Ibang Lakad Ito

Many years ago, I was appointed as head of the Media Board of the Dominican Province of the Philippines. The Media Board plans and implements projects and programs related to the media apostolate. Among our programs is the “Siete Palabras” (The Seven Last Words) which is aired live on television every Good Friday from Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City. Occasionally, we also come up with special programs for television. Sometime in the early part of year 2000, we came up with a television special for Holy Thursday entitled “Ibang Lakad Ito” (roughly translated in English as “A Different Journey”). The idea of this television special is to take the audience on a “Visita Iglesia” (or visit to churches) with side trips near the location of the churches. We chose several churches in the provinces of Laguna and Batangas for this Holy Thursday TV Special.

In Majayjay Laguna, we visited St. Gregory the Great Parish Church, one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in the Philippines. It is recognized by the National Museum as a National Cultural Treasure. A side trip after visiting the old stone church is a waterfalls, a few minutes’ drive away. There were campers with their tents around the waterfalls area and along the stream. It was a refreshing site to visit after a long drive from Manila.

Santa Maria Magdalena Parish Church is another old stone church in the municipality of Magdalena, Laguna under the diocese of San Pablo. The Baroque church is elevated by a flight of steps facing a plaza. It is mainly made out of sandstone. To its left is a four story octagonal bell tower with a square base. In this town, one can still see women washing clothes or children bathing in the streams.

Another church that we visited in Laguna was the Saint James the Apostle Parish Church in Paete, Laguna. It is also known as Santiago Apostol Parish Church, Saint James the Great Parish Church or commonly known as Paete Church. It is the only Roman Catholic Church in Paete, Laguna. The church is known for its huge and exquisite collection of images depicting the Passion of Christ, its century-old paintings and wooden images of saints (or poon). Paete is famous for its wood carvings not only in Laguna, but in the Philippines. And so we visited one of the shops of a wood carver and asked him to demonstrate how carving wooden images is done.

The San Sebastian Parish Church, informally known as Lumban Church, is the only Roman Catholic Church in Lumban, Laguna. Lumban is the home of Lake Caliraya, a man-made lake often visited by nature lovers and sports people. Lumban is one of Laguna’s oldest towns and is known as the “Embroidery Capital of the Philippines”. Fine Jusi and Piña cloth are embroidered by hand, the finished product is worn by males as Barong Tagalog and Saya (Filipiñana) by females, and it is also being exported.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian, commonly known as the Lipa Cathedral, is a Romanesque church in Lipa, Batangas. The cathedral serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Lipa. The Cathedral was chosen as the seat of the then Diocese of Lipa in 1910. In the city of Lipa is a wellness resort known as The Farm at San Benito. This healing sanctuary in the foothills of Mount Malarayat delivers the latest medical services alongside luxurious spa treatments and gourmet raw cuisine.

The Taal Basilica canonically known as the Minor Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours is in the town of Taal, Batangas, within the Archdiocese of Lipa. It is considered to be the largest church in the Philippines and in Asia. Nearby is a place called Balisong, where fan blade knives are made, and for which Batangas is known. It is also near Taal Lake, where the world famous Taal Volcano is located.

The last church that we visited and the end of our Visita Iglesia is the Transfiguration Chapel in Caleruega, a retreat center of the Dominicans in Nasugbu, Batangas. Its beautiful garden, Spanish inspired villas and the majestic view of the sunset behind Mount Batulao, makes it a favorite weekend destination of tourists from Metro Manila and nearby provinces.