Quiapo, Then and Now

RAMIREZ, RJ

RUIZ, Bianca

TEH, Mia

SA 21 – D

​It is apparent that Filipinos take their religion very seriously. Many Filipinos are willing to endure large amounts of pain just to profess their faith. Some choose the easier route in trying to express their belief by simply visiting a church and spending a few minutes in prayer. Our recent visit to Quiapo Church exposed us to both these forms of worship.

​When we arrived in Quiapo during our visit there a few days ago, we took a few minutes to survey our surroundings. The first thing we noticed is the large amount of people in the area. There were many people not only inside the church but around its surroundings as well. After this short moment of observation, we then decided to enter the church. This was the first time to enter Quiapo Church for all three of us and it’s unlike any church we have visited so far in the Philippines. The sheer size of the church’s interior dwarfs most of the churches we go to every Sunday.

​Even with its size, Quiapo Church is jam packed with numerous devotees. Most of the pews are filled with people and it is difficult to find an empty spot to sit down in. The first thing we noticed once we entered the church was the people who were walking on their knees towards the altar. These devotees would kneel down at the church’s entrance and then they would slowly go towards the altar on their knees. Given the size of the church, this painstaking ritual would take a while to complete. We saw around five people doing this when we arrived and many others joined in on the ritual while we were there. What this ritual reminded us of is the “penitensya” which Zialcita talked about in his article. This is probably because what these devotees are doing is a form of sacrifice, which they use to commemorate and share in the suffering of Christ. This is probably a way of showing repentance for the devotees since many Filipinos consider “penitensya” as a form of cleansing. We were able to...