Francisco del Monte district. It is the oldest Catholic church (founded in 1590) in Quezon City and was declared an important cultural property by the National Musuem in September 2017. The church is dedicated to Saint Pedro Bautista who was a Spanish missionary from Avila, Spain. Part of the 4th batch of the Franciscan order missionaries who arrived in the Philippines, he worked here for 9 years in local communities, building schools, teaching pupils and propagating Christianity. Unfortunately, he was one of the 26 Christians who were martyred in Japan in 1597. 

We were fortunate enough that Manang Mayet, a lady who serves at the church toured us around the museum, showed us the cave where San Pedro Bautista prayed and the deep wells that are part of this historically important edifice of worship.  It was a fascinating discovery and I'm glad I included it in our itinerary for Visita Iglesia 2025.

Our 7th stop - the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao was erected in 1950 in a place that used to be rice paddies. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Cubao. It is a beautiful structure in the crossroad of small streets with no alloted parking spaces. Our final stop where we also heard the 5:30 PM Mass. I prayed for my peace of mind amidst my anguish, despair and broken heartedness. May Lord have mercy! 

Visita Iglesia 2025 (part 1)

It's ironic that when I was looking for 7 churches to visit for this year's Visita Iglesia during Maundy Thursday, I picked Quezon City as our focal point. We lived in QC for almost 15 years but now that we are based in the Mandaluyong area, we 'returned' to QC to set foot in 7 churches which we visited for the first time in our lives.

Visita Iglesia is the Holy Week tradition of visiting 7 or 14 churches to pray the 14 stations of the Cross which depicts the passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. These intricate stained glass or wooden tableau of the Stations of the Cross are located within the church but during Holy Week, they are situated outside the Church for wider space and more crowd control purposes.

First stop was the St. Ignatius of Loyola Cathedral inside Camp Aguinaldo. Closest entrance to the church is at Gate 3 of the military base of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. St. Ignatius was 17 years old when he started his military career during the Spanish - Italian war of 1521-1526. He is the patron saint of soldiers and the founder of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits order. 

My first time to enter Camp Aguinaldo so we explored the area that is accessible to the public under the warm, blazing summer sun.

Second stop was the Christ the King Parish Church in Greenmeadows is one of the 'richer' parishes in QC, given that it is located near the posh White Plains, Greenmeadows and the Corinthian Gardens subdivisions. It has a wide parking space thus a long queue to enter so we chose to park at the first available slot on the street for easy mobility.

Our third Church was the Real Monasterio de Santa Clara de Manila located in Katipunan Avenue is famous for the offering of eggs to St. Claire for good weather. Mostly by couples who hope that it would not rain during their wedding day especially if it is an outdoor event. But any prayer intentions/ petitions are also welcomed. It is a small enclave with just a few parking slots, an open area with tables and chairs to write your petitions with a pencil on a provided piece of paper. A counter where you drop off your petitions and donate the eggs. The main church is airy with large ceiling fans for proper ventilation.

Different colors represent different petitions such as good health,
for good luck, love life, work related, as well as financial gains.

The 4th stop was at The Church of the Gesu inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus. A sight to behold due to its stunning architecture, both inside and outside, located in a sprawling area with tree lined streets and lush foliage.