Skip to main content

Visita Iglesia in Capiz

Visita Iglesia (church visit) is a Catholic Lenten tradition which is widely practiced in the Philippines. The faithful may choose to visit 7 or 14 churches on Maundy Thursday after the Mass of the Last Supper or on Good Friday and follow the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross). The Via Crucis consists of 14 Stations which traces the journey of Jesus Christ to his crucifixion and death.

Here is a pictorial guide to seven churches + one Mission Station for your Visita Iglesia in Capiz. 

Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Roxas City
The Cathedral sits in the heart of the cultural heritage sites of Roxas City. The current structure is from a reconstruction in 1954. This is a good place to start your Visita Iglesia.
Here are the prayers for the Stations of the Cross: https://www.catholic.org/prayers/station.php?id=15

Santa Monica Church, Pan-ay
The original church in Pan-ay was first established in 1774. A typhoon in 1875 devastated the church. It wasn’t until 1884 that it was reconstructed in the colonial Baroque style. The walls are made of coral blocks and are three meters thick (about 9.84 feet). Renovations have been made to the roof and belfry in recent years due to the ravages it has suffered from termites and the passage of time. It was once again devastated by typhoon Yolanda in 2013 but has now been repaired. Santa Monica is a National Historical Landmark. There are public vans (PUV) that go to Pan-ay from Roxas City.

Retablo, Santa Monica Church
This is one of two wooden retablos in the church. Note the intricate carving. Over a century old, these retablos are often overlooked by visitors. 

St. Tomas de Villanueva Church, Dao
The 150-year old façade of St. Tomas de Villanueva is made of coral sandstone capped by a pediment. Note how the thick walls create deep recesses that lead to arched doors and geometrical windows. The Church was built by the Augustinian Congregation during the Spanish colonial period. Dao is a 45-minute ride from Roxas City.

St. Martin de Tours, Dumalag
The moss covered buttresses, bell tower and walls of St. Martin de Tours are all that remain of the original façade after an earthquake in 1948. The original structure is from 1833 and is made of yellow sandstone. Every level of the five-storey bell tower has a bell of varying sizes made in 1881.

Main Altar, St. Martin de Tours

Our Lady of the Snows, Dumarao
Nuestra Señora de las Nieves was razed by fire in 2009. The pink façade and belfry that dates back to 1728 are all that remain of the original structure. 

Santa Catalina, Mambusao

Main Altar, Santa Catalina
The windows of the painted dome illuminate the interior of Santa Catalina Church. Mambusao is reached by buses and PUVs from Punta Dulog Bus Terminal in Roxas City.

Meditation Hills Healing Chapel, Maninang, Sapian
Praying or meditating is easier when surrounded by the lush hills of Sapian. Climbing to the top of the hill to pray at the Cross that overlooks the countryside can only add to the religious experience.

Meditation Hills
Beautifully landscaped grounds of Meditation Hills is a nice respite from the bustle of the city. Sapian is easily reached by PUVs from Roxas City.

Padre Pio Mission Station in Gabuan, Roxas City is especially beautiful at sunset. I heard an intriguing story about how it’s bell was dug up from the shores of Dumolog, a neighboring sitio.

For more information about Capiz, please check out Capiz Tourism.
See you soon in Capiz.

*****

Images by TravelswithCharie


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Filipino Struggles in History - Carlos Botong Francisco

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called  Kasaysayan ng Maynila  (History of Manila).  The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and

The Art of Carlos Botong Francisco - Progress of Medicine in the Philippines

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by  Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with   Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was

8 Heritage Houses of Iloilo

Lizares Mansion The province of Iloilo on the island of Panay has a rich trove of heritage houses, left over from the sugar industry boom in the 19th century. Iloilo also had the largest port in the Philippines at that time which facilitated the export of sugar to foreign shores and deposited money in the hands of the sugar barons. The barons dropped their earnings into the acquisition of properties in Negros and the construction of beautiful homes in Iloilo, many of which are located in the vicinity of the Jaro Cathedral. The Lizares Mansion was built in 1937 by Don Emiliano Lizares for his wife, Concepcion Gamboa and five children. The family fled to safety when World War II broke out and the house was occupied by the Japanese military. The family returned to the house after the war but left once again after the demise of Don Emiliano. It was sold to the Dominican order in the 1960s and was converted in 1978 to a private school, Angelicum School. The mansion now houses the