Want to go on a pilgrimage in Batangas on two wheels? You can take this route.
Last weekend, Lima Park Hotel, together with 70 bikers from Batangas and Metro Manila went on the Roman Catholic Lenten tradition of visiting seven churches or religious sites. It was the 2nd time Lima Park Hotel, together with Team Ganit, hosted the Bisikleta Iglesia.
The biking tour, which covered a distance of about 50 kilometers, went through 3 towns and 7 chapels or churches, including 5 shrines.
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| Some of the bikers in front of the Lima Park Pavilion where organizers hosted breakfast and briefed the participants |
The Marian Orchard
First stop was The Marian Orchard
The Marian Orchard is a Catholic complex located in the municipality of Balete, right before the pilgrimage city of Lipa. It is open to everyone who wants to pray and meditate.
The complex features a chapel, a rosary garden, stations of the cross, as well as several gardens and shrines. Its highest point is the Sacred Heart Tower where pilgrims get a sweeping view of
the environs, which includes Taal Lake and Volcano Island; Mountains Makiling,
Maculot, and Malarayat from afar; and the mystic Mt. Banahaw on clear days.
Sto. Nino Parish Church
Stations 3 and 4 were held at a church dedicated to the Child Jesus in Barangay Marawoy, Lipa City.
Divino Amor Chapel
After the Sto. Nino Parish, we went to the Redemptorist Church in Lipa City.
This church is dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Novena masses every Wednesday are also being held here in honor of its patron saint.
Trivia:
In 2009, a pious church goer noticed an image of The Blessed Virgin Mary on the cut branch of a mango tree.
Mary Mediatrix of All Grace Church
This church was established to propagate the right devotion to Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace.
The church is just a kilometer away from the Convent of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the popular apparition site. In 1948, Mary Mediatrix appeared in a vision to Teresita Castillo, a religious postulant. The apparition was followed by showers of rose petals.
Our Lady of Carmel
This is the apparition site church and is being managed and run by Carmelite sisters. This is the most popular pilgrimage site in Batangas. Bus loads of tourists come here before or after Holy Week.
San Sebastian Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian, commonly known as the Lipa Cathedral, is the seat of the Archdiocese of Lipa. This Romanesgue church features a grand baroque designed pipe organ, which is the only one in Batangas province.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus
Our final stop was The St. Therese of the Child Jesus church located along Santo Tomas-Lipa Road in Barangay Talisay, Lipa City.
The backdrop of the church's altar is the nearby Malarayat golf course, which makes this church popular for weddings.
The tour ended with a sumptuous buffet at Lima Park Hotel. Bikers were given certificates and were informed that a portion of their registration fee was donated to The Marian Orchard. Registration fee was P 250, which not only included the meals and donation to The Marian Orchard, but also an event shirt.
Bisikleta Iglesia was also sponsored by Diwa Learning Systems, First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities, AFreight, Yamaha, DB Access, Lima Land Inc., Lucky 4A Feeds and the municipalities of Malvar and Balete.
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