Zamboanga City : Nuestra Señora de la Virgen del Pilar

Whenever I am in a new place, 

visiting a church is a must for me. 

Aside from giving thanks for the wonderful opportunity that God has bestowed on me, 

it's also an opportunity to know who is their Patron Saint. 

So we halted and parked at a park, 

where we passed by a few stalls selling souvenirs and refreshments, 

walked through a pigeon haven, 

bought candles 

and made our way through the Marian Shrine. 

As for Zamboanga City, their patron saint is the Our Lady of Pillar. 

A lot of devotees come here to pray and give homage to the city's patroness,
who have done countless miracles.

As to history, it was in 1734 when she appeared before a soldier at the gate of the city.
The soldier asked her to stop.
Upon recognizing her, he fell down to his knees.

Then on September 1897, a strong earthquake struck the region, and she made an apparition.
According to the witnesses, they saw her standing mid-air over the Basilan Strait
raised her had to signal the waves to stop thus saving them from a tsunami. 

More history... 

It was in 1635 when the site was constructed upon the request of the Jesuit missionaries in

a defense against pirates and raiders of the sultans of Mindanao and Jolo.  

The cornerstone of the fort was initially known as Real Fuerza de San Jose.  

Then during 1646, Fort San Jose was attacked by the Dutch and was abandoned by the Spanish troops.  The reconstructed in 1669 was manned by the Jesuit missionaries again.  

Soon after in 1718-1719, a Spaniard engineer reconstructed the shrine and was renamed as Real Fuerza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar d Zaragoza.  

It was in honor of the patron virgin of Spain, Our Lady of Pillar.   

So after saying a prayer and lighting the candles, 

we started to explore the surroundings and took photos of it.  

FYI, not only the Catholics light up the candles and say a little prayer here, 

even our Muslim brothers and sisters do it as well. 

It had become their custom and belief when their prayers were answered. :) 

Yey!! Nice to know right?  

Catanduanes : Batong Paloway

A few kilometers away from San Andres housed the

miraculously "growing" stone of Our Lady of Sorrows. 

the road to the church 

rear view of the church

the altar 

The image on the stone is said to increase in size over time.
Its original size measures 3/4 cm by 1 cm.  Now it's 6 cm by 8 cm.
But as it grew, the image on the stone isn't altered or gets distorted.
The people can look at the image with their naked eyes and
may use a magnifying lens to have a better view of the image.

Because of it, the image has drawn devotees to celebrate Mass and offer novenas every Friday. 

Catanduanes : St. John the Baptist Church

Soon after our short visit to the PAG-ASA weather station, 

we halted in the oldest church in Bato, Catanduanes, the St. John the Baptist Church, or commonly

known as Bato Church. 

The church was established in the 1500's and was initially made of wood.  

It was reconstructed during the 1800's under the polo system of forced labor for more than 50 years using mortal and coral stones. 

Dubbed as the second largest church in Bicol region, the church is a perfect example of mid-colonization Filipino-Spanish architecture. 

The church also has survived wars, typhoon, fires and other ravages of time. 

And the bell tower which was used as a warning sign during the WWII against the Japanese guerillas still

stood at its tower.