CALUMPIT, Bulacan—A shrine here which marks the first Catholic Mass in Bulacan will soon be more visible and ready to welcome tourists and pilgrims alike.
This came as the municipal government of Calumpit rushed the construction of a comfort room at the Meyto Shrine in Barangay Meyto here, along with placement of directional signs in strategic places. Rodolfo Manumbas, municipal administrator, said that directional signs will make the shrine more visible to tourists and pilgrims.
“We are glad that students of the Bulacan State University (BulSU) pointed to us the need for the sign and the comfort rooms,” Manumbas said referring to a group of students who recently visited the shrine as part of requirements in their photojournalism class.
In an interview, Manumbas admitted that the shrine has been taken for granted by municipal and provincial officials.
As one of the leading historians in this town, Manumbas said records showed that Spanish colonizers with Augustinian priests held the first recorded Mass in Barangay Meyto here in 1572. “That marked the start of Christianity in Bulacan,” he said noting that three years later, the Spanish government recognized Calumpit as a town.
However, he said that records also showed that Calumpit is already an established town before the arrival of Spaniards due to the presence of a number of organized villages and communities. With regards to the construction of a comfort room at the shrine, Eugenia Garcia, 70, the caretaker of the shrine expressed gratitude.
She said that she has been requesting the municipal government to construct the same and provide her a hose that will be used in watering the plants in the shrine. “Mabuti na lang nagpunta rito yung mga estudyante at nabigyan ng pansin ang request ko,” she said.
As caretaker of the shrine for about 30 years, Garcia said she has been asking for water supply to the shrine. “Dati kaya ko pang umigib ng tubig, eh ngayong matanda na ko, hirap na ko sa pagbubuhat,” she said.
Constructed in 1985, the Meyto Shrine’s cabana looks like the shrine that of Magellan’s Cross in Cebu. It also has a cross erected in the middle, but have no mural on the ceiling of the shrine. Garcia said that in the past years, pilgrims and tourists alike used to visit the shrine especially during the Lenten season.
