My Share for #BeautifulSunday initiated by @ace108

Travel leads to discovery, experience, learning and sometimes it makes us realize who we really are. Our trip to the Island of Corrigedor in the Philippines has been an amazing experience for me and my family. Although all things comes to an end and let me share with you the final part of this series. What better way to end this trip is to take you a humble church that is nestled along the road, facing the ocean near the port.

San Jose Church

If you would like to find out more about this series. See how got here on this island and follow our adventure.

Part 1 Voyage to the Island of Corregidor

Part 2 Exploring the Island of Corregidor

Part 3 The Ruins of Middleside Barracks

Part 4 The Last Stand of Battery Way

Part 5 The Colossal Gun of the Island: Battery Hearn

Part 6 The Haunted Hospital of Corregidor

Part 7 The Mile Long Barracks

Part 8 Pacific War Memorial Museum

Part 9 Pacific War Memorial Museum "Weapons of War"

Part 10 The Eternal Flame of Freedom

 

If you would check the map, the church is unmarked. I had to mark it myself to give you an overhead view from above. Although if you would be docking from the port, the church is hard to miss as it is just along the road going to south beach.

This is the last part of our tour and it took us a while to get back from where we started. It was a very long walk back coming from The Eternal Flame of Freedom site. There are very few vehicles that rarely passes by except for the Sun Cruises tour vehicle. One of the drivers pulled over and asked us if we needed a lift back even though we are not part of the tour. Something that we are greatly thankful for, as we are already tired from all the walking. Thus, I recommend you to take the Sun Cruises tour if ever you want to visit the island and skip all the walking.

There is not much known about San Jose Church. I tried to find any historical background from the church, but it seems it has not been documented online. But based from what I learned from the staff. The church was used by the local residents on the island. It has been there even before the war. Although it could not be concluded if it was established during the Spanish occupation.

The church facade doesn't look ancient and probably has gone thru a lot of restorations in the past years. It has that certain charm that emanates a peaceful aura being surrounded by trees.

The windows on the church look old and may have come from the original structure. The windows are made from Capiz which is a popular material made from shells since the Spanish era.

This is the main entrance to the church does give you that feel of Spanish influence. Some churches has elaborate arches even with intricate stone carved designs.

The door looks old, but has been painted pink on the outside. I prefer doors that are left unpainted to emphasis on its age and just allowing the elements to give it a natural finish.

The church is small and its size is good enough just for a small village.

The interior walls has been wash painted by beige paint and is slowly fading away. The building materials looks to be made from hollow blocks which has been cemented. Unlike the old Spanish churches we have previously visited which has been constructed with bricks.

All the windows in the church are made from Capiz. One window has been covered with plywood which might have been damaged by a storm. I hope they get it replaced as Capiz windows can still be purchased.

The wooden ceiling gives it a rustic feeling and has been well maintained. I have not seen any traces of rotting or water marks on the ceiling.

On the upper portion, just above the entrance is a painted scene of Jesus praying the Garden of Gethsemane.

The chandeliers hanging from the ceiling looks medieval, but I cannot say if it is an antique. Lit up by 10 warm white light bulbs, it gives the wood a cozy glow.

There is a confession box on the right part of the church. Just above it are parts of the stations of the cross which goes around the walls of the church. Stations of the cross comes in different forms painted glass, paintings, stone carvings and in this case it looks like to be wood carving.

This is the side entrance of the church which leads thru another entrance on the other side.

The afternoon light give the interior a soft glowing light inside. I was the only one here at this time as most of the tourists are busy at the beach and visiting the tourist spots. I consider myself very lucky as being alone inside a church is a very serene experience. The silence uplifts my spirit and the ambiance almost speaks to me. Telling me not to worry about anything even if only for this moment.

The part of a church which I love the most are the painted glass windows. They are an art form which best describes history and spirituality. Here there are no painted glass windows, but instead colored glass adorn the arches of the doors and windows.

A dove hovers above the holy water font and can be found in all three entrances of the church.

The front right side of the church has the statue of Saint. The statue has clothing and features of a Filipino. There are two Filipino Saints who were canonized. One is San Lorenzo Ruiz martyred in Japan and the other is Pedro Calungsod who was martyred in Guam.

I could say that the statue is of San Lorenzo Ruiz due to his connection to Japan where he was martyred. Since the island was captured by Japan, I believe it is fitting to have his statue here.

The front left side of the church has the statue of Saint San Jose. First I was trying to figure out who the Saint was until I just realized the name of the church to be San Jose. San Jose which is the local or Spanish name of Saint Joseph the carpenter or husband of Mary.

Saint Joseph is considered to be the patron Saint of workers. It is possible why they chose the patron Saint for the church is because of the workers in the village. Probably during the Spanish era when most of the locals were used as workers on the island. Well, we cannot really tell as there is not much documentation about the church or village.

As I left thru the side entrance, all the places that we visited flashed thru my memory. I felt a bit of sadness as I know that this church is the final stop and the next step is aboard the ship to journey back home.

As we slowly sailed back home and the light slowly dying out. I stared at the tadpole shaped island and said a little prayer for those who fought defending what is right. I am thankful I was able to go on this journey with my family and experience life, history and nature in the small island in the Philippines called Corrigedor.

Thank you for joining the final part of our series. To those who joined the tour thru this series, it was a pleasure to have you along with me. The stops that we made throughout the island has been amazing. The map below shows almost two hours of travel time by walking, but in reality it took us almost 5 hours to complete the tour.

This concludes this series and I do hope you join me again next time for another adventure. See you again soon. Cheers!

If you love churches come and visit the links below. These are just a few of the churches in the Philippines I have visited in the span of 2 years. I will continue to visit and discover more in our future travels.

Majayjay Church

Lilio Church

Calamba Church
St. Peter of Alcantara Parish Church

Paete Church

Manila Cathedral

San Agustin Church

Immaculate Heart Convent

Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral

St. Mary Magdalene Church

 

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All photos are original and taken with

Lumix GX85 12-32 mm kit lens

 

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://watersnake101.steemblogs.club/2019/09/01/take-me-to-church-san-jose-church-beautiful-sunday/

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