Visita Iglesia 2025 (part 2)

After a quick lunch at a Chinese restaurant in the Banawe area, our 5th church was the National Shrine of our Lady of Lourdes in NS Amoranto corner Kanlaon Street. It houses the miraculous and celebrated image of the Our Lady of Lourdes under the care of the Franciscan Capuchins.

The next stop was the Basilica Minore of San Pedro Bautista in the San Francisco del Monte district. It is the oldest Catholic church (founded in 1590) in Quezon City and was declared an important cultural property by the National Musuem in September 2017. The church is dedicated to Saint Pedro Bautista who was a Spanish missionary from Avila, Spain. Part of the 4th batch of the Franciscan order missionaries who arrived in the Philippines, he worked here for 9 years in local communities, building schools, teaching pupils and propagating Christianity. Unfortunately, he was one of the 26 Christians who were martyred in Japan in 1597. 

We were fortunate enough that Manang Mayet, a lady who serves at the church toured us around the museum, showed us the cave where San Pedro Bautista prayed and the deep wells that are part of this historically important edifice of worship.  It was a fascinating discovery and I'm glad I included it in our itinerary for Visita Iglesia 2025.

Our 7th stop - the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao was erected in 1950 in a place that used to be rice paddies. It is the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Cubao. It is a beautiful structure in the crossroad of small streets with no alloted parking spaces. Our final stop where we also heard the 5:30 PM Mass. I prayed for my peace of mind amidst my anguish, despair and broken heartedness. May Lord have mercy! 

Visita Iglesia 2025 (part 1)

It's ironic that when I was looking for 7 churches to visit for this year's Visita Iglesia during Maundy Thursday, I picked Quezon City as our focal point. We lived in QC for almost 15 years but now that we are based in the Mandaluyong area, we 'returned' to QC to set foot in 7 churches which we visited for the first time in our lives.

Visita Iglesia is the Holy Week tradition of visiting 7 or 14 churches to pray the 14 stations of the Cross which depicts the passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. These intricate stained glass or wooden tableau of the Stations of the Cross are located within the church but during Holy Week, they are situated outside the Church for wider space and more crowd control purposes.

First stop was the St. Ignatius of Loyola Cathedral inside Camp Aguinaldo. Closest entrance to the church is at Gate 3 of the military base of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. St. Ignatius was 17 years old when he started his military career during the Spanish - Italian war of 1521-1526. He is the patron saint of soldiers and the founder of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits order. 

My first time to enter Camp Aguinaldo so we explored the area that is accessible to the public under the warm, blazing summer sun.

Second stop was the Christ the King Parish Church in Greenmeadows is one of the 'richer' parishes in QC, given that it is located near the posh White Plains, Greenmeadows and the Corinthian Gardens subdivisions. It has a wide parking space thus a long queue to enter so we chose to park at the first available slot on the street for easy mobility.

Our third Church was the Real Monasterio de Santa Clara de Manila located in Katipunan Avenue is famous for the offering of eggs to St. Claire for good weather. Mostly by couples who hope that it would not rain during their wedding day especially if it is an outdoor event. But any prayer intentions/ petitions are also welcomed. It is a small enclave with just a few parking slots, an open area with tables and chairs to write your petitions with a pencil on a provided piece of paper. A counter where you drop off your petitions and donate the eggs. The main church is airy with large ceiling fans for proper ventilation.

Different colors represent different petitions such as good health,
for good luck, love life, work related, as well as financial gains.

The 4th stop was at The Church of the Gesu inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus. A sight to behold due to its stunning architecture, both inside and outside, located in a sprawling area with tree lined streets and lush foliage.

Cautionary tale

April 9, 2025 the nation commemorates the Day of Valor or Araw ng Kagitingan so it is a public holiday.

Takeout lunch from Amber’s na pancit malabon, fried lumpiang shanghai, cheese pichi pichi and buchi got me so full and satisfied my cravings.

5:30 PM I decided to go for an hour walk around the neighborhood. Streets are well paved, wide pavements, certain sections are breezy, over all it is a pleasant workout session. 

After dinner, around 8:45 PM I was putting away grocery items. As I reached for a paper bag containing Baygon insecticide canister and Colgate mouthwash, the paper bag broke loose and the canister fell full force on my right foot big toe! The nail instantly blackened, and a sharp shooting pain ensued, I was not able to walk, put an ice pack on my throbbing toe and took biogesic (paracetamol) for the pain. But I couldn’t sleep the entire night.

The next day I decided to go to the ER because the pain was really intense.

They administered two anti tetanus injection shots on both shoulders, an IV pain reliever. They also x-rayed my foot. No fracture nor dislocation was found. 3 Ortho residents said their course of action involves a procedure where they will surgically remove my toe nail, drain the fluid/ blood to reduce the swelling, suture the flesh then return the nail so it can grow back in its natural state. All to be performed at the ER, with anesthesia, no need to be admitted. 

I almost fainted at the thought but agreed since they are the experts, not me. 

Yet after waiting in agony at the prospect of being cut open inside a curtained ER bed, the residents came back and told me they won’t proceed with the ‘surgery’ and discharged me with proper instructions on how to deal with my subungual hematoma right foot big toe.

I was given antibiotics for a week, told to consult an orthopedic surgeon within 48 hours, use an ice pack for 20 minutes three times a day and 24 hours bed rest. 

Such is life, I will charge it to experience, stubbornness and whatever else is causing my streak of negative energy, since this year 2025 started.