(The Santo Domingo Church in Abucay, Bataan, the oldest church in the province at 431 years old, is one of the 7 Pilgrim Churches yearly visited by people from Luzon for their Visita Iglesia during the Lenten Season. Photo by Ernie Esconde)
BALANGA CITY – The seven oldest churches in this province are the sites of pilgrimage of busloads of visitors from various Luzon provinces every Lenten Season for their Visita Iglesia.
The churches are known as the Seven Pilgrim Churches and situated in seven out of 11 towns and a city in the peninsula.
The first church is the 263-year-old St. Peter de Varona Church in the town of Hermosa followed by the 309-yearold Virgen Milagrosa del Rosario Church in Orani and the 423-year-old St. Catherine of Siena Church in Samal.
The next stop of pilgrimage is the Sto. Domingo Church in Abucay that is 431 years old and the oldest in Bataan and one of the oldest in the country. The 305-year old Saint Joseph Cathedral in Balanga City comes next.
The 218-year-old Virgen Milagrosa del Pilar Church in Pilar town is the 6th pilgrim church and the last, the 352-year-old St. Michael de Archangel Church in Orion.
The churches have undertaken various renovations but they have one common material – sturdy bricks known as batong silyar visible in their inner and outer walls. All the churches were built under the supervision of the Dominican priests.
There are two major road networks in Bataan – the Roman Highway and the MacArthur Highway. The pilgrim churches are all along the MacArthur Highway.
The first visitors this year of the churches were from San Pablo City in Laguna composed of 500 people who came in 12 buses.
Fr. Emil Urriquia, San Pablo City parish priest, said they came to Bataan already for so many times. “We return here in the spirit of pilgrimage. This is for the yearly Lenten activity of our parish.”
Most recent visitors were from Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Lipa in Batangas and many others.
