Catholic Churches in Cebu

Magellan's Cross | Santo Nino de Cebu

It was through Ferdinand Magellan, who docked in the shores of Cebu in 1521, that made the Philippines a Catholic country. It is now the Holy Week for us Catholics, so for this post, allow me to show some church pictures I took in Cebu - the place where it all started.


The image of Santo Nino de Cebu is the oldest Catholic artifact in the Philippines, given by Ferdinand Magellan to the Cebuano tribe who became converts to Catholicism. That artifact is housed inside the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino, and every January, there is a very big religious festival known as the Sinulog, celebrated in honor of the Santo Nino.


The Santo Nino may be the most popular in Cebu, but their patron is actually the Our Lady of Guadalupe.


The Sacred Heart Church is possibly the only air-conditioned church in Cebu.


Just last year, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Pedro Calungsod as a Saint, and he was the second Saint to hail from the Philippines (first was St. Lorenzo Ruiz). His church is located within the compounds of the Archbishop's Palace.


A very memorable event during my first visit in Cebu happened here at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. At that time, they were welcoming the image of Birhen sa Simala, and I (together with my brother and another friend) were blessed to be inside the compound of the church to welcome the image, as hundreds of devotees were there earlier than us but weren't allowed to enter.

These pictures were taken in 2009, during my first visit to Cebu. The capital city - also known as Cebu, has lots of churches, but even if one is quite close to the other church, expect every churches to be full whenever a mass is celebrated. I am deeply in awe at how religious people here are.


In 2011, I had the privilege to travel back to Cebu, and what a sweet blessing it was that I got to step inside the Monastery of Holy Eucharist (2 hours away from Cebu City), the home of Birhen sa Simala. Prior to this visit, I once told my sister I couldn't understand her personal connection to the Black Nazarene of Quiapo (that's a different story actually), but she told me in time I will understand. When I arrived here, I understood what my sister meant, because of all the Catholic churches I have visited, this one had an unexplainable connection to me. I actually ran the stairs from the base 'til I reach the top, but I didn't break a sweat and I never felt tired (even if it was a very sunny day and I didn't have umbrella) - something unusual because of my weight.

I always say that I am not really a religious person, but I do believe in God, and I have high respects for all churches, and for what people believe in.

These are just few of the oh so many churches in Cebu.

Remembering Dumaguete City

Part of my personal home project this week is to print pictures taken during travels and everyday adventures to spruce up my room's very boring wall as well as to replace the pictures I posted on my closet's doors. Checking old pictures can be unexplainable - my heart is filled with happiness that I was able to visit these places, as well as longing to get back there (praying to have a chance).

In 2008, I was able to set foot in Dumaguete City. At that time, K and I were on our first holiday, and from Bohol, we took the fast craft boat to the placed dubbed as "The City of Gentle People." We arrived late afternoon, and we had two full days in the city before flying back to Manila.

The city was just small, and one can roam around in one day. We have heard and read of other beautiful places near Dumaguete, but we weren't able to check any of it, because an ex boyfriend promised to tour us around, but wasn't able to. It was the last place on our holiday (we parted ways upon arrival in Manila), making us feeling a little tired, so there weren't pictures taken.


The very first thing we visited was the Dumaguete Church, and of course, we also took time to check the belfry as well.


At the base of the belfry, there's an image of the Virgin Mary.


The following morning, K and I walked to the Rizal Boulevard (also known as the boardwalk) to have our morning walk as well as to watch the sunrise. Up until now, this is still one of my favorite sunrise pictures, and I once used this as this blog's header.


Walking back to the hotel, we passed by the park where I took this picture. Then, I thought this was photographed nicely... and I like to believe so (until now), although I admit I made quite a poor composition on this one, because of the leaf on the lower left corner.


We were lucky to enter the Silliman University. I was able to get in without any problems (makes me think I still look like a student), but because K is a foreigner, the guards asked him what his business is. Technically, anyone can enter any university, provided you leave your ID at the guard, which you can claim as you exit. Good thing K brought along his passport, so we were able to see some areas in the university. The structure in this picture is the chapel, which belongs to the Protestant church.


K and I loved seeing a lot of people at the boardwalk, so later in the afternoon, we made a stroll back there. I saw this statue somewhere along the boardwalk, and although I loved how crisp this image is, another poor composition I made for not incorporating the surrounding - maybe letting the viewers a peek of the sea.

I started taking pictures in 2007. From then 'til now, I have used a point and shoot camera, which allowed me to be a little stagnant as far as learning more knowledge and having practice is concerned. Still, comparing old pictures to the new ones, I'd like to say I have made a little improvement.

The Poro Point Residences

These three pictures above were taken in 2009, 2010, and 2011 at the Thunderbird Resorts in Poro Point - San Fernando, La Union. Before, this place was called Wallace Air Station (Camp Wallace) - a United States Air Force facility. In 1991, the place was turned over to the Philippines and the local government turned it into a place for tourism. Currently, this is the home of a 5-star luxury hotel/resort, which patterns after Santorini in Greece.

Whenever I am in La Union, I usually take the time to visit the resort to eat, check the scenery and watch the sunset. I wasn't able to visit the resort the entire 2012, so when I visited the resort with my family nearly two weeks ago, I was surprised to see a big change:





If you're visiting the resort and you took any of the public transportation (tricycle and jeepney), you would need to walk close to 500 meters before you get to enter the resort. Apart from the long road, there is a huge land space, and now they are having a housing project.

Checking the model houses, I was quite amazed at the architecture, which really looks a lot like Santorini. I can imagine this in the future... when the entire place will have houses, it will look so interesting having the white and blue theme.

However, I heard it cost way too much to own a house here. Don't quote me on this, as I just heard it from the people around, that it cost millions to get a house and lot here. Millions of pesos...two-figure kind of millions. Whoa. I hope what I heard wasn't true, because if it is... it would be way too impossible for me to even dream of having my Santorini home. :)