I've
always fond of visiting old places with historic significance. When my teacher
told me about the oldest Catholic Church in Philippines, the title drew me to
her instantly.
Santo
Niño Church is no doubt the shelter for all walks of life. No matter which
class, gender, or race you belong in, everyone is welcomed to find the peace of
mind. You can really tell it's an old architecture from the gray spots which
covered the ivory white building, but it only made me revere this sacred place
more for its honoured history. Although it had been burnt and renovated several
times since 16th century, the age never leaves wrinkles on its solemn, serene
yet modest characteristic.
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| Picturing Basilica from the streets outside; sorry for my lousy photography skill. |
However,
what astounded me was not the church itself but the mass where hundreds of
people stood and prayed either on the plaza or inside the church. I'm not a
religious person actually, neither am I a Christian nor a Catholic. Although I
knew nothing of the language the cleric chanted during the mass, I suddenly
realized what is the power of religion. The power is that I didn’t even have to
know the language but I could still feel the solemnity. The power is what gathers
people from any corner of the city to come here just to listen to the prayer.
The power comforts people, and from the ritual people rinse themselves with
hope. I didn't get to walk around inside the hall of the church to see the
beautiful design because of the mass; never mind, hearing the mass already got
me goose bumps. To be honest, my memory of the look of the heritage was kind of
vague already, but the miraculous feeling I got from the mass is everlasting,
as fresh as the day.
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| The mass on the plaza; after I saw a cop rearing a sign saying "no photographing", I finally realized that taking photo was not allowed during the sacred ceremony. |
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| I happened to captured this man at the moment he reached the statue of a disciple. |
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| Ehh I think this is Mary the mother of Jesus? (I appreciate her beautiful garments) |
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