QUEZON: Road Trip to Religious Places

Motivated by the traditions for holy week, we did an early bisita iglesia a week ahead as to avoid flocks of faithful in the churches of Quezon. First in our itinerary is the Our Lady of Candelaria Church in Candelaria. This is actually the parish of San Pedro Bautista but it is popular for the title named after its town. It was actually newly painted when we visited the church according to my college classmate who happened to be a resident of the town.

Next in our list is the St. Francis of Assissi Church in Sariaya. Just in front of the church are tall palm trees that really caught my eyes. Maybe trees of the palm family grow tall in Quezon based on my observations. An hour ride from Sariaya is the town of Tayabas, which was then the name of the present Quezon to pay due honour to former Pres. Manuel Luis Quezon who was a native of the province, from Baler which is now under the jurisdiction of Aurora.

Tayabas is where the Minor Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel situated. This is said to be the largest Catholic Church in the province, having one of the oldest and largest clock on the belfry in Asia. Another old structure in the town is the Santuario de las Almas, which according to driver that brought us there seldom celebrates the holy mass.

Then we starved and decided to have our lunch at Palaisdaan where we get to taste a native delicacy, the balun-balon; caramel-coated ring of deep-fried banana batter or so (

Our last stop is the town of Lucban, known for its longganisa, pansit and Pahiyas Festival. Before heading to the town proper of Lucban, we visited Kamay ni Hesus Shrine where life-sized images of saints, mysteries of the holy rosary and stations of the cross are displayed. Notable it is for us is the statue of Christ the Redeemer which could be someday recognized as one of the tallest statues of Christ the Redeemer.

We didn’t fail to visit the Church of Lucban, under the protection of the patron San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. Some people would say that the patron saint is San Isidro Labrador because of the homage done during Pahiyas Festival but it’s not.

Just a few walk from the Church of Lucban is the Patio Rizal. This is quite peaceful than the one in Luneta.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Manila-Quezon

From Ortigas bus loading bay, you can board a bus like Jam Liner bound to Lucena City. You may drop off at Candelaria, after the municipal arch is the church of Candelaria. From there, ride a bus again going to Lucena and drop off at Sariaya. Just a few walk from the the church are jitneys bound to Tayabas.From Tayabas, we took a van going to Palaisdaan where we had our lunch. From there, there are jitneys passing by going to Lucban. I forgot the exact fare back then but it was roughly around Php300-400 from Manila all the way to Lucban.

Quezon-Manila

From Lucban terminal, take a jeep bound to Sta. Cruz Laguna. You will pass the towns of Lusiana, Cavinti,and Pagsanjan before you reach the town of Sta. Cruz. Tell the driver to drop you off at the bus terminal bound to Cubao.