St. Benedict's Monastery Keeps Huge Statue of Mary

by - 10:41 AM

Black Saturday - April 23, 2011, Eventhough our tradition states, "Dili pwede magsige ug laag/lakaw kay ang Ginoo namatay" (It is not advisable to go out because Jesus died) but I, together with four buddies, commuted to St. Benedict's Monastery not for fun but to attend a prayer through the Way of the Cross and discover the hidden treasure which for sure everybody knows not about it. This monastery is situated at Barangay Corte, Carmen, Cebu and is maintained by Benedictine Monks of the Sylvestrine Congregation. In this holy place we can find the famous Our Lady of Manaoag - very known here in the Northern part of Cebu.

So if you are from Mandaue City or any locations here in Cebu and do not have service or owned wheels, you can actually start at North Bus Terminal which is situated at Reclamation Area in Mandaue City. From there, take a mini-bus going to any places in the North and asked the driver to make a stop over at Carmen Market. You are obligued to pay PHP 40.00 in this part. Next is to ride a single taxi (lols) or Habal-Habal which can take two people in the back ride in just PHP 60.00 or PHP 30.00 each. Simply asked the driver to drop you off in St. Benedict's Monastery and they will know what to do.

Please note that there is no canteen or stores inside the solemn monastery. So, it is advisable to take your own foods and snacks because you can eat and do some siesta after your prayer in their cottages.

the Religious store


Lovers inside the Rosary Center

Outside view of the Our Lady of Manaoag Rosary Center

John and Tsen underneath the tree

Way Of The Cross


The Power Rangers fired up for stations of the cross



After we sit and pray at the Our Lady of Manaoag Rosary Center, we then headed in the Way of the Cross location in which you can find the almost human like sizes of the characters in each 14 stations of the cross.




FIRST STATION
Jesus is Condemned to Death
(John 3:16, Isaiah 53:7, John 18:33-John 19:1-16)


SECOND STATION
Jesus is Made to Bear His Cross
(Isaiah 53:4-6, Matthew 27:31, Luke 9:23)

THIRD STATION
Jesus Falls for the First Time
(Isaiah 53:6)


FOURTH STATION
Jesus Meets His Mother
(John 19:25-27, John 16:22)


FIFTH STATION
Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
(Matthew 27:30-32, Matthew 25:40, Galatians 6:2)


SIXTH STATION
Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
(Isaiah 52:14, John 14:9)


SEVENTH STATION
Jesus Falls a Second Time
(Hebrews 4:15)


EIGHTH STATION
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
(Luke 23:27-31, John 15:6)


NINTH STATION
Jesus Falls the Third Time
(Philippians 2:5-7, Luke 14:11)


TENTH STATION
Jesus is Stripped of His Garments
(John 19:23-25, Luke 14:33)


ELEVENTH STATION
Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
(Psalm 22:17-18, Zechariah 12:10, Luke 23:33)


TWELFTH STATION
Jesus Dies on the Cross
(Luke 23:46, John 19:30, Philippians 2:8-9)


THIRTEENTH STATION
Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
(Luke 23:50-53, John 19:31-37, Luke 24:26)


FOURTEENTH STATION
Jesus is Laid in His Tomb
(Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42, John 12:24-25, Romans 6:10-11)



The road is not rough and it is cemented. Unlike Simala's Stations of the Cross, there is only one way, and it is going up. It was around 10:00 Am when we did the Way of the Cross prayer, very hot which gave us a true sacrifice on that moment.


Hidden Image of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception

After we spoke the last prayer, we took a rest just under the big statue of resurrected Jesus Christ. Then, the group decided to trek the rocky journey going to the cave where the huge image or statue of our Lady of Immaculate Conception is located.


on my way up to the cave :)

We are almost there, yepey!

Here we are......

Taking a rest, thank you ate stranger for the shoot

Dual Lovers posing for Our Divine Lady

Power Ranger Black with the holy image of Immaculate Conception



It was fulfilling and the feeling is light after seeing the huge state of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception. I think only few of the people in that place knows this holy property because it seems we are 50s inside the monastery but only few of us discovered the Holy place.

It's me, see? I made it!

If you want to visit St. Benedict's Monastery, never forget to also visit the hidden image of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception which is located just in the mouth of the cave.

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5 comments

  1. wow! if only I've known about this earlier, this could be a chosen place to visit for this Lenten week :-)
    the statue is indeed huge and its location is stunning!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was also there last April 22(Good Friday). It was indeed a rocky journey to the statue of our Lady of Immaculate Conception. MUST be careful when climbing on rocks as it was a bit slippery :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. naa ra na sa monastery ang cave sa Immaculate Conception?

    ReplyDelete
  4. How to get to the cave

    ReplyDelete
  5. can I buy St. Benedict medals in the Monastery?

    ReplyDelete

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