Visita Iglesia 2017 of Churches within Parañaque City

It was Maundy Thursday  when we decided to visit some churches within Parañaque City , Las Piñas and Pasay area within a few short days.

Left around 5:00 am in our home and traffic was quite smooth from Fairview and Novaliches area until a major road repair along EDSA- Magallanes area to Malibay , Pasay halted the buses , jeepneys to almost a crawl . I was stuck to almost standstill for more than 1 hour and arrived almost 7:45 am at the Baclaran church. The 2 hour and 45 minute traffic is still short compared to 3 hours to almost 3 1/2 hours in ordinary days.

Baclaran church

There were a lot of devotees and people taking photos around the church compound. We were also lucky to go inside the main altar took a few snap shots. Before we went to another smaller parish just a few minutes away. Baclaran church had their own website and is open 24 hours . Baclaran Church is known as National Shrine of the Mother of Perpetual Help.

main altar

iron works of the our lady of perpetual help

side chapel

latin inscription 

History :

The present church building is the third built on the site in Baclaran. The first was a small wooden structure dating back to 1932 when the Redemptorists moved into Baclaran. It was in this small church that the first novena was conducted by Fr. Leo English on June 23, 1948. By the end of 1949 the novena had grown to eight sessions with about 60,000 people attending. To meet this demand the church was extended to double capacity by Frs. Taylor and English. This was the second building.

the third building, the present National Shrine, was begun in December 1952. The cornerstone was laid by Cardinal Gilroy of Sydney on January 11th 1953 and it was conseｬcrated on Dec. pt 1958 by Archbishop Rufino Santos, assisted by Bp. Antiporda and Bp. Shanley O.CD.. The solemn opening and inauguration took place a few days later on Dec. 5, 1958 by the same Archbishop Rufino Santos, accompanied by Cardinal Agagianian and other bishop.

Santa Rita de Cascia Parish

This is just located a few meters away from Baclaran church , a short walk from the church , this also serves a a border between Maricaban , Pasay and Parañaque.

Saint Rita of Cascia Parochial School

There is a parochial school beside the parish church. Saint Rita of Cascia  died on May 22 at Cascia, and many miracles were reported instantly. Canonized in 1900, she is honored in Spain as La Santa de los Impossibles and elsewhere as a patron saint of hopeless causes.

Saint Rita of Cascia

One can offer sampaguita garlands or light a candle

Santa Rita of Cascia side entrance

There are smaller side chapels within the parish compound. The chapels can be rented for funerals.

main entrance

The main entrance boast of stained glass windows

The architecture is rather new and the bells beside the church is late 19th century. A larger hall is located within the compound.

Address : Quirino Avenue, Baclaran, Parañaque City, Metro Manila

Tel. Number s – +632832 1525; +6328323505,  Telefax: 853-063

United Methodist Church 

The United Methodist Church is located at 0199 Qurino Avenue, Barangay Tambo, Parañaque City. It is considered as one of the oldest Methodist churches within the city. This had a historical marker installed by then National Historical Institute now (NHCP )  in 1991.

National Historical Commission of the Philippines marker 1991

History :

The church was established in 1901 in Mabong, Pasay by the American Methodists Missionaries . It was subsequently transferred in Pildira, Pasay in 1915 and in its present location in 1917. The church premises suffered a major blow during World War II when it was hit by a bomb which claimed the lives of seventy-seven Filipinos. In 1950, the church was renovated through the help and generosity of the Philippine War Damages Commission and the Trinity of the United States.

Saint Joseph Parish of Tambo,  Parañaque City

Saint Joseph Parish of Tambo, Parañaque City is located at 223 Quirino Avenue – One can walk for about 20 minutes from Saint Rita of Cascia Parish or take 1 jeepney ride going to Tambo. The church facade had been recently renovated .

statues within the parish courtyard

History :

 According to the community and family friends that we met during the short Visita Iglesia . It was Belgian Catholic missionaries of the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae (CICM) from nearby Saint Andrew Parish of La Huerta helped planted the seeds of Catholicism in Tambo and by 1969, the barangay have its own Catholic parish named after St. Joseph, the Worker and Husband of Mary with Father Leonardo Marquez as its first parish priest.

Few years ago, the church had some renovation and the main facade was made bigger.

Telephone: +63(2)8528441, (632) 853-4446; 851-2380

San Dionisio Chapel facade made from adobe, bricks and cement. While there are some old acacia trees and palm growing within the outer courtyard of the chapel. The beams are supported by large wood with chandelier.

The main altar retablo  is made from hardwood and St. Dionysius or San Dionisio – local call the saint “Tata Dune” Home of the headless patron saint which is enshrined  at the center of the altar.  Tata Dune was a Bishop from France who was beheaded by his persecutors.

