A cultural guide to Visita Iglesia

Readers request re-posting of an article from Holy Week 2008, as a road and cultural guide to churches to visit on Maundy Thursday. Here it is, updated.

*      *      *

Tomorrow Filipino Catholics trek to seven choice churches in the custom of visita iglesia. Principally it’s to meditate on the Passion of Christ. It’s also to take in the awesome intricacies of church art and traditions. The visita helps Filipinos know who and why they are.

The tradition of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday dates back to early Christianity. The Pope would celebrate the Mass of the Last Supper at dusk, highlighted by the reenactment of Jesus’ washing of the Apostles’ feet, to set the tone for humility and piousness. The Christians then toured Rome’s seven great basilicas. The Sacramentary, the Church’s official altar book, states that, “The faithful should be encouraged to continue the adoration before the Blessed Sacrament for a suitable period of time during the night, according to local circumstances, but there should be no solemn adoration after midnight.”

The Polish, Irish, and Maltese observe the visita iglesia. Pre-War Manila newspapers reported on the practice in the capital and Luzon. Records of churches throughout the islands tell of it centuries earlier. Churches then were far apart, so the visita would be limited to two or three adjoining parishes.

Filipinos have introduced variations to the visita. Notably they start the seven-church visits at dawn, ending with the twilight Mass. The first five are devoted to a decade each of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Holy Rosary; the last two, for seven each of the Fourteen Stations of the Cross. Strictly everything must end before midnight, to grieve Christ’s death on Good Friday.

*      *      *

In Cebu a favorite visita iglesia is to the Augustinian-built churches in the southeast. There are six, all dating back to the late-18th and early-19th centuries: the Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa in Sibonga, the Church of San Miguel Arcangel in Argao, the Church of San Guillermo el Hermitaño in Dalaguete, the Church of Nuestra Señora del Patrocinio in Boljoon, the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Immaculada Concepcion in Oslob, and the Church of San Jose Labrador in Nueva Caceres. Cebuanos complete the seventh visit at the cathedral in the capital city. Or, the old stone Church of St. Catherine of Alexandra, in Carcar, rebuilt from razing by Muslim raiders in 1622.

Bohol province has maintained 42 Spanish-era churches. Any contiguous seven easily can make up the visita. The country’s oldest church is in the seaside town of Baclayon. Its museum of antiquities rivals those of Europe; sadly thieves have looted some religious statues, for gem-studded gold crowns, and ivory heads and hands. Notable too are the churches in Loboc and Dawis towns. A kindly German financier and his Spanish artist undertook four recent church restorations; the one in Albuquerque town is a sample of their quiet charity.

In Pangasinan, the visita is usually by foot, to the churches of Manaoag, San Jacinto, Binmaley, Santa Barbara, Urdaneta, Lingayen, and Dagupan. Devotees in Pampanga, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija have their own pick of historic churches.

Manilans too prefer old churches: the Manila Cathedral and San Agustin Church in Intramuros; Paco Church; Malate Church; Santo Domingo, Santa Teresita, and Lourdes Churches in Quezon City; and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Baclaran.

*      *      *

The visita is a (guided) tourist event in the provinces of Rizal and Laguna. By custom in Rizal it starts at the Church of Our Lady of Good Voyage in Antipolo. It then proceeds to the lakeshore and hillside towns of Teresa, Baras, Morong, Tanay, Binangonan, Angono, Pililla, and Jala-jala.

In Laguna, must-see churches are those in the towns of Mabitac, Siniloan, Pangil, Pakil, Paete, Lumban, Pagsanjan, Majayjay, Magdalena, Liliw, Nagcarlan, Pila, and Calauan. History and local treats go together. Between stops, devotees buy rice cake, puto, and even potent lambanog coco-rum.

Of note is the church of Pakil (San Pedro de Alcantara), for it tells the story of most Spanish-era Philippine churches. It is cross-shaped with short transepts, and three baroque altars, gilded and painted white. Shields and crosses decorate the facade. A convento stands next to it, surrounded by an atrium. The architecture is eclectic, picking up from different periods and designs. Built in 1732, the church has undergone many alterations due to: fire in 1739, change of Franciscan supervision in 1769, casting of the giant bell in 1777, renovation in 1840, another fire in 1851, earthquakes in 1880 and 1937, War in the 1940s, and restoration in the 1980s. A second-floor museum houses the image of the miraculous Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba.

At the church in Paete, look for one peculiarity in the mural of the Last Judgment. Hint: it’s in the faces of the burning souls in Hell.

The San Gregorio church in Majayjay was restored (by my architect-father) after a devastating typhoon in the ’60s. It opens to a plaza where stands a statue of Emilio Jacinto. The Brain of the Revolution, detached from Aguinaldo’s forces after Bonifacio’s execution, continued to fight the Spaniards, till death from malaria in April 1899 at age 23.

The church in Pagsanjan has a long aisle, making it a favorite of wedding brides. The Nagcarlan Church has eerie catacombs that devotees visit towards dusk. From the church in his Calamba hometown Jose Rizal reportedly imagined the characters and settings for his novels.

For those vacationing in Tagaytay, an abbreviated visita is to the brick Caraluega, in Batulao, that has the Stations of the Cross in a vast garden. Nearby is the Chapel on the Hill, famous for a circular floor pattern called The Labyrinth. Visitors meditate while walking the path leading to the center, derived from the Crusaders who could not perform the visita while fighting in the Holy Land.

*      *      *

Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., DWIZ (882-AM).

E-mail: [email protected]