Praying across Negros Occidental

ON ITS 11^th annual Lenten journey, the nonprofit Catholic pilgrimage apostolate Green Faith Travels will be bringing pilgrims to the province of Negros Occidental to pray in 16 churches and visit museums, historical landmarks, and heritage sites, from March 12 to 16.

The Lenten pilgrimage, called “A Carmelite Journey: Lenten Pilgrimage to Bacolod, Negros Occidental,” and with Fr. Reynante Miguel Azul Lavado of the Order of Discalced Carmelites as pilgrimage chaplain, will be highlighted by a one-day retreat at the Our Lady’s Hill Carmelite Center of Spirituality in Bago City.

The pilgrimage will cover the dioceses of San Carlos (Northern Negros Occidental), Kabankalan (southern Negros Occidental), and Bacolod (Central Negros Occidental).

In the Diocese of Bacolod, pilgrims will visit the San Diego de Alcala Pro-Cathedral in Silay City. In Talisay City, stops will be made at the San Nicholas de Tolentino Parish-Recolotes and Diocesan Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer, and St. James the Greater Church and Our Lady of Medjugorje (the first replica church in Asia and the third in the world of the original church in Bosnia and Herzegovina).

In Bacolod City, there will be several stops: at Carmel of St. Joseph and St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (Carmelite monastery); Queen of Peace Parish-Redemptorist; San Sebastian Cathedral; the Sacred Heart Shrine and Seminary; San Antonio Abad Parish; Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Parish and the grotto of St. Padre Pio; and St. Ezekiel Moreno Monastery and Reliquarium.

Pilgrims will also pray at the Talan-awon ni Maria of the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross in Murcia; St. John the Baptist Parish in Bago City; and Santa Maria Magdalena Parish in Hinigaran.

At the Diocese of San Carlos, pilgrims will stop at the San Carlos Borromeo Cathedral, and in the Diocese of Kabankalan, at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.

The pilgrimage fee is P35,000 per person, which covers two-way airfare with 20-kilogram baggage allowance, accommodations and transportation for five days and four nights, all meals and snacks, the entrance fees to museums and heritage sites, and a pilgrim’s kit. The deadline of payment is on Feb. 28.

Over the last 11 years (excluding the pandemic years), Green Faith Travels has organized more than 30 pilgrimages in Luzon and the Visayas, with its annual Lenten, Easter, and Marian “retreats on foot.”

On its 12^th year, Green Faith Travels’ pilgrimages are now Carmelite journeys of contemplative prayer as it promotes the Teresian Carmelite spirituality.

Interested parties may contact Bro. Edwin P. Galvez at 0917-830-2596, or visit Green Faith Travels’ Facebook page for details.