As a tribute to Mama Mary in commemoration of her birthday on September 8th, I am featuring another Marian Church from Laguna.
After taking in the beauty of Pagsanjan falls and swimming in its cool and almost clear waters, we decided to drop by the Guadalupe Church before heading to Enchanted Kingdom.
An image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in front of a vacation house purportedly owned by a certain director...a demonstration of Pagsanjan's devotion to Our Lady.
I think I heard before that "the Philippines was first placed under the protection of Our Lady of Guadalupe; or wait...was it the Immaculate Concepcion?" And isn't it that Our Lady of Guadalupe is another representation of the Immaculate Conception? Anyway this is what was running through my mind when we arrived at the Church, much like a "chicken and egg" question wherein you really can't determine which came first...a bit frustrating...
Church exterior 1: Focus on the details, an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a Marian insignia...
Church exterior 2: Dedication, the "Church of Pagsanjan"
The Church Interior
The church interior 1...the Pagsanjan faithful attending the Sunday mass.
This church like the one in Pakil is centuries old. However unlike Pakil, the interior I think is relatively new. And if in Pakil there was at least an attempt to preserve the old altar, the Guadalupe church showed no signs of any...sad. I guess if there be any good from these articles I am writing, is, I hope, an awareness from the youth that old churches although there is a need to make these more inhabitable based on today's standards...we should strive towards preservation and not change (leading to extreme makeovers).
church interior 2: Getting a feel of the whole church, I can't freely take pictures since mass was ongoing
A decoration of Paper flowers near the entrance...interesting decoration: paper flowers arranged in a modern fashion
The Church's Santos
Sta. Cecilia playing for the King
I did not see a lot of images, again, as compared to Pakil however they have two 2 images that I really find exquisite...and made the whole "side-trip" worth it:
The Santo Entierro
I don't know how old the image is however judging by the way the face was carved, I assumed this is an antique
See face detail below, far right. What do you think?
Our Lady of Guadalupe
This image is located near the entrance of the church. It's a very big (more than life sized I think) representation of Our Lady of Guadalupe and I was in awe as I was staring at this lovely image...
Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 3D
Below the image are paintings illustrating the miracles of Our Lady
Different angles. Check out the "double peana" no wonder it looks so tall.
Check out the details of the image's mantle. The design looks similar to the mantle of Pasig's Immaculate Conception
On to the next destination
Going out...
Outside the church, the surrounding area...see an altar dedicated to Padre Pio
And lastly...my second most favorite thing about this church (aside from the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe)...
A bodega of carroza's...lotsa lotsa...
Ang simbahan at bayan ng Pagsanjan noong araw.
From Victor
Sana maibalik sa dati ang fachada at interior ng simbahan.
Puno pa rin ba ng puno ang bayan?
I lived in pagsanjan... just a point for you to think about. The facade is as original as it comes. Blame it on the americans, coz when they liberated the town, they practically destroyed it. For the church, the facade and belfry survived the carpet bombing. The towns folks did the best they can to restore what was taken from them.
ReplyDeleteThe altar is new, yes, but it is now resembles how it looked in the before the war. You should see the altar when i grew up there. Believe me, its an improvement.