SAN MIGUEL, Bulacan—Over 100 years ago, it served a part of the fortress of Filipino revolutionaries who camped in the nearby Biak-na-Bato mountain range while fighting a war against colonial Spain.
The caves within its vicinity served as armory and infirmary of revolutionaries, but after the war, it was abandoned and became an ordinary hill.
Recently, it was turned into a pilgrimage site among devotees who seek guidance and peace with God, and aptly called it “Banal na Bundok.”
Not much seem hallowed in the place except for the 25 foot cross on its top where an adoration chapel is being rushed for completion in time for its public opening come Holy Week, and religious figures on the foot of the hill.
But when one looks southward, a gigantic figure of “sleeping Christ” called “Kristong Nakahiga” can be seen naturally sculpted on the Biak-na-Bato range.
On the northward direction lies mystic Mt. Araya towering over the vast plains of Central Luzon, and on the east is the extension of Biak-na-Bato which is rich in marble deposits.
Located at Sitio Balingkupang in Barangay Biak-na-Bato here, the “Banal na Bundok” has become a favorite destination of tourists, pilgrims and local folk during the Holy Week.
Dinia D. Quetua, head of the Bulacan Tourism Office, said that thousands of pilgrims and tourists used to flocked “Banal na Bundok” every Lenten season after Mayor Roderick Tiongson saw several apparitions on the site starting in 1999.
Tiongson said that on one occasion he and three companions went to the top of “Banal na Bundok” for a Lenten retreat.
Like other devotees he asked God to give him a sign that would further strengthen his resolve in serving the people of his town.
He said that at around 3 p.m. on Good Friday in 1999, they saw thousands of eagles hovering above the clouds on the top of the mountain.
“The eagles just appeared above the clouds and then they flew upwards and vanished. I knew it was a sign from Heaven. I can strongly feel its sacredness during that moment and I have a vision that I should convert the mountain into a holy site,” Tiongson said.
Tiongson’s experience was repeated three years ago and it led him to develop the site which his family owned.
He caused the construction of a giant stone cross on the top of the mountain and an adoration chapel beside it.
The caves within its vicinity served as armory and infirmary of revolutionaries, but after the war, it was abandoned and became an ordinary hill.
Recently, it was turned into a pilgrimage site among devotees who seek guidance and peace with God, and aptly called it “Banal na Bundok.”
Not much seem hallowed in the place except for the 25 foot cross on its top where an adoration chapel is being rushed for completion in time for its public opening come Holy Week, and religious figures on the foot of the hill.
But when one looks southward, a gigantic figure of “sleeping Christ” called “Kristong Nakahiga” can be seen naturally sculpted on the Biak-na-Bato range.
On the northward direction lies mystic Mt. Araya towering over the vast plains of Central Luzon, and on the east is the extension of Biak-na-Bato which is rich in marble deposits.
Located at Sitio Balingkupang in Barangay Biak-na-Bato here, the “Banal na Bundok” has become a favorite destination of tourists, pilgrims and local folk during the Holy Week.
Dinia D. Quetua, head of the Bulacan Tourism Office, said that thousands of pilgrims and tourists used to flocked “Banal na Bundok” every Lenten season after Mayor Roderick Tiongson saw several apparitions on the site starting in 1999.
Tiongson said that on one occasion he and three companions went to the top of “Banal na Bundok” for a Lenten retreat.
Like other devotees he asked God to give him a sign that would further strengthen his resolve in serving the people of his town.
He said that at around 3 p.m. on Good Friday in 1999, they saw thousands of eagles hovering above the clouds on the top of the mountain.
“The eagles just appeared above the clouds and then they flew upwards and vanished. I knew it was a sign from Heaven. I can strongly feel its sacredness during that moment and I have a vision that I should convert the mountain into a holy site,” Tiongson said.
Tiongson’s experience was repeated three years ago and it led him to develop the site which his family owned.
He caused the construction of a giant stone cross on the top of the mountain and an adoration chapel beside it.
