This year’s Lenten Season is a memorable one after two years of strict COVID-19 lockdowns in the country. Aside from the face-to-face Palm Sunday and Triduum Mass celebrations at the Diocesan Shrine of the Our Lady of the Abandoned, more than twenty Community members embarked on a the very first Community Pilgrimage last April 10, 2022. The following churches in Laguna and Batangas were visited: San Sebastian the Martyr Parish, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Immaculate Concepcion Church, National Shrine of St. Anthony de Padua of Pila, Laguna, Saint Augustine Church, and National Shrine of St. Padre Pio.
About the churches: San Sebastian the Martyr Parish – the stone church of Lumban was finished in 1600 and it became the first stone church in Laguna and the first Franciscan building outside Manila made of stone; Our Lady of Guadalupe Church – home to the patroness of Pagsanjan, the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was a gift from Mexico and the church is considered the oldest in the Philippines under the patronage; Immaculate Concepcion Church – the church was originally constructed of stone in 1608 but was utterly destroyed by fire during the Battle of the Philippines in 1945 and was reconstructed in 1948; National Shrine of St. Anthony de Padua – the church of Pila, Laguna was dedicated on July 9, 2002; Saint Augustine Church – founded in 1571, it is considered as the oldest Roman Catholic church in Laguna; and National Shrine of St. Padre Pio – the church received 2 important relics of Saint Padre Pio in 2010 and declared as one of the pilgrimage churches of the Archdiocese of Lipa during its Centennial Year.
What is your most favorite or memorable church from a pilgrimage experience? Share it the comment box below!
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