No idea what to do this Holy Week?
Some travel agencies are offering Visita Iglesia tours for the faithful who wish to visit religious pilgrimage sites and historical churches where they can reflect and renew their faith.
The Visita Iglesia is a tradition among Catholics where they visit at least seven different churches on Holy Thursday and Good Friday as a form of pilgrimage.
Some offer prayers to the Blessed Sacrament while others pray in front of the successive Stations of Cross in each church.
The choice of seven churches was believed to be a reference to the Seven Last Words of Jesus or His Seven Holy Wounds.
This is the second time that Filipinos can physically do the Visita Iglesia after the tradition was modified through virtual means at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: ‘Virtual Visita Iglesia’ made possible via a decade-old website of CBCP | Rundown: Where you can access virtual Visita Iglesia for Holy Week 2021
To make the Visita Iglesia hassle-free and more memorable, some entities and individuals are offering packages that include travel insurance, among others.
Here are some of them:
St. Michael Explorer Travel and Tours
The travel agency said that Filipinos could go on a “historical and cultural pilgrimage” from April 6 and 7 for a group tour, and any preferred dates for an exclusive tour.
They can choose several tour packages where they can visit religious sites and churches in either Pampanga, Rizal, Bulacan, Bataan, Cavite, Zambales, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon Province, and Manila.
Joe-Hanz EMV Shuttle Services Ltd Company
A shuttle service is also offering a Visita Iglesia tour for the provinces of Laguna and Batangas.
Filipinos have the chance to visit eight churches in each package.
St. William Tours and Transport Services
The travel and transport service company is offering five different packages where the faithful can visit religious sites in Manila, Rizal, Bataan, Laguna, and Pampanga.
“Look back and thank God. Look forward and trust God. Look around and serve God. Look within and find God,” it said as part of its caption.
Pio and Jade Travel and Tours
The tour agency is offering a group day tour from April 6 and 7 or an exclusive tour with any preferred date in Batangas.
The faithful can visit the following churches in the said province:
- Parish and National Shrine of St. Padre Pio
- St. Thomas Aquinas Parish
- St. John the Evangelist Parish – Tanauan
- San Sebastian Cathedral – Lipa
- St. James the Greater Parish – Ibaan
- Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Joseph The Patriarch – San Jose
- Immaculate Conception Parish – Bauan
The Visita Iglesia tour includes light snacks or bottled water.
Lifestyle Philippines Travel
For this tour offering, the faithful can visit religious sites from April 6 and 7 through a group tour or on any preferred date for exclusive tours.
They can visit seven churches in either Batangas or Laguna.