Barangay San Dionisio 

Barangay San Dionisio building was patterned after the facade of the chapel. The Barangay building is just located near the chapel.

local marker

Local marker was installed on May 19, 1990. Beside the chapel is a stage area where a yearly senakulo is staged.

people are refrain from making noise within the chapel premises

located in El Filibustermo Street  corner Quirino Avenue, San Dionisio ,  Parañaque City

Santa Monica Chapel -Don Galo ,Parañaque City

religious statues are covered with purple cloth to symbolized mourning period

Address: 619 Victor Medina Street , Don Galo ,Parañaque City

Barangay La Huerta arch and bridge 

We met some old -time residents of the place, They are quite gracious to tell us the way to Saint Andrew Cathedral . We passed the La Huerta arch and bridge, some old ancestral houses , a couple of eateries along the way.

mansion beside the river

This is a beautiful mansion beside the river with manicured garden and orchids which cling to the coconuts within the property.

Manuel Hernandez -Bernabe  historical marker

Biography 

Manuel H. Bernabe (1890-1960) “King of Balagtasan” in Spanish was a poet, linguist and politician, Manuel Bernabe was born on February 17, 1890 to Timoteo Bernabe and Emilia Hernandez of Parañaque, Rizal.

At the age of 10, he already started writing verses. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila where he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree with high academic standing in 1907, and then took up law at the University of Santo Tomas, but not able to took up the bar exams. In 1910, Manuel’s first poem was published in the Renacimento Filipino. In 1912, he translated Virgil’s Aenid from Latin to Spanish. In 1913, he received an award for his poems: “Himno al Sagado Corazon de Jesus (Hymn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus), “El Zapote,” and “Espana a Filipinas”.

In 1912, he joined the staff of La Democracia and in 1918, of La Vanguardia of the Roces Publications. He was a columnist but from time to time he also published poems and short stories in the magazine Exelsior.

Manuel also excelled in the balagtasan, where his stalwart adversary was Jesus Balmori. In 1927, he published Balagtasan a compilation of his three poetic joust against Balmori; “El Recuerdo y el Olvido” (Memory and Forgetting), “El Hombre y la Mujer”(Man and Woman), and “La Ilusion y el Desengano” (Illusion and Deception). His other works were: “Cantos del Tropico” ( Songs from the tropic) in 1929, which contains poems. He translated into the Spanish the English version of Edward Fitzgerald’s Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which was praised as the best Spanish translation of that masterpiece by Blasco Ibanez, a Spanish novelist, and also Perfil de la Cresta.

an old mansion near the Saint Andrew Cathedral 

In 1925, he won the Premio Zobel for his translation of Rubaiyat. In 1926, for his and Jesus Balmori’s Balagtasan, “El Hombre y La Mujer.” For high academic and excellent performance, Manuel was chosen a member of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language in the Philippines in 1931 and was named poet laureate in Spanish (National Poet) on February 25, 1950. For his untiring efforts in the propagation and conservation of the Spanish language, Bernabe received two decorations from Spain – El Yugo y las Flechas in 1940 and orden de Isabela la Catolica in 1953. In 1964, he was also awarded the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinagan Award by the City Government of Manila.

He taught Spanish in different schools such as: Far Eastern University, Philippine Law School and Institute de Espanol at Colegio de San Juan de Letran. In 1951, he accompanied President Elpidio Quirino on the latter’s state visit to Spain. He joined the world of politics, as a representative to Congress of the first district of Rizal.

He retired from politics and once more joined the journalistic profession in the La Vanguardia. He was appointed professor of Spanish at the University of the Philippines and a technical assistant for Filipino-Spanish Relations at Malacañang from 1943-1947. Bernabe died of coronary thrombosis on November 29, 1960, at barrio La Huerta,Parañaque , as he was having conversation with his friends, he collapsed and never regained consciousness.

He was also featured in Philippine stamps in 1990 to commemorate the centennial of his birth.

References: Philippine Postal Corporation Philatelic Bulletin : May ,1990 ( Manuel H. Bernabe)

National Historical Commission of the Philippines

Saint Andrew Cathedral

Saint Andrew Cathedral is officially The Cathedral Parish of St. Andrew and commonly referred to as the Parañaque Cathedral, is one of the oldest churches in the country. It was established on May 11, 1580 by the Agustinian order. The church is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Parañaque.

apostolic marker installed in 2011

main altar

painting which depicts Saint Andrew parish and its images

These churches and shrines is just 2 ride away from Asiatel Airport Hotel .

Address : Aurora formerly Tramo Road, cor. Andrews, Aurora Blvd, Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Near Resorts World Manila, NAIA Terminal 3.
(02)8332136
09222837339
09773283313
09216809738

 

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