It was a sunny day when my family and I visited this holy place in the South of Cebu. It may be just less than an hour away from my hometown but we don't go here as often as we go to regular church. Yup, I am taking you today to one of Cebu's renowned churches or, more appropriately, shrines. This place is called The Monastery of the Holy Eucharist but for us locals, we rarely use that formal name. Instead, we call it Our Lady of Lindogon Shrine or just simply Simala. Simala is a place in the town of Sibonga, an adjacent town to Carcar City.
With all honesty, my family might not be the most religious one but growing up, I remember that in a year we'd visit Simala every now and then. With these four to five visits per year, I've personally seen how a small chapel on top of a hill grew into the castle it is now. Okay, before I completely confuse you, this is not a castle where some kind of royal family resides; there isn't a royal family in the Philippines to start with. Simala is a Roman Catholic pilgrimage church that houses the Miraculous Mary. But long before it was known for all the miraculous events such as the shedding of tears of Mary, according to cebucitytour.com, it's just an ordinary church built by the Marian Monks from Pampanga in 1998. Until it became famous and pilgrims from all over the country flocked to the church to pay tribute to the Miraculous Mary. Visiting for either thanksgiving or offering prayers for their requests. I'm not sure if the increased number of pilgrims and devotees was the main reason why they expanded the area of the church, built a bigger church still on top of a hill in Lindogon, and erected tall, sturdy structures that now look like a castle's fortress.
Today you'll be amazed by how huge the entire property is. When I got back here in 2019, the first time I saw how huge it became. The moment I laid eyes on it, I instantly felt like I'm not in the Philippines. With its well-thought design, you'd easily feel like you're somewhere in Europe. I'm not in the position to share what kind of architecture or design they've used here but ultimately, I'm just amazed that such a structure could be found a few kilometers away from home.
For the best experience view this post on Liketu
I guess they have miraculous Mary to thank for all that
Churches have an interesting historical aspect. We don't have a church, but I like their architecture very much. Really nice
I love your pictures!!
Thank you @belug! I'm pretty sure there are bigger churches or structures such as the one in this post in your area. Have you visited one lately?
It looks like one of those ancient Roman structures with the way the architecture was laid it must have cost a fortune to erect that edifice. I think it must have taken time to build as and complete and it's a beautiful place. Most of the Catholic churches I've seen have a thing for building something iconic with worship places
I'm really glad this one's very near my home. I have no plans of traveling abroad for work or for leisure but at least I got to experience an exhilarating structure such as this one.