SAMAL, Bataan- Catholic devotees from various dioceses in Luzon trooped Friday to 7 Pilgrim Churches in Bataan for their Visita Iglesia as part of their Lenten Pilgrimage for 2026.
About 450 pilgrims in nine tourist buses from Pangasinan did their Visita Iglesia at the Saint Catherine of Siena Parish Church in Samal town after the start of their pilgrimage at the Saint Peter of Varona Parish Church in Hermosa.
At the frontage of the Samal Church were araro cookies, okoy and banana chips, the town products, for sale.
The Church of Samal was founded by the Dominicans in 1596 or about 430 years ago.
Their next stop before Samal was at the Minor Basilica and Shrine Parish of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church in Orani.
The Saint Dominic de Guzman Parish Church in Abucay, Cathedral Shrine Parish of Saint Joseph in Balanga City, Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Church in Pilar and San Miguel Arcanghel Parish Church in Orion were the next stop to complete the pilgrimage to the 7 Pilgrim Churches in Bataan.
These old 7 churches are all adjacent to the MacArthur Highway and made of study bricks.
More pilgrims from northern, southern and central Luzon are expected to come as the Holy Week nears. (30)
