Manaoag, Pangasinan - Church Visit 2022

A visit to the Manaoag Church is a must every time we travel to Pangasinan. “Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag”, its official name, is arguably the most famous pilgrimage site in Pangasinan, with many even calling it the “Catholic Mecca” in the country.
The church is located on top of a hill and is approximately 200 kilometers north of Manila. Traveling from Angeles City, it took us less than 2 hours to arrive, thanks to NLEX, SCTEX, and TPLEX.
You will be greeted by hordes of vendors just outside the church. They sell all sorts of religious artifacts, food, and fruits but our favorites are the Ilokano specialties- white puto and tupig.
We entered the church vicinity via the ‘back gate’ which led us directly to the Candle Gallery. Here, we lit candles and offered prayers for our loved ones. Prayers before lighting the candles were posted everywhere which was very good, especially for my children who are new to the idea of pilgrimage.
The whole place was both solemn and casual, as some families also had fun taking photos besides the statue of the virgin mary.
We headed next to the veneration room. The Veneration Room is popular with pilgrims and is located at the back part of the church. After going through a flight of stairs, visitors are able to touch the trail of the gown of the Lady of Manaoag and say a little prayer. There is also a statue of the Sto Nino where pilgrims can write down their petitions and post them nearby. In the summer, the queue going here tends to get super long. However, since it is December, there was no queue which was great.
The souvenir shop is conveniently located near the exit of the veneration room. We bought a few rosaries here to bring back home to Auckland.
Shot with an iPhone 14 Pro
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My Workstation Setup
Macbook Pro 16 inch M1 Pro
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Samsung 28-Inch 4K UHD Led-Lit Monitor
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USB C to HDMI Cable 4K
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Apple Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad
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