Holy Week in the Philippines is a rubricated time. But if you haven't made plans yet, consider a slight deviation from the usual: go out and observe the traditional Visita Iglesia and visit seven lovely stone churches in mystical Laguna and Quezon provinces on Holy Thursday, April 1.
Laguna de Bay is Southeast Asia’s largest fresh water lake fed throughout the year by regular rain showers. It empties itself to the Manila Bay through the historic Pasig River. Traditionally, the lakeshore towns of Laguna and Rizal as well as the province of Quezon have provided the food and material requirements of the capital city of Manila, with the River Pasig serving as the highway of commerce and culture. Thus, the people in this area are known as “taga-ilog” or riverfolk, now accepted as Tagalog. There is much to rediscover in the region and in the small towns that have inevitably left lasting imprints in our sense of national identity. Their churches, many of them tinged with the patina of centuries, built and rebuilt and then built up again, are monuments to our undying faith and resiliency as a people.
Our tour itinerary will take us to seven churches where we will pray the Stations of the Cross:
1. St. John the Baptist Church, Calamba City, where Rizal was baptized, with a side trip to the National Arts Center in Mt. Makiling
2. the Diocesan Shrine of St. Anthony de Padua in Pila
3. St. Paul the Hermit Church, San Pablo City, with buffet lunch of local delicacies
4. St. Bartholomew Parish church, Nagcarlan, with a side visit to their famous underground cemetery
5. St. John the Baptist church, Liliw, with time to shop for slippers!
6. St. Gregory the Great Parish church, Majayjay;
7. San Isidro Labrador church, Lucban, Quezon, with a stop at Kamay ni Hesus shrine astride Mt. Banahaw
Between the two fabled mountain fastnesses of Makiling and Banahaw, it is hoped that tour participants will find communion with God, or at the very least, a greater appreciation of themselves as believing Filipinos.
Tour bus leaves Market! Market! in Taguig City at exactly 7:00 AM. Tour costs P2,000 per pax, pre-paid, and includes airconditioned transportation, AM snack, lunch buffet, PM snack, in-coach tour guide. Pls make a deposit in the account of
Richard Burgos, BDO CA # 2068010109.
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