Welcome!
I hope your are all doing well. Join me as I travel down memory lane once again to the popular destinations in the southern part of Cebu Island. In my last blog, I swam with the gentle giants in Oslob, Cebu. You can check it out through the link below.
My Time with the Gentle Giants Under Water | Oslob Whale Shark Watching, Cebu
After we finished up with the whale sharks, the next on our itinerary was Simala Shrine in Sibonga. I've heard people say that the shrine is not actually a tourist spot. It's a place where people worship and deliver their prayers.
Tourist spot or not, the shrine is a sight to behold. The development of the place of worship is astonishing. I remember going there when I was still in high school and it wasn't as grand as it is today. If you visit the place now, it looks like a castle from a fairytale.
When you enter the gates, you are greeted by this long and wide set of stairs. The banisters are made of concrete and there's no roof to offer shade. Again, this trip was during the summer and the heat was in its full force.
Climbing up the stairs, we could see the shrine looming up ahead. The paint on the structure looked quite new. The shrine has been on continuous development and expansion. All of these wide stairways, parapets, and towers have only been finished in recent years. An indication of the age of the shrine is shown by the dark-colored structure at the back looking like an old church.
I remember the shrine used to be surrounded by foliage and a lot of trees. Now, they've landscaped the whole area. We could see a pond below and at the edge, a man-made waterfall is built. I could imagine water cascading down into the pond once the structure is completed. That would make the whole scene come alive. There is also a flight of stairs that would bring people from the grounds straight up to the church.
We made our way up to the first tower and it was a marvel on its own. How I wished visitors were allowed to climb up to get a better view of the shrine and the surrounding mountains. I could see a platform at the top that would be perfect to take in the amazing view of the place.
The shrine is located in the uphills of Lindogon, Simala that's why it's also called Our Lady of Lindogon Shrine. Mountains surround the place and it's supposed to be secluded because it is also a monastery. Another name for the shrine is the Monastery of the Holy Eucharist.
Being a place of worship, there are strict rules for people who are going inside. Sleeveless shirts and short shorts are not allowed. There are shawls available near the entrance for people to borrow or rent that they can use to cover themselves up. My aunt's stepdaughter needed to borrow a shawl to cover her legs because I think she was wearing short shorts.
My girlfriend came with us on this trip. She was dressed appropriately but she still brought out her shawl to cover herself from the heat. I thought she looked like the Virgin Mary. lol.
Anyway, we reached the entrance of the church and we saw that mass was ongoing. We didn't plan on attending the mass. We just came to see the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary. That mass was one of the last masses before the country went to lockdown. This trip happened right at the start of the pandemic.
We passed by the church area where mass was held and we entered the west side of the shrine. This was where silence was required and oddly, shoes were to be taken off. I put my phone in my pocket while inside because the atmosphere was solemn and quiet.
There was a queue going to the image of the Virgin Mary and we silently followed it. I sent out my prayers silently as we reached the image. Inside the shrine, there are countless tokens, gifts, and written testimonies displayed in cabinets from people who received miracles because of their pilgrimage to the shrine.
We didn't take long inside the shrine but we did lit some candles which were color-coded depending on the type of prayers or petition that you had. I remember lighting a blue candle which was for perseverance, employment, career, and promotions.
That's it! Our visit to the shrine was fairly quick but it was enough to bring out the marvel in seeing its grand architecture and being in the atmosphere of prayer and supplication. I'm curious what the shrine looks like now if all the developments have been completed and whether it even looks more marvelous today. Maybe I'll get to share here my next visit to the shrine.
That's all for now. See you on the next post. Cheers!
