Quiapo Church: Saving the Best for Last for Visita Iglesia

We decided to save the best for last last night as we wrapped up our Visita Iglesia.  It was already past midnight when we left Mendiola and when we reached the Quiapo area, we once again found a parking slot just for us - as if a guardian angel was always guiding us to the right free spot!

Quiapo Boulevard was already closed for traffic and as we walked from Isetann to the Quiapo church, alongside us was this motley procession of people who were barefoot!  The Nazareno devotees, at least the ones from Quiapo - were here in full force!

I had only seen the Nazareno procession on TV so it was amazing to see many devotees around, considering it was already midnight, which meant it was Good Friday already!  When we entered the church, we were met by this resounding loud cheer of people waving their white towels! It was like mass hysteria in a rock concert  - it was as if Jesus Christ himself came down from the heavens and entered the Quiapo church and bask in the adulation of His believers!  

The people were standing on the pews and what made it a bit scary for me was this movement of humanity, a slow surge of people coming from the entrance of the church, moving towards the left side where the exit to Quiapo boulevard was!  For a while, I thought we would be caught in that crush of humanity, but thankfully, we were a safe distance away, near the right side of the altar.

Frankly, nothing beats the religious fervor of the Nazareno devotees.  If faith were a living organism, it was alive and well in each of these devotees who ranged from all ages - bata, matanda, lalaking barako, lalaking lampayatot, babaeng sexy, babaeng   balyena, pati na binabae - the love for Jesus has transcended all these and you cannot even distinguish those who came in cars and those who just walked all the way from their home bases to Quiapo church.  And yes, they were all barefoot!  Remember, Quiapo boulevard was closed - so all of these people walked!!

It was really like a fiesta outside and the Manila government naman was there in full force, the police, the medics and first aid - making sure everyone was safe and nobody was taking advantage of the situation to cause disturbances.

There were many people doing the Stations of the Cross so it was a matter of huddling together as the sounds of different languages - English, Tagalog and a smattering of dialects could be heard, as people read from their Way of the Cross prayer books.  

It was really fitting that we chose Quiapo to end this mini-pilgrimage that we had yesterday, because there, we felt like we were stripped of all our pretensions and vanities - and amidst the stench, the sweat, the dirt and the grime - it reminded each one of us that Jesus was born in the most humble of conditions and He died in the most harrowing of circumstances. 

In Awe at the Beautiful Interiors of the San Beda Church

Unbeknownst to us, as we were entering the church inside the San Beda campus was that it was going to close na in a few minutes!  This is my first time to enter the church and it has some of the most beautiful paintings on its interior walls of any church I know. Everything really looked freshly painted!

So amidst, again, the sea of humanity, who were praying and doing their Stations of the Cross, were the local tourists like me who were amazed by the beauty of the church's interiors, and were busy snapping pictures up there and up further there.

If only most of the churches around my area were this beautiful, it would be a great experience as it is, to worship and pray.  Kudos na rin sa San Beda brothers to have maintained such an alluring church. Even the Stations of the Cross were paintings, although we had to figure out which station we were.

When we left the church, the guards already closed the entrance yet there was still a crowd outside, doing their prayers, but were not allowed inside anymore.  We just entered the church at the nick of time.

There were thousands of people walking in Mendiola as well, most likely they came from St. Jude and the others from San Sebastian and maybe the others preparing for the procession in Quiapo. I never imagined Holy Week to be this lively.  

Sa totoo lang, with our politician-leaders betraying us and letting us down - again and again - with their all too human frailties - sa Diyos na lang talaga kakapit ang karaniwang tao!

Our Very Own San Sebastian Church - As Stunning as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Anyone who has been inside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris can surely say that our very own San Sebastian Church has some similarities.  Well, we don't have the famous flying buttresses of the Notre Dame, but once you get inside San Sebastian, with the very effective night lighting the priests placed there, para akong natransport sa scene ng The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Nga nga in other words!

It looked very Gothic to me and I felt I was Esmeralda mesmerized by the grandeur of the church inside.  Yun lang nga, magulo sa loob ng church because many people were coming in and out, doing their prayers and religious obligations.

I guess most of the people who were there last night go to this church every Sunday so wiz effect na sa kanila ang grandeur ng church na eto but for people like me who only visit this place once in a while (this is my 3rd visit, one was a wedding), nganga talaga!

Tamang tama lang ang timpla nila sa lighting, bringing to great effect the beautiful architecture you can see above.  Solemn ang dating although parang palengke sa baba.  People were not noisy naman but there was a lot of movement - coming in - coming out - paying their respects to the suffering of Jesus Christ.

Add to that the cacophony of Tagalog and English as people did their stations of the cross.  I was also very happy to see a lot of young Catholics doing their Holy Week obligations!  I wasn't that religious when I was young - I mean I never really went on Visita Iglesias, preferring to avoid the summer heat in the comfort of my home - enjoying the silence that the Holy Week offers.

If you saw the sea of humanity in the San Sebastian Church quadrangle last night, you'd wish that this religious fervor would translate into an urgency among Filipinos, especially our youth, to vote for leaders who really care about us, hindi lang pakitang tao.

UST: A Must Visit in Any Visita Iglesia

Pwede ba namang di isama ang Pontifical University of Asia sa Visita Iglesia e parte na ng heritage natin ang UST although most of us never really get to study there. I admit that I was jealous that the school got the opportunity to host Pope Frances, pero ganun talaga e, pontifical university sila e - although I don't know clearly what that really means.

As usual, sea of humanity din ang sumalubong sa amin, and good thing lang talaga na there's always a parking space na nababakante everytime we arrive in a new church.

As I said nga, parking is becoming a major problem sa annual Visita Iglesia - a sign na unti-unti nang nagkakakotse ang madlang pipol of the Philippines!

The crowd here lang, as expected are the youth majority. We took the liberty of taking pictures around the campus before going into the church to do our religious obligations.

In fairness talaga, the old buildings in the campus can rival the ones you see in Europe. I just really hope pina-earthquake proof na nila ang mga old buildings nila kasi it would be such a shame if masira lang sya ng earthquake. And of course, the human casualties nun, especially if the earthquake happens during school hours!