visita iglesia in manila

staying in manila this coming holy week? Go and do a visita iglesia or just simply visit these beautiful churches then

holy week is about a few weeks from now, and for catholics the visita  iglesia or bisita iglesia has been a tradition of the faithful. and here in the Philippines, visita iglesia or church visits is part of the holy week, usually carried out on holy thursday.  Some say you have to visit seven churches while others said it should be 14 churches, the faithful say or pray the stations of the cross with one station in each church.

i was raised a catholic but the first time i joined this tradition was in 2008 only, we have visited 14 churches in batangas, and the year after that we have visited churches in pampanga and tarlac.

have i told you that i love churches? not because i am a religious person but i just love church architecture and i am a sucker when it comes to old things and most of our churches are centuries old. i haven't doen a visita iglesia yet in manila but i would like to recommend the following churches you should visit come this holy week.

yes, manila is full of churches and they are all beautiful. so herewith are the list of manila churches you can visit.

1. Manila Cathedral (Intramuros) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/12/cathedral.html

2. San Agustin Church (Intramuros) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/05/san-agustin-church.html

3. Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine (inside Fort Santiago) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2009/06/our-lady-of-guadalupe-shrine-in-fort.html

4. Espiritu Santo Catholic Church (Tayuman)

5. St. Vincent de Paul Parish (San Marcelino St., Malate - inside Adamson University - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/08/this-ones-church-alright.html

6. Malate Catholic Church (M.H. Del Pilar St., Malate) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2008/04/malate-church.html

7. Sta. Cruz Church (Sta. Cruz) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2008/11/church-of-sta-cruz.html

8. Binondo Church or Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz (Quentin Paredes St., Binondo) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/07/inside-binondo.html

9. Quaipo Church or Basillica Minore of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/05/quiapo.html

10. San Sebastian Church (Quiapo, Manila) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2008/08/san-sebastian-church-facelift.html

11. Sto. Nino de Tondo Church (Tondo, Manila)- http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/10/sto-nio-de-tondo.html

12. St. Pancratius Chapel or Paco Park Church (Paco Park, Manila) - http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/search/label/paco%20cemetery

13. UST Church (inside University of Sto. Tomas) - PS i know this isnt the church inside the UST but i dont have the photo of the church but the main building looks like one anyways :)
http://mayniladailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/08/simply-called.html

14. Baclaran Church or the Mother of Perpetual Help Shrine - can't find the church's photo in my archive but this photo is one of the candle offering stand just outside the church. will just replace the photo when i find it.

bisita iglesia at batangas

Holy Week or the Lenten Season is just a few days away and most Filipino Catholics are already planning the annual Bisita Iglesia or Visita Iglesia (Church Visit) - which involves visiting several Churches at which the faithful would pray the Stations of the Cross.

Two years ago, me and my cousins visited 14 churches all over Batangas for the Bisita Iglesia, you may want to visit the churches, cause each of those churches have their own story to tell... you can view my post here and you can follow our bisita iglesia itenerary

Station 1: Sta Teresita Church - Sta. Teresita, Batangas
Station 2: Parokya ng Immaculada Concepcion, Mahal na Poong Krus - Bauan, Batangas
Station 3: San Pascual
Station 4: Basilika Menor ng Immaculada Concepcion
Station 5: Archdiocesan Glorious Cross - Batangas
Station 6: San Jose Church - Batangas
Station 7: San Vicente Ferrer - Banay Banay, Batangas
Station 8: Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church - Lipa, Batangas
Station 9: Lipa Cathedral, San Sebastian - Lipa, Batangas
Station 10: San Isidro Labrador - Cuenca, Batangas
Station 11: Mahal na Poon krus - Alitagtag, Batangas
Station 12: Taal Church, basilica of saint martin de tours, Taal Batangas
Station 13: San Roque - Lemery, Batangas
Station 14: Caleruega - Nasugbu, Batangas

happy easter

may your guardian angels be with you always... have a happy easter :D

faith healers at quaipo

Faith healers at Quaipo, Manila.

faith healer

Based on old Tagalog movies that i watched, it is told that the "powers" of faith healers are at its peak on Good Friday... according to wikipedia: "Faith healing is the attempt to use religious or spiritual means such as prayer, mental practices, spiritual insights, or other techniques to prevent illness, cure disease, or improve health. Faith healers say they can summon divine or supernatural intervention on behalf of the ill and say their practice may afford gradual relief or bring about sudden "miracle cures."
Took this photo of a faith healer in front of the Quiapo church this Good Friday, and the man uses the wooden stick (see first photo) to heal any back pain and there were people who tried and some said the pain is gone.  The second photo, he used his belt, which is a big rosary and uses the crucifix to heal the pain of the man who claimed feeling pain at his lower back.  

The faith healer proceeded on asking for anyone who feels pain and accommodated anyone who come forward and heal them by using the wooden stick, the crucifix, or just by his hand.  There was even a man who claimed that this faith healer cured him last year of his lump at the chest hence he went back this year to be touched and cure by the man.

So do you believe in faith healers?  

good friday

Good Friday is the Friday within Holy Week, and is traditionally a time of fasting and penance, commemorating the anniversary of Christ's crucifixion and death. For Christians, Good Friday commemorates not just a historical event, but the sacrificial death of Christ, which with the resurrection, comprises the heart of the Christian faith.

Have a blessed Holy Week everyone, and yes i am back posting, sorry if i wasn't able to post photos as i have been busy, hopefully i'll get to post daily again.