Pancakes and Fries

When I was younger, I thought I'd be satisfied when I'd get to eat these whenever I want to.

But, I was mistaken. I realized that it gets pretty dull when we get to eat whatever, wherever, and whenever we want. Whether they're pancakes and fries or other much tastier food, I now prefer to eat home cooked meals. But, who am I kidding? I don't know how to cook (except rice, of course!).

San Roque Parish

San Roque church was the ninth and last parish we visited during our tour of Mandaue City's Church Parishes.

The church facade shows a semicircular structure. It is the only church that gave me an energetic vibe. Based on the activities on a normal Saturday, I believe that most of the church patrons belong to a younger generation.

Inside the church. The pews are arranged in a semicircular way to fit  the church's semicircular structure.

A glass mosaic of St. Roque on one of the church walls.

Church patrons playing croquet in the church grounds. I was reminded of the Queen in Alice in Wonderland saying, "Off with her head!"

Because it was the last church in our itinerary, we decided to have a group picture.:)

Gethsemane Parish

The Gethsemane church was the eighth parish we visited during our tour of Mandaue City's Church Parishes.

The church facade.

The church altar.

A sculpture depicting Jesus and an angel  in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is part of the church altar  at the back of the chairs for mass celebrants.

The church pews as seen from the altar. This is the first church I've visited that has sloping pews.

Holy Family Parish

The Holy Family church was the seventh parish we visited during our tour of Mandaue City's Church Parishes.

The church facade. This was the only church that looks like a big house in the old days. It has a veranda on all sides.

Inside the church. There was a scheduled wedding ceremony  during our visit.

A dome in the church's ceiling. I've noticed that most Catholic churches have a dome in their ceilings.

This was placed on the church's front veranda.

An area in the church grounds for offering lighted candles. I like the glass mosaic of the Holy Family.

The mass schedule placed on a post along the street.

St. Joseph Parish

The National Shrine of St. Joseph was the sixth parish we visited during our tour of Mandaue City's Church Parishes. According to the Mandaue City official tourism website, the church was completed in 1848. In 1922, it was damaged by an earthquake and in 1945, a bomb destroyed its roof. The bell tower in the middle of the facade was later demolished and two towers were constructed on both sides. In 1996, a full renovation took place.

The church facade with the new tower of bells on the side.

A view of the church facade with churchgoers. There was a confirmation ceremony when we arrived for our visit.

A closer shot of one of the church's towers.

The new tower of bells. I don't know how these bells are rang. Probably it's automated (?). :)

The church altar.

Mandaue's Señor de Cena

On the right side of the altar is Mandaue's Señor de Cena. It's a life-sized depiction of Jesus with the 12 apostles during the Last Supper.

I attempted to take a picture of all the apostles with Jesus using the panoramic feature of my cam. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that there was one apostle who was too tall fit in the shot...hehehe

Christ The King Parish

Christ The King church was the fifth parish we visited during our tour of Mandaue City's Church Parishes.

The church sign along the road.

The church facade.

Inside the church.

The church altar.

Sto. Niño Parish

Sto. Niño church was the fourth parish we visited during our tour of Mandaue City's Church Parishes.

The church sign along the road.

The church facade.

The church altar.

Inside the church. There was a wedding preparation.

Our Lady Of Fatima Parish

Our Lady of Fatima church was the third parish we visited during our tour of Mandaue City's Church Parishes.

The church facade.

The church altar.

A closer look of the church altar. One of us said that this is now her favorite church, which I agree. I think it's also because this was the only church altar that we were able to have a close look. It's very beautiful and peaceful to be here.

This was the church where attended I Sunday masses a few years ago. But, this is the first time I get to have a close look of the altar and see the church pews from it.

Our Lady of The Nativity Parish

Our Lady of the Nativity church was the second parish we visited during our tour of Mandaue City's Church Parishes.

The Church sign along the road.

The Church facade.

Inside the Church.

San Isidro Parish

San Isidro Parish Church is along the way during our visits to Mandaue City's Church Parishes, so we've decided to stop by.

Inside San Isidro Church

The church facade.

A view from the church front. I wouldn't advise wearing high heels when attending mass here. :)

This is the second Catholic Church I've seen with a monument for the unborn.

Church Visits

Some friends and officemates have planned a few weeks ago to visit Catholic Churches in the Cebu Province. However, visiting all these beautiful and historical churches in 1 day or even just for 2-3 weekends would be a huge goal for us. Time and budget constraints call for the setting of small goals. So, we've decided to divide our goal of visiting Cebu's Catholic churches into small chunks, but highly achievable goals.

Last Saturday was the start of one of those small chunks. Because I felt in the mood to create an itinerary for this plan, I proposed (i think "imposed" is probably the right term...hehehe) that we visit Mandaue City Church Parishes. I also suggested to visit a Cebu Parish because we would be passing by it. Thankfully, my companions have agreed with the plan even though we would just use the jeepney and tricycle during our tour. This is the first itinerary that I have successfully created for a group activity. :)

A. San Isidro Parish, Talamban, Cebu City
* From Ayala Mall, ride any jeep to Talamban (13B/C or 62B/C)

B. Our Lady Of The Nativity Parish, Canduman, Mandaue City
* From Sand Isidro Parish, ride jeep (13B/C) to Tintay Market. Then, ride tricycle.

C. Our Lady Of Fatima Parish, Basak, Mandaue City
*  Ride tricycle to corner Canduman. Walk from eskina Canduman to Fatima Parish.
** After the experience, it's better to ride a jeep especially if the weather is too hot.

D. Sto. Niño Parish, Paknaan, Mandaue City
* Ride jeep to Basak Elementary School. Then, ride tricycle.

** After the experience, I learned that it is more practical to walk from Fatima Parish to the school. Then hop in a tricycle and tell the driver to go to Sto. Niño church in Paknaan (not the chapel). It was here that we had our first interaction of a good driver because he looked for a tricycle driver who was willing to drive us to our destination and suggested a very affordable group fare.

E. Christ The King Parish, Alang-alang, Mandaue City
* Ride jeep/tricycle (maybe 2 rides).
** The experience made me realize that there are still honest and good tricycle drivers. The tricycle driver from Sto. Niño Parish happily waited for us then, volunteered to drive us to St. Joseph Parish without asking for more than the regular fares.

F. St. Joseph Parish, Poblacion, Mandaue City
* Ride tricycle (maybe 2 rides).
** During our tour, it was only one ride from Christ the King Parish.

LUNCH at ChowKing.

G. Holy Family Parish, Maguikay, Mandaue City
* Ride jeepney to Mercury corner AS. Fortuna. Walk to corner Maguikay. Ride tricycle.
** During our tour, we hopped in a tricycle from a terminal near Gaisano Grandmall. The tricycles there go to Cabancalan passing through Maguikay. It was the first time I learned that I could directly go to Maguikay from the center of Mandaue City. :D

H. Gethsemane Parish, Casuntingan, Mandaue City
* Ride tricycle.

I. San Roque Parish, Subangdaku, Mandaue City
* Ride tricycle.
* During our tour, we rode a tricycle and stopped at the corner of Hernan Cortes extension and AS      Fortuna St., near Rose Pharmacy. Then, crossed the other side to a tricycle terminal and told a driver we are going to San Roque Parish. There was very heavy traffic. But, we arrived in one piece despite the heat of the afternoon sun. :D

At less than P300.00, we completed our church visits in one day. It was fun! And, thanks to Google Maps, we found our way to these churches. :)

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral Parish

According to wikipilipinas, Spanish friars built Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Cathedral sometime in 1895 before Dipolog City became a municipality. Records also show that while Dr. Jose Rizal (the Philippines' National Hero) was in Dapitan during his exile, he designed the Cathedral's altar at the request of his former professor -- Fr. Jose Villa Clara.

After I saw a wedding picture of a high school classmate with the church in the background, I couldn't help admiring the newly renovated Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral Parish in my home city. Of course, that was a few years ago, and I only had the chance today to look at the church from the eyes of a tourist. So after Sunday mass, I walked around and took some pictures.

The Cathedral's altar. It's still the same design from the old one. It's just lighter, probably because of the new materials used during the renovation a few years ago.

The Cathedral's hardwood ceiling with images of the four Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  They have been there since I was a child. According to my father, these images were brought from Rome.

The angels are new to me. The material used for the Cathedral's outside walls are also new.

The Cathedral's facade. It's still almost the same as the old one, except for the main entrance. The entrance is wider but I think lower than it was during the old days,

A schedule of masses and other church activities.

A monument of the unborn. This was the first time I saw it and  I believe this is the first church I've seen that has this monument.