Visita Iglesia: Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (Santa Cruz, Manila)

It was 12 years ago when I did a virtual Visita Iglesia of Santa Cruz Church in Manila. For that many years I witnessed this church change from white to brown-orange then back to immaculate white. Spiritually, this church grew from a simple parish in Santa Cruz to minor basilica dedicate to Our Lady of the Pillar.

I am always drawn to this church simply because this is the only church that I encountered having Blessed Sacrament displayed upon the altar almost whole day every day. Praying directly to Jesus, in His mystical form of Holy Bread, is the closest we have to conversing to Jesus face-to-face. And I took advantage of that in Santa Cruz Church almost each time I go to the City of Manila.

Holy Eucharist at the altar of Santa Cruz Church

The exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, which is the flesh of Jesus, is the charism of the Sacramentinos who administer this church. This religious society, known officially as Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, focuses on promoting Jesus in the Eucharist. They do this by Eucharistic Adoration in their churches.

The Congregation was founded by a French priest Saint Julian Eymard, who felt an overwhelming love for Jesus Christ in the Eucharist while holding the Blessed Sacrament during a Corpus Christi procession. This experience led him to profess the love of Jesus through the Blessed Sacrament. Thus, the Holy Eucharist became the center of the religious life of the Sacramentinos.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard, founder of the Order of the Blessed Sacrament.

The Sacramentinos were assigned by the Manila Archbishop to manage Santa Cruz Church in 1957. Saint Peter Julian Eymard was established as the secondary patron of the church in 1984. His image stands at one side of the altar. On the other side is the most revered image of Santa Cruz’s primary patron: Nuestra Señora del Pilar or Our Lady of the Pillar.

Nuestra Señora del Pilar

The devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar was introduced by the original caretaker of Santa Cruz, Church: the Jesuits. The image of Our Lady of the Pillar was enshrined by the Jesuits in Santa Cruz in 1643.

The started Santa Cruz Church as a simple stone and wood church in 1619 to minister to the Chinese immigrants living in Santa Cruz area. It was the Chinese who built the church, thus this is one of the heritage churches by the Filipino-Chinese Catholics like the Binondo Church located at the other end of Ongpin Street.

The devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar originates to the earliest apparition of Mama Mary. It is believed that Mama Mary appeared to Saint James the Apostle when is having difficulty in converting pagans in  Spain. Mama Mary and many angels appeared to Saint James to motivate him and his disciples. This is the first case of bilocation since she is still alive in Jerusalem 

The altar of the church was temporarily changed during the elevation of the church into a minor basilica.

The temporary altar looks grand but the real altar is much simpler. It is meant to honor our Holy Mother during the special occassion. The Sacarmentinos and devotees worked hard for their church to receive the recognition from Pope Francis as minor basilica.

Speaking of Pope Francis, I distinctly remember Santa Cruz Church as the church where I learned about his death. It was afternoon and the bells of Santa Cruz Church is tolling. There was a pig tarpaulin photo of Pope Francis at the side of the altar. I wonder why but I am thinking that maybe the Pope is dead because. And it was true. Pope Francis has just died.

The altar of Santa Cruz Church features the image of the lamb standing on a spring. The water from the spring flows down to the tabernacle indicating that the life-giving water comes from Jesus. The Holy Table features two angels holding the symbol of the Virgin Mary. This definitely shows the honor that the Sacramentinos give to the Holy Mother.

Aside from Our Lady of the Pillar, the Sacramentinos also honor Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

They also honor Our Lady of Deliverance, Empress of China Dong-Lu. This reflects the roots of Santa Cruz Church as the church built for the conversion of Chinese immigrants living in Santa Cruz.

During the Boxer Rebellion, soldiers attacked the Chinese village of Dong-lu because it has a small community of Christians. Our Lady of Deliverance appeared with a "fiery horseman" and drove the soldiers away thus saving the Christians and the whole village.

Santa Cruz Church is one of the two churches that I frequented whenever I am in Manila. I always find this church a good place for prayers, especially when the Blessed Eucharist is at the altar.

