{Mid May this year, my sister and I went to do our Visita Iglesia because we weren't able to do it last holy week. She first listed the churches we would visit, but seeing that majority were churches we have already visited from before, I added two churches that we still haven't visited - the Paco and the Ermita churches.}
Iniwan ko sa aking kapatid ang pag-plano ng byaheng ito, at matapos naming bisitahin ang simbahan ng Binondo, tumungo kami ng Paco Church, ngunit medyo nagkamali ang aking kapatid sa pag-search at imbes na sa Paco Church kami pumunta, dinala kami ng kanyang mapa sa parke ng Paco.
{I let my sister plan this trip, and after visiting the Binondo Church, we went to visit Paco Church, but she seemed to have researched the wrong map because instead of leading us to the church, the map led us to Paco Park.}
Ang hugis pabilog na sementeryo ay unang ginawa ang lugar na ito para maging sementeryo para sa mga mayayamang Espanyol, ngunit marami ring karaniwang tao ang inilibing dito nang manalasa ang sakit na cholera at kumitil ng maraming tao. Dito rin unang inilibing ang pambansang bayaning si Dr. Jose Rizal bago ilipat ang kanyang labi sa Rizal Park, at dito rin nakalibing ang tatlong paring martyr na GomBurZa. Taong 1912 nang itigil ang paglilibing sa sementeryong ito.
{The circular cemetery was first built for the rich Spanish people, but decades after it was built, lots of people were buried in the cemetery due to the cholera outbreak. This was also the cemetery where the national hero Dr. Jose Rizal was first buried, before his remains were transferred in Rizal Park, and this is also the final resting place of the three martyr priests. It was in 1912 when burials were ceased.}
Sa ngayon ang sementeryo ay isa nang parke. Nang bumisita kami, may mga ilang grupo ng kabataan ang nagsasagawa ng kanilang group discussion, ay may mga ilang magkasintahang piniling mag-date sa parke. Hindi man ito ang Paco Church na aming nais bisitahin, masaya na rin kami kasi nakita namin ang parke. Hindi rin naman naging sayang ang aming pagbisita sapagkat sa gitna ng parke ay makikita ang St. Pancratius Chapel.
{The place that was once a cemetery is now a park. When we visited, there were a few groups doing some discussions, and a few lovers as well. We might not be able to visit the Paco Church we wanted to visit, sister and I were still happy because we got to see this place. Actually, the visit wasn't "wasted," as in the middle of the park is the St. Pancratius Chapel.}
*** Jenn ***
