The best thing about joining a pilgrimage is the opportunity to visit sacred places in a prayerful and reflective way, together with a large number of fellow pilgrims. This Lenten season, I joined the pilgrimage organized by our parish. We visited eight churches in the Diocese of Catarman, including Salvacion Parish in Laoang, the Rawis Mission Center in Laoang, Saint Roche Parish in San Roque, the Monastery of Saint Clare, Mondragon Parish, Dalakit Church in Catarman, San Jose Parish, and Rosario Parish—all located in the province of Northern Samar.
Our take-off point was, of course, our parish church, the Our Lady of the Assumption Church. We began with our opening prayers a little past five in the morning, and by six, we were already on our way to Laoang. Along the journey, we prayed the 20 mysteries of the Rosary, followed by the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.
In less than two hours, we arrived at Rawis Port, where we boarded a small boat, locally known as a sampan, bound for the island municipality of Laoang. From the port, we took a tricycle to the jump-off point going to the island barangay of Salvacion. I was especially excited to visit this place, particularly the church known as a pilgrimage site for devotees of Our Lady of the Salvation.
Before noon, the Holy Mass was celebrated. Afterward, we prayed before the venerated image of Our Lady of Salvation, which closely resembles the miraculous image we once had in Lavezares that was sadly stolen decades ago.
By noontime, we were back at Rawis Church. At around 1:00 PM, we arrived at San Roque Church, followed by Mondragon Church. At nearly 2:00 PM, we reached the Monastery of Saint Clare, where we offered our prayers and then took our lunch. Shortly before 3:00 PM, we proceeded to Dalakit Church. By 4:00 PM, we were at San Jose Church, and by 4:30 PM, at Rosario Church. At around 5:00 PM, we safely returned to Lavezares.
It is always a heartwarming experience to journey with hundreds of pilgrims—praying together, sharing life experiences, and walking side by side in one direction, united in our desire to grow closer to God.
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