BYAHILO’s Visita Iglesia for the Holy Week Season 2008

Many of our fellow Catholic Filipinos would probably practice one of the country’s unique Holy Week traditions: The Visita Iglesia. Visita Iglesia is a Spanish term which roughly means church visit.

According to tradition, Visita Iglesia is normally done on the night of Holy Thursday. But there is also no specific rule which prohibits anyone from doing it at anytime of the year. The passed-on tradition, furthermore dictates that in doing the Visita Iglesia one should visit seven churches. In each of the churches that you visit, one should reflect on one of the seven last words of Jesus Christ and do some prayer.

Most of the time the seven churches being picked are based on the proximity to each other. This year, my Visita Iglesia picked churches may not really be due it its proximity to each other but more importantly its historical significance and beauty.

My first pick for this year’s Visita Iglesia is the Church of Santa Cruz in Manila.

Built in 1608 as a parish to the ever growing Chinese Community in Manila who has converted into the Catholic faith. The church was built be the Jesuits congregation but was later handled by the Dominicans after they (the Jesuits) were expelled from the Philippines.

The church was built using the Baroque architecture. But what really is striking is its single belfry with touches of Asian influence. The Santa Cruz Church Bell Tower is octagonal in shape. According to the Chinese beliefs number eight symbolizes positive energy or good luck. One would also notice that its girth starts to decrease in size from bottom to top, very typical of the Chinese and Japanese temple designs.

WHY I PICKED THIS CHURCH?

There are several reasons why I picked Santa Cruz Church in this year’s Visita Iglesia. First is its accessibility. One can easily go to this church by taking the LRT train and alighting at the Carriedo train station. The church is just a few meters away from the station. No need to take tricycle or pedicabs. Just walk.

Another reason why I included Santa Cruz Church is because the first ever photograph of mine to see print has the belfry of Santa Cruz Church featured in it. It was published on the maiden issue of Marie Claire Philippines.