It is only 36 kilometres from our jumping off point at the SM City Mall parking lot in Iloilo to the Church of Our Lady of the Pillars, Mina, Iloilo. It’s an easy 40 to 45 minute drive.
I had big hopes after having heard about this church from relatives and friends. We went there to attend the funeral of a ‘distant relative’ and what I saw was deeply disappointing. Given that this is a very small town church, my disappointment perhaps should not have been as serious as indeed it was.
My disappointment stemmed from the fact that the church is in such disrepair, although structural work appears to be currently in progress.
If there is a church that needs help this surely has to be it!
Many of the ‘huge’ political figures of our nation (Philippines) at least 2 senior Senators , a Provincial Governor and assorted other politicians call this town their ‘home town’, how all of them can neglect their hometown church which appears to be in dire need of help and allow it to exist in such a deplorable state is a puzzlement to me. It’s a shame!
I was warmly welcomed by the parish priest, an Augustinian Friar, who has been in the parish for many years. We tried to get as much information as possible about the church and its history, but to no avail. We will have to visit the Archives at the Archdiocese of Jaro to try to unearth the most basic information we need to be able to write the story of the church. But that is for another time…
Here are some 15 photos I was able to capture on that Saturday morning just to show you what I’m talking about!
[left click on any photo to view it in larger format]
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No less than the governor of the Iloilo Province is from this town..
You're absolutely right Jerry, and I hear that Miriam Defensor, the Senator, is also related to the Governor and is also from the Mina area. You'd think that they could put their heads together and raise a pile of money to do something really special for this small country church the needs help desperately. They could do it for their hometown, quite easily. Wishful thinking?