Batangas - Quezon Visita Iglesia

Every Holy Week, my family and I go out of town on a pilgrimage tour to visit churches as part of our Catholic culture. This is also known as Visita Iglesia. For our 2017 Visita Iglesia, we headed south to the provinces of Batangas and Quezon. Unlike the previous years where we only visit Spanish-era or historical churches, we decided to have a mix of shrines and churches in this year's Visita Iglesia itinerary.

2017 Batangas - Quezon Visita Iglesia

Here's where we went on our 2017 Batangas & Quezon Visita Iglesia:

National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio in Sto. Tomas, Batangas

Because of the distance of our house from our target provinces, our three-car convoy left home early to avoid traffic and headed to our first destination which is the St. Pio National Shrine in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. It is a quaint shrine tucked in the inner part of town. We spent almost two hours here doing the Stations of the Cross and exploring its different structures.

The bell tower of St. Padre Pio National Shrine

From Sto. Tomas, Batangas we drove to Lucena in the province of Quezon. Our convoy got separated because I followed Google Maps (which I proved highly reliable) and they followed the flock. After waiting for the two other cars in our convoy in Lucena Grand Terminal, we ate our baon as our late lunch in one of the less crowded parts of the terminal.

St. Isidore Parish Church - Agdangan, Quezon

Luminous Cross of Grace Sanctuary - Agdangan, Quezon

We then continued to our second church destination, the St. Isidore Parish Church in Agdangan, Quezon. Although it is not a Spanish Era Church and it does not have a facade or architectural design that stands out from among the others in the province, it is still highly visited by pilgrims because of the Luminous Cross of Grace Sanctuary that stands beside it. This 120 ft tower stands as a religious symbol of the town and also considered a tourist destination by some.

Capitaneus Resort - Plaridel, Quezon

Since the travel time and traffic ate up the remaining "light", we decided to call it a day for our Visita Iglesia and visit some relatives living nearby. We then spent our night in Capitaneus Resort in Plaridel, Quezon. 

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish - Plaridel, Quezon

A photo opportunity for the women of our family

The next day, we continued our pilgrimage and visited our third church, the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish in Plaridel. It is a modern church that was built near the railroad track. We spent an hour here to do several more of our Stations of the Cross. 

Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer in Gumaca, Quezon

We then proceeded to the Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer in Gumaca.  It is also a modern church where the barangay was named.  

Gumaca Cathedral - Gumaca, Quezon

After doing several more Stations of the Cross, we then proceeded to Gumaca town proper to visit the Gumaca Cathedral which was our fifth church. Before going to the next church we decided to have lunch at a nearby roadside local restaurant that is a famous stopover for motorists. We headed back to the resort to freshen up and rest a bit in preparation for our next pilgrimage destination.

Atimonan Church - Atimonan, Quezon

Religious statues are paraded through town and finish in Atimonan Church

Devotees line up to do the traditional Halik.

That night, we visited Atimonan Church. We managed to arrive just in time when the procession was going back to the church. We managed to participate in what the Atimonanins call the "Halik" or the religious act of kissing ta symbolic rope to show an act and devotion. We then went back to the resort to call it a night.

Passed through the Quezon Protected Landscape before reaching our last church

After checking out of Capitaneus Resort on the third day of our pilgrimage, we managed to squeeze in one more church on our way home.  We visited the St. Anne Parish and Diocesan Shrine in Pagbilao, Quezon as our seventh and final church.  

St. Anne Parish and Diocesan Shrine in Pagbilao, Quezon

This article is dedicated to my beloved Auntie Violy who passed away last Nov. 3, 2017

Overall, we visited 4 shrines, 2 Spanish-era churches, and one parish church in our 2017 Batangas - Quezon Visita Iglesia. Not only did we complete our pilgrimage this year but we also had a memorable family bonding time together. That only means that our 2018 Visita Iglesia is something that we'd surely look forward to next year.