Intramuros opens 9 churches, chapels for Visita Iglesia

ICONIC The Manila Cathedral captures the history and character of the Filipino people, according to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. -NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — Nine churches and chapels around the so-called Walled City in Manila will be open for the traditional Visita Iglesia this year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Intramuros Administration (IA) announced Friday.

Photo courtesy of Department of Tourism

In an advisory, DOT and IA said the nine churches inside Intramuros will be open to pilgrims and visitors starting April 18, Maundy Thursday, until April 20, Black Saturday.

The churches and chapels include the Manila Cathedral, San Agustin Parish Church, Fr. Willman Chapel at the Knights of Columbus Building, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila Chapel, Mapua University Chapel, Lyceum of the Philippines University Chapel, Colegio de San Juan de Letran Chapel, St. Matthew’s Chapel at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Building, and Guadalupe Shrine at the Fort Santiago.

In 2018, only seven churches and chapels opened during the Holy Week.

Stations of the Cross installations will also be displayed at the stretch of General Luna Street, from Beaterio Street to Muralla (side of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila) on the same dates, according to DOT and IA.

Likewise, Holy Week activities such as the Penetencia by the Cainta Nazareno Inc. will be staged around Plaza Roma and the Manila Cathedral on Maundy Thursday, April 18, at 7 p.m., DOT and IA added.

To facilitate traffic, DOT and IA said General Luna Street will be closed to all vehicles from night of Holy Wednesday, April 17, until Good Friday, April 19. There will be designated areas for public parking in various locations.

Photo courtesy of Department of Tourism

DOT then issued the following reminders for pilgrims and tourists:

1) Follow queues and line-up properly

2)  Don’t disturb devotees by taking photos with flash

3) Observe silence especially when in houses of prayer

4) Throw and segregate trash in the proper trash bins

5)  Avoid using disposable plastic water bottles by bringing reusable tumblers

6) Decent clothing is advised

Last year, DOT said about 900,000 local and foreign tourists flocked to Intramuros to observe Holy Week. /kga

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