Today, we went on our yearly family Visita Iglesia in observance of Maundy Thursday. In previous years, we visited churches in Metro Manila. In 2015, we visited churches in Bulacan province (LINK). In 2016, we visited churches in Caloocan and Malabon. In 2017, we visited churches in Rizal province (LINK). This year, I decided to take my family to visit churches in historic Cavite province.
1. ST. MARY MAGDALENE CHURCH - KAWIT
The construction of this church began in 1737 by the Jesuits. Kawit's most prominent son, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo was baptized in this church. The building sustained serious damage during the Philippine-American War, but was restored by Kawit resident back to working condition. Near this church is the Aguinaldo Shrine, the ancestral home of the Aguinaldo family and the site where the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain was declared on June 12, 1898.
2. THE MOST HOLY ROSARY PARISH - ROSARIO
The construction of this church began in 1845. The church was burned down in 1897 by members of the Magdiwang party of the Katipunan because of their hatred for the friars, but fortunately their iconic painting of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary was kept intact. The town's fluvial Caracol festival is held yearly in the month of May in honor of the Virgen del Rosario.
3. HOLY CROSS PARISH CHURCH - TANZA
This is also called the Diocesan Shrine of Saint Augustine. It has a small area which contains images of St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica. In 1897, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and Gen. Mariano Trias took their oaths of office for President and Vice President of the Revolutionary Government.
4. DIOCESAN SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH- NAIC
This church was constructed during the 1800s in a semi-Gothic architectural style. It is interesting to note that the building of the Naic Central School nearby is the only casa hacienda of friars still in use today. During the Revolution, the church convent of Naic was said to have been used by Andres Bonifacio as his headquarters after the Tejeros Convention of 1897.
5. OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION CHURCH - MARAGONDON
This church was established by the Jesuits in 1618. Its tall narrow facade is notably different from other Jesuit churches. In 1897, it served as a primary station for the forces of Aguinaldo during the revolution. In 2001, it was declared by the National Museum as a National Cultural Treasure.
6. CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR - IMUS
It was first built in 1795 by the Augustinian Recollects. The stone church building was built in 1821. It became a cathedral in 1961 because the bishop of the Diocese of Imus, the diocese that has jurisdiction of all the Catholic parishes in Cavite, stays here.
7. ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL PARISH CHURCH - BACOOR
This church was first built in 1752. It has been served by Filipino parish priests since then up to 1872, when Augustinian Recollects took over. It is notable that Fr. Mariano Gomes, one of the GOMBURZA martyr priests, served as parish priest of this church for 48 years.