This church may change its facade, be raised to another level of recognition but its mission remains the same throughout all these centuries. That mission is to bring people closer to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

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Visita Iglesia is the Filipino tradition of visiting churches during the Holy Week. This virtual Visita Iglesia is my own tradition wherein I post about one church each day of the Holy Week.

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References

1. Manila’s Sta. Cruz Church now a minor basilica in CBCP News

2. Saint Peter Julian Eymard in Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament Province of Saint Ann

3. Sta. Cruz Community in Blessed Sacrament Philippines

Visita Iglesia: Caleruega’s Transfiguration Chapel (Nasugbu, Batangas)

From a church in San Mateo, Rizal that has a red brick facade let us now do a virtual Visita Iglesia to a famous chapel in Nasugbu, Batangas that stands out because of its red brick walls. This chapel is popularly known as the best church for weddings in Nasugbu: the Transfiguration Chapel a.k.a. Caleruega Church.

Our family visited this church on a whim enroute home from a beach outing in Calayo, Nasugbu. It is on our way, so why not visit this church, right? Turns out that it was a good decision for us because our visit to Caleruega became a memorable part of our family trip.

Caleruega is not just a church but a spiritual retreat center for the Dominicans. The center’s motto is “closer to nature, closer to God” as the lush scenery of Batulao Mountain Range gives the priests a good place for meditation and contemplation. This lush scenery gave our children a chance to experience nature.

Our first stop was the Dominicum, which I thought was already the Transfiguration Chapel. I was wrong because it is just a retreat house.

What I noticed immediately at the Dominicum are the pineapples on its facade. I wonder why they placed pineapples there? Is it because this part of Nasugbu has pineapple plantations?

Inside the Dominicum is the beautiful replica of Our Lady of Manaoag.

The image of our lady is present in Caleruaga because her basilica in Manaoag, Bulacan is under the care of the Dominicans.

I guess Our Lady of Manaoag is telling me to also visit her in Manaoag.

The Dominicum also features Saint Dominic, who is the founder of the Dominican Order. His relic is also on display.

Saint Dominic is called “de Caleruega” because the small town of Caleruega in Spain is his place of birth.

According to Shoestring Diary, the Caleruega Retreat Center was established in 1994. It was developed with as minimal disturbance to the environment as possible. In fact, the designer of this retreat center, Arch. Yolanda D. Reyes, was awarded with the 1996 Design Awards in Architecture for her “graceful blending of man-made structures with the natural curves preserved through careful architectural handling and biotecture planning”.

We walked around the Caleruega Retreat Center before climbing up to the Transfiguration Chapel. We looked at images of the saints amidst the greenery.

Our kids experienced crossing the hanging bridge with much fear and trembling. My wife and daughter enjoyed the beautiful flowers planted around the retreat center.

Climbing up to the Transfiguration Chapel is difficult and a little bit exhausting because we walked up through a steep set of stairs dubbed as the Dominican Steps. My kids are as energetic as ever because they bet on who can reach the chapel first. They were up the stairs in no time! It is enviable to be a kid sometimes.

My exhaustion was blown away when I saw the Transfiguration Chapel.

The red brick walls really made the chapel stand out from the surrounding greens.

The Transfiguration Chapel is of Spanish-Moorish design as can be seen in its use of horseshoe arch on the doors, facade, and windows.

Unfortunately there was a wedding during our visit so I was not able to explore inside the chapel. It is difficult to explore this chapel peacefully because it is one of the popular churches for weddings.

I think the name “transfiguration” is apt for this chapel. Just like the apostles who experienced the transfiguration of Jesus up on a hill, the bride and groom in this chapel experienced similar transfiguration in front of the altar. They are “transfigured” from two separate persons into one body after their wedding ceremony.

Our visit to Caleruega Retreat Center and its Transfiguration Chapel was a good sidetrip. It allowed us to experience God in the nature that He created and also with the beautiful chapel that draws hundreds of pilgrims every year.

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Visita Iglesia is the Filipino tradition of visiting churches during the Holy Week. This virtual Visita Iglesia is my own tradition wherein I post about one church each day of the Holy Week.

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References

1. St. Dominic of Guzman, Priest, Founder of the Order of Preachers in Vatican News

2. Caleruega Church and the Scenic Views of Mt. Batulao in The Shoestring Diaries