64. 5-5 VISITA IGLESIA DE GAMU

5-5 VISITA IGLESIA DE GAMU

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

25 March 2018

The local chief executive of the Municipality of Gamu, Isabela came up with a faith tourism program for tourists and day-visitors especially during the Semana Santa or Mahal na Araw which is the most significant religious observance for the country’s Roman Catholic majority and most Protestant groups. The Visita Iglesia or the Seven Churches Visitation is a pious Roman Catholic Lenten tradition to visit seven churches on the evening of Maundy Thursday after the Mass of the Lord's Supper where the Blessed Sacrament is placed on the Altar of Repose for Adoration. The pious and able would double the number of churches to fourteen, while the infirm and elderly usually visit only one or a handful. Until the 1970s, people recited all fourteen stations in every church, but the more recent form is to pray two stations per church. The more devout would carry a cross to each church, while others consider the ritual an opportunity for sightseeing. An offering is usually made at each church and to the poor as a form of almsgiving. To accommodate the faithful, many Catholic churches during Holy Week remain open until midnight. Nowadays, it is common to perform Visita Iglesia on any day during Holy Week. In the old pueblo of Gamu, five Catholic churches can be found within the five-kilometer radius, thus, the “5-5 Visita Iglesia”. They are the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Rose of Lima Parish, National Shrine of Our Lady of the Visitation, Poor Saint Clare Monastery and the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila.

Gamu was originally composed of three missions during the Spanish evangelization in the 1600s: Itugod, founded in 1678 and now barangay Lenzon; Gamu – also known as the 2^nd Batavag founded in 1686 in memory of the 1st Batavag; and Furao, founded in 1740 and now a barangay of Gamu. In 1741, a little north of the confluence of the Magat and Cagayan Rivers, now the present poblacion, the new town of Gamu was established by Dominican Fray Martin Hernandez with inhabitants coming from the abolished towns of Batavag and Itugod under the patronage of Saint Rose of Lima. The two pueblos were abolished because of their small population, insufficient tributes to administer the two towns and only with a few hands to work in the needed infrastructures. In 1779, the fusion of the missions of Gamu and Furao was approved permanently. Gamu was the seat of the mission and Furao became one of its barrio. The territories of the municipalities of Naguilian (1896), Aurora (1927), San Manuel (1937), Roxas (1948), Burgos (1967) and Quirino (1967) were once a part of the vast pueblo of Gamu.

The “5-5 Visita Iglesia” of Gamu has the mission statement: “Ginugunita at pinagninilayan ang Anak ng Diyos sa kanyang natatanging Misteryo ng pagpapakasakit at kamatayan sa panahon ng Undas na taun-taong ipinagdiriwang ng Kristyanong pamayanan.” (Yearly, during the Holy Week, the Christian community commemorates and meditates on the unique mystery of the sacrifice and death of the Son of God).

I was able to experience the “5-5 Visita Iglesia”. Starting from the south and since I came from Cabatuan, my first stop was the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Visitation of Guibang which houses the Miraculous Lady of the Visitation. The Shrine comes alive on July 1^st of every year when religious pilgrims from all walks of life come to offer their prayers of thanks to God through Mary the Mother. The image of Our Lady of the Visitation was canonically crowned by the Most Rev. Carmine Pocco, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines on May 26, 1973 at the St. Ferdinand Cathedral in Ilagan. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines at its 52^nd Bishop’s annual meeting held in Tagaytay City on January 24-26, 1986 had approved the petition of His Excellency, Most Rev. Miguel Purugganan, Bishop of Ilagan, for the Church of Our Lady of the Visitation of Guibang to be called a National Shrine.

Adjacent to the Shrine is the Chapel of Poor Saint Clare Monastery. Six missionary nuns from their mother monastery in Cabuyao, Laguna responded to the invitation of Most Rev. Miguel Puruggunan DD, Bishop of Ilagan, for the establishment of Poor Clare in the diocese. A contemplative house in Guibang on January 9, 1991 was erected and the cornerstone of this concrete monastery was laid on January 16, 1992. On May 31, 1996 the church was blessed and opened to the public.

Heading north, my next visit was the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila located inside Camp Melchor F. Dela Cruz 5^th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army situated along the National Highway in Barangay Upi. The chapel was named after the First Roman Catholic Saint of the Philippines, Saint Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila who preferred death by execution rather than renounce his Christian faith in Japan on September 23, 1637. After three and a half centuries, Ruiz was beatified and canonized a saint in Rome on October 18, 1987 and his feast day is on September 28.

My fourth stop was not located along the national highway. I need to turn left going to Mallig Plains via Burgos-Roxas and another left heading for Gamu town proper to reach the Saint Rose of Lima Parish. Compared to the other Spanish-era Isabela churches, this religious edifice is more austere and quaint with its facade quite simple and decorated with a few bas relief of which notable are the Dominican Order symbols at the arch framing at the main entrance. The church’s facade is made of layered bricks and stones dating back to 17^th century. Although it is small, this Spanish architectural designed edifice made of bricks is ideal for mass celebration, weddings, baptism and a respite for those who wanted to meditate and reflect solemnly because of the town’s serenity. The feast of Saint Rose of Lima, the patronal saint of Gamu town, is celebrated on the 23^rd of August.

The last of my 5-5 Church Visit is the Cathedral of Saint Michael the Archangel, formerly known as Saint Ferdinand Cathedral which is located along the national highway going to the City of Ilagan. The seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan was inaugurated on May 12, 2003. The Mother Church has a floor area of 2,400 square meters which can accommodate 2,000 parishioners. The construction started in 1999 and along the sides of the church is the history of the diocese and the salvation which are depicted in 16 mural-sized oil paintings. In 2013, the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan was transferred from the Saint Ferdinand Parish Church in Bagumbayan, City of Ilagan to Barangay Upi in the town of Gamu in reference to the decree by Pope Francis. The decree also re-dedicates the Cathedral to Saint Michael the Archangel and in honor of Bishop Miguel Gatan Purugganan, although the diocese remains under the patronage of Saint Ferdinand of Castile.

It has been my yearly vow to visit churches particularly Spanish period structures to pray and observe the Holy Week. Isabela province has its own share of old churches in Alicia, Cauayan, Gamu, Ilagan, Tumauini and San Pablo and influx of Catholics are always expected during this period. Gamu town’s “5-5 Visita Iglesia” is not tailored for Gamueños alone but to all faithful around the country and around the globe who wish to pray and meditate on the Passion of Jesus Christ.