Monasterio De Tarlac / Capas National Shrine / Aquino Ancestral House (Tarlac)

Every first half of the year, millions of Filipino Catholics celebrate the so-called Holy Week during the Lenten season here in the Philippines. 

Various activities abound such as Fasting and Abstinence, Via Crucis, Pabasa, Visita Iglesia, and Self-Flagellation. 

Since Jesus Christ is the central figure during this time of season, it was in this context that me and my friends decided to embark on a trip to the famed Monasterio De Tarlac, located in the Mount of the Resurrection, Eco-Tourism Park, Lubigan, San Jose, Tarlac. This unique holy place houses the Relic of the True Cross of Christ. 

A great opportunity to pray and ask for forgiveness in front of a great historical religious artifact directly connected to Christ…what more can you ask for. 

Poster seen along the way as you go uphill.

We arrived at this sacred compound at 9:30 AM on April 5, 2014, a few days before Holy Week, in order for us not to encounter an army of Catholic devotees, which are expected to descend on this place.

Main Entrance Tarpaulin

Monasterio De Tarlac is a 43-hectare property, within the 278-hectare Tarlac Eco-Tourism Park. 

The monastery is run by the Servants of the Risen Christ (SRC) Monastic Community, founded by Fr. Ronald Thomas Cortez in 1998. In 2005, Fr. Cortez attended the World Youth Day celebration in Germany, where he met Msgr. Volker Bauer, the custodian of the relic. At the time, Msgr. Volker was looking for someone to whom he can entrust the relic since the monastic life in Europe is slowly dying. Aware of Fr. Cortez’ Monastic Community in the Philippines, Msgr. Volker entrusted the relic to him. And so in 2005, the holy cross came to the monastery. 

On January 30, 2007, the sacred relic of the Holy Cross was enshrined in a baroque-inspired chapel. 

The Chapel

Below its altar, behind an elliptical pane of glass, is the relic encased in a silver ark reliquary decorated with symbols of the crucifixion of Jesus, such as a pair of dice, a hammer and nails, and a ladder. Near the top of the chapel's retablo is inscribed the Latin pious expression, "Ave Crux, Spes Unica", meaning, "Hail to the cross, our only hope". 

The Altar

The Reliquary

A Catholic mass is offered at the monastery at 10:30 in the morning every day, except on Thursdays when it is closed for maintenance and monastic activities. After the mass, the faithful are allowed to touch the reliquary. The relic is only exposed twice a year– every 30th of January, on the anniversary of the enshrinement of the relic; and every 14th of September, on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. 

Aside from the chapel and the Relic, there were several other nearby structures that can be seen surrounding this area, such as statues, a castle-type of church, a viewdeck, and a wooden cross. There were also souvenir shops and an eatery in the vicinity. 

Mini Stage

Administration Building & Information Office

"Lamb of God" Statue

Virgin Mary Statue

Wooden Cross

Castle-type of Church

St. Augustine, Bishop and Confessor, Doctor of the Church Statue

The Viewdeck

Lastly, a few walks near the parking area, lo and behold, was a 30-foot statue of the Risen Christ facing the valley and the mountain ranges in the West. 

The "Risen Christ" Statue

A view from the top

After visiting this solemn place in San Jose, since we were already near Capas, also in Tarlac, we then dropped by at the Capas National Shrine.

Main Entrance

The Flagpost

Located in Barangay Navy, this was built by the Philippine government as a memorial to the Filipino and American soldiers who died at Camp O'Donnell at the end of the Bataan Death March. This is a significant site related to Veterans' Day in the Philippines (Araw ng Kagitingan), every 9 April, commemorates the surrender of the combined US and Philippine forces to the Japanese in 1942. 

Several structures can be seen inside the Shrine.

Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, Inc. marker

Site of the original marker erected by the survivors of Bataan-Corregidor defenders in 1948 to honor the Filipino USAFFE and American soldiers made Prisoners of War after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor and who died while in captivity. 

The monument also contains the names of the Filipino USAFFE officers interned inside the concentration camp in Capas.

Three Markers All In A Row!

Philippine Scouts marker
- Dedicated to the memory of over 2,600 Philippine Scouts inducted into the United States Army who died inside the concentration camp in Capas where they were interned after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor.

MEMORARE marker
- This is dedicated to all those civilians of the Provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, and Tarlac. It commemorates the many men, women and, even children, for their many acts of courage and compassion displayed towards the exhausted and desolate Fil-American Prisoners of War during their March of Death to Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, that occurred in April 1942.

Memorial for Czech Heroes
- Honors the seven (7) named Czechoslovaks who joined the allied forces in the defense of Bataan, went through the Death March, were confined in the concentration camp in Capas, and later lost their lives while in captivity.

Battling Bastards Marker

Dedicated to honor the American soldiers who were incarcerated in the concentration camp in Capas. The cement cross, built as a memorial to the thousands who died in the camp, is a replica of the original cement cross built by the POWs. On the wall behind the cross are inscribed names of the men who died at the camp.

Defender's Hall consists of a modest collection of photos that document the Death March and travails of POWs in prison camps.

Defender's Hall

 
This was the former Guillermo Francisco Hall, once the site of the administration building of the Capas National Shrine.

Boxcar

It has preserved one of the remnants of wartime atrocities - a boxcar that transported survivors of the Death March from San Fernando, Pampanga to Capas. Measuring six feet long, eight feet wide and six feet high, it had once been a freight car of the Manila Railroad Company before the war and could fit only 50-60 people. But Japanese soldiers forcibly squeezed in 150-160 using rifle butts and bayonets. The captives, whose only source of ventilation was a slit on the door, suffocated in the virtual over under the tropical heat. Many of them died in their upright positions, their bodies giving up on constricted space which had been polluted with excrement, urine and vomit.

Obelisk

On 9 April 2003, an obelisk was unveiled. With a towering height of 76 meters, it stands as the focal center of the entire shrine which symbolizes peace. The needle-like tower consists of three sections which represent the Filipino, American, and Japanese people in this modern age of global peace, who have learned the lessons of war. The core area of the tower (hollow) is accessible to the people. Here they look up through the three-prong steeple to be amazed by the magnificent height and form.

Wall of Heroes

The Wall of Heroes is dedicated to the Filipinos and American brave men and women who, in defense of the Philippines in various places in the islands during WWII, died in battle or while in captivity. Etched in the inner black granite wall of the Memorial are the names of some 30,000 Filipinos who were interned inside the concentration camp in Capas.

Bridge of Remembrance

It took more than half a century for the Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor to remember the role played by the O’Donnell River in the survival of the Prisoners of War in Capas. The historic river was the only source of water which sustained them during five months of incarceration.

The Bridge of Remembrance was built in grateful recognition and tribute to the O’Donnell River.

We then took off for lunch at the Fiesta Island Seafood Hub, located at the Azaya Garden Resort, also in Capas.

Main Entrance of Restaurant

Lunchtime!

Aside from dining, you could also try their Zipline.

Ziplining!

Since we still had loads of time left before the day ends, we decided to visit the Aquino Family Ancestral House in Concepcion, Tarlac.

This place was called Ninoy Aquino Ancestral House because the National hero Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino is a known son of Tarlac. Born in the quiet town of Concepcion, Ninoy Aquino resided at this old house which still holds the charm of a humble family.

Found just within the vicinity of the municipality, it is just a walking distