September 25, 2019: Five old Churches in Bataan

For my first post in this brand new year, I shall blog about a subject close to my heart: Old Churches or churches in general. It was mid September when the hubby blurted out "Let's go to Las Casas for my birthday" (September 28). This resort which features replicas of old houses reminiscent of our glorious past, a walk down history lane is located in the town of Bagac in Bataan. A province that is about 4 -5  hours drive from Metro Manila.

As with all of our road trips, it is a must we visit the old churches during our road trip. We were in luck as the 5 oldest churches in Bataan were situated along the National Highway on our route to Bagac, Bataan.

(1)  Our first stop after driving for almost 2 hours on the wide lanes of the NLEX (North Luzon Expressway), the traffic free & lovely view of the mountains on the SCTEX (Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway), and the mostly jeepneys & tricycles moderate traffic on Roman Super Highway (National Road) - Saint Peter of Verona Church (260 years old) Hermosa, Bataan.

It was a hot, sunny day! Here I am still fresh
looking, because it's still the early part of our road trip

(2) Just 15 minutes away is the Virgen Milagrosa del Rosario Church (306 years) in Orani, Bataan. It is in an enclosed area so we parked across it, in the area of the Municipal building of Orani. It was closed when we arrived as some wedding organizer was preparing inside but eventually it was open for the public.

Facade of the Church taken from across the street

Intricate carving on one of the main doors

(3) St. Catherine of Siena Parish (420 years) in Samal off the main road. With the help of Waze, it led us to a residential area. We parked on a side street and walked to the church. A few steps away, right in front of the ancient parish, there were many students engaged in some loud school event but the Church itself was closed. The good thing about traveling in the provinces is people are very accommodating. We talked to someone in the parish office, they allowed us to enter the Church through a side door. The facade is quite old but the interiors were perhaps renovated & not as old.

(4) Next in my list is the oldest church in the province of Bataan. Waze, though led us to a vacant lot along the National Highway. I believe we asked 4 to 6 people who all led us to different locations LOL. Then we asked a traffic enforcer and he kindly pointed us to the Santo Dominic de Guzman Church (428 years) in Abucay. It has a small parking area but the church was closed perhaps it was lunch time. Passing by a side door, we found a caretaker who graciously let us in for a few minutes so we could pray.

(5) The area within the St. Joseph Cathedral (302 years) in Balanga was closed. We had to circle several times, for a suitable parking slot. So we decided to have lunch at the nearby Max's Restaurant so we could park in their premises. We had chicken, as usual then made a quick hop over to the Cathedral which was just a few steps away. I have to mention though that the chicken at that particular Max's Restaurant looked and tasted very different from the ones we have here in the metropolis. It did not taste bad but its texture was more like the fried chicken one would normally eat at a Chinese restaurant. Strange! LOL

To end: Let us all continue to pray for the people residing in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna & Rizal - massive devastation, total destruction from Taal Volcano's wrath. Even here in Quezon City, there is a thin layer of ash fall covering our car which unfortunately doesn't have a garage and is merely parked on the street, near our apartment. But, yes this is nothing compared to those directly and deeply affected from the raging & powerful volcanic eruption.

May God have mercy on us. Amen!