We went to Intramuros on National Heroes Day and our first stop was the Manila Cathedral.

Manila Cathedral by Amrei Dizon

The present building is the sixth to rise on the site since 1581. Previous structures were destroyed by either fire or earthquake. Rebuilt in 1958 with Fernando Ocampo as architect, the cathedral incorporated the stone carvings and rosette windows of the old cathedral. Stained glass windows celebrating the Christianization of the Philippines light up its clerestory. Mosaic artwork decorate three of its side chapels.

Source: http://www.intramurosadministration.com/mcathedral.htm

Some architectural details of the cathedral that I shot from the outside (we did not go inside the church):

After taking some photos at the Manila Cathedral, we crossed over the road and directly in front or the cathedral is Plaza Roma.

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Manila, Manila… Simply no place like Manila
Plaza Roma, Intramuros Manila
Palacio del Gobernador, Intramuros Manila

In Siquijor is a statue of Sta. Rita de Siquijor also labeled as the Black Magic Mary, because of the black magic myths in its location and its dress which resembles the Virgin Mary’s dress, only black. But we were not able to get an account of the real reason why the statue is called as such. So we pursued to see the statue hoping to find an answer. This was one of the highlights of our Siquijor trip.

It was only last year that we went to Dumaguete and made a side trip to Siquijor.

One of the things that made Siquijor a famous place in the Philippines is the myth of sorcery and black magic in the island. No one has proven this to be true, but in the 90’s, local TV channels would show several features of such myths in the island.

One of the things that got us interested to visit Siquijor was a photo we received from a friend, a statue of a saint, wearing all black, holding a small skull and an inverted crucifix:

A spooky feeling came over me when I saw the photo. But it’s even spookier to be face to face with the statue in person.

The statue is inside a glass encasement in the Church of Sta. Maria. The big church would be filled with patrons at mass. Most churches would hold mass on Saturdays, but that Saturday at Sta. Maria, it was strangely empty and quiet.

Sta. Rita is at the right side of the altar. It looked spooky, because of its fierce look on its eyes and black clothes. Add the small skull on her hand. The crucifix, however, was not inverted anymore. We heard that Sta. Rita hanged herself and that she was full of grief, that’s why she’s wearing black. But she could have just been a nun, it looked to me that the dress she’s wearing was what nuns wear in the olden days. But there was no one in the church that we could ask about Sta. Rita de Siquijor’s story.

After visiting the Sta. Maria church to see Sta. Rita de Siquijor, we moved to the town of Lazi to see the St. Isidore Church and Lazi Convent. In the convent, we saw a priest who just finished a mass at the church and was crossing the road to get to the convent. We approached him and learning that we were tourists on the island, he invited us over to the convent to take a tour. We had a long chat, and he even told us of some stories about the town and the convent. While chatting, we hoped that he would know something about Sta. Rita de Siquijor. But the priest, who have been in Lazi for a few years, and who knew a lot about the convent, the town, and the whole island, knew nothing about Sta. Rita de Siquijor.

So for the whole time that we were in Siquijor, and the months after, we did not know a thing about Sta. Rita de Siquijor, and why she was holding a skull and a crucifix. It was only recently that I was able to find articles about the controversial statue. Most of the writings said that she, Sta. Rita, was a nun and that her forehead was pierced by a crown of thorns. The wound the piercing created was said to have bled for 15 years until she died. And that the controversial statue that is in Siquijor was stolen from the church years ago but recovered in the neighboring island of Bohol. A lot of articles would feature Sta. Rita de Siquijor’s photos, but would only recount about the life of Sta. Rita, (aka Sta. Rita de Cascia) the Italian Augustinian Saint, who also holds a crucifix, wears black, but does not have a fierce look on her eyes.

But there’s nothing about Sta. Rita de Siquijor, the one that holds a skull. Maybe that is why the statue remains to be controversial until this day.

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Siquijor Island, Negros Oriental
Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental

I have always loved traveling.

When I was younger, I wished I was I Traveler, remember that show on Discovery Channel?

And now that I am older, I work my arse off in OTs, save up, and well, travel. I thought I’ve been to a lot of places. But hey, the Philippines has more than 7000 beautiful islands. Who am I to say that I have traveled?