I wasn’t really planning on starting a monthly Marian pilgrimage of sorts but I suddenly realized that this is the third time this year that I visited a shrine in honour of Mama Mary. After my visit to Simala earlier this year and to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal last month, I found myself on the road again to visit the Our Lady of Manoag Shrine inside St. Benedict Monastery in Carmen, Cebu.
St. Benedict Monastery is situated in the little barrio of Corte. If you are from the city, you can just catch a bus towards any Northern Cebu destination. Ask to be dropped off at the corner road heading to the Cebu Safari. You will not miss it because there is a big arch on the highway. You can then hire a habal-habal to take you to the monastery. We decided to hire an individual habal-habal which cost us 100 pesos each.
Aside from the fact that you will not likely be asked to wear a helmet, there should be no problem taking the 10-minute trip. The road is paved and is mostly covered by trees to provide you with shade. You can either ask to be dropped off at the entrance of the monastery or at the drop off point inside the monastery.
Inside, you will see how vast the monastery is. There are three main buildings that you will see – the chapel, the monastery, and the shrine of Our Lady of Manoag.
If you wander around, you will find the gate leading to the Stations of the Cross. If you are planning to have a Via Crucis, especially during the Lenten Season, this place is perfect for you.
The vast greens can help you reflect in prayer.
Just remember to bring an umbrella with you because the sun can be very harsh. Also, bring water because you will be walking about a kilometre from the gate to the last stop.
We finished the stations and took shelter under the huge image o the risen Christ. It is situated on top of the hill and offers a great view of the monastery and the mountains and the sea.
Aside from the Stations of the Cross, there are also other things that you can see here like the large image of the Santo Nino. You can light a candle here and pray.
Fronting the chapel are statues of the apostles.
At the back is the main monastery.
If you go down from the chapel, you will find the Shrine of the Our Lady of Manaoag. It is a simple church with large paintings of the mysteries of the rosary on each side. On the altar is the holy image. There are also different interesting things that I found there like this sculpture explaining the significance of the Manoag image to the people. On the far end of the chapel is a rack where these rosaries are kept. My friend said you could borrow these should you have forgotten to bring your own rosary.
The shrine has a really calming. A strong perfume also wafted in the air while we were there.
By the entrance, you will find tables with pens and papers where you can write your prayer petitions.
