After we finished visiting the seventh church, we immediately proceeded to the next one. It was still past 10:00 A.M. at that time, but my stomach was already grumbling at me. That's why when we went back inside the bus, I ate a little snack—yes, a little—not knowing that would be my regret later on. Last sharing, I stopped at the seventh church, so for today I'll proceed to the eighth one, and that would be no other than my hometown's church, the Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
I already shared this church on several blogs here about my Sunday ventures because that's where we usually attend mass. Our church is lovely, and what makes it more beautiful is the recent completion of the ceiling paintings. If I remembered correctly—the official first unraveling of it was just this month's third Sunday. We attended the mass for its blessings, so I somehow didn't forget it too soon. The ceiling paintings are detailed, and I definitely like the art style that the artists used.
I've witnessed the progress of the painting, so I can really say that the artists worked hard to make such a masterpiece. Since our parish is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary—most of the paintings there feature the important events in Mary's life. I tried to take pictures of its beauty, but no matter the adjustments I make, I just can't capture it, so I'm just gonna share this picture from our parish's FB page.
In case you wanted to see more of it, you can click this, and you'll be directed to the post that featured the ceiling paintings.
Enough with our parish, let's move on to the next one, which will be the Parish and Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi in Naga. I also visited this parish many times since my school is just near it. Unlike our parish, this parish looks older and simpler, yet there's a certain feeling of familiarity I felt from it way back the first time I visited it. When we visited it last Saturday, there was an ongoing wedding ceremony, so I quite hesitated whether I should come in or just pray at its grotto.
Anyway, since my fellow pilgrims had already gotten inside to pray, I just followed them. There are a lot of people inside, and honestly, they're quite noisy and distracting. By the time I finished praying, the wedding was done, and they were doing their photo op. Since the altar part is used, we decided to do our group pic near its doorway.
Then comes the longest time we stayed inside the bus, and it's when we travelled from Naga to Toledo, and that's the time I regret eating a little and not buying anything to eat when I'm still in my hometown because we sat for a long time there. It's almost 2 hours of sitting, and if Father wasn't preaching something that time, I would have stood and walked around the bus—which I also doubt I can because the roads were so rough and bumpy. We didn't take the highways, so that's expected, but what I didn't expect is how long it took.
It was past noon when we arrived at the Parish and Archdiocesan Shrine of St. John of Sahagun. My head was fuzzy, and by the time I finished praying, there were already tiny buzzing sounds in my ear. I haven't got a decent picture because there are a lot of people inside the church. It turned out there's a mass for a burial, and even though it hasn't started yet, the church is pretty cramped. The dead is already present at the front, so I somehow hesitated if I should take some pictures (which I did anyway—but of course I didn't include the casket!).
Thankfully, we took our lunch after visiting that church and after our well-deserved lunch, we then went to the next church in line, and that was the Parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Balamban. Coincidentally, like St. Francis of Assisi in Naga, there's also a wedding ceremony there. However, it just ended, so we were able to pray in peace. After praying, I gaze around the church and see how wide it is.
It was spacious there and beautiful stained glass decorated both of its sides. Father warned us that the next bus route would be long, so a lot of us decided to make a quick C.R. trip. Their C.R. was really far from the church, and we hadn't asked for directions; we could've ended up lost. By the time we got out of it, another wedding ceremony was about to begin, and I guess that would be the final for that day.
The next church we visited is the Santa Lucia Parish. Unlike the previous pilgrim churches I visited, this one is much smaller. However, behind this small church hides a bigger story and even a miracle! It is said that the water from this church can cure illnesses and disorders, especially those that involve eye problems.
The healing power of their waters is attributed to Santa Lucia, their patron saint and the known patron saint of the blind and those with eye problems. Before we arrived to its church, Father told us her story. St. Lucia is said to be a beautiful woman, and because of her beauty, a lot of men admired and even desired her. That's why to turned off those men; she gouged her own eyes to remain chaste and avoid any pagan marriage.
True enough, when I arrived inside the church, what immediately grabbed my attention was the stained glass at the top of its doorway featuring Saint Lucia holding a plate with her eyeballs. It's a beautiful piece, yet I kinda felt sad looking at it because I can't imagine how painful it was for her. After praying, we went to her grotto at the back of the church, and that's where we asked for the said miraculous waters. By the time we head back to our bus, all of us are already carrying water bottles—and the next stop is the Parish and Archdiocesan Shrine of San Antonio De Padua.
I guess Saturday is really a day for weddings because the moment we arrived at that church there was also a wedding ceremony in it. The style of interior was kinda similar to our parish, but the ceilings are far higher, plus there are no ceiling paintings on it. The church was spacious, and the altar painting was also lovely.
Father again warned us that the next bus route will be long and so again we went to C.R. to relieve ourselves. It's past 3:00 P.M. that time, and slowly I'm feeling a little tired. However, since that church is already the second to the last, I mustered all the energy I had and proceeded to the next one, which will be the last pilgrim church in our list.
I didn't expect that it would take more than 2 hours for us to arrive at the last church. We went inside the bus with the sun glaring at us, but when we went out, the sun had already set.
It was almost 6:00 in the evening when we arrived at the Parish and Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa De Lima in Daanbantayan. The church looks really old, and although there are some signs that it has been repaired, it still hasn't changed its structure and facade, which I think were ones of the most unforgettable features of this church.
It was said erected way back in 1886, so I guess they really did well in preserving it. The church was eerily quiet, save for the choir, who were practicing. The interior of the church was simple, yet despite that, it was memorable because it's probably the oldest-looking church I visited.
After visiting the last pilgrim church, I thought we would finally go home, but I was mistaken. We again stopped over at some place, but that time it was a resort where Father did the anointing of the sick and also a short mass after that. I was undeniably tired yet thankful after. The experience of visiting 14 churches in one day was something I didn't expect we would accomplish.
Like I've shared, I doubted if we could pull such a feat, especially with some churches that are really far. But I guess, like Father said—if God wills it, it will happen. There are a lot of things that happened during our trip—the father's speaker suddenly smoked while he was preaching, we turned the wrong way a couple of times, our bus almost didn't fit inside the small street, then the most memorable of them all is that a mentally challenged woman got into one of our buses. Yes—it's not the perfect trip, yet I'm glad we completed it.
And that would be all for now! Thanks for being with me till the end, and hopefully, I can experience more enriching trips such as this pilgrimage in the future.
All of the pictures are taken by yours truly, ridgette, unless it has a source. The first picture, on the other hand, was edited in Canva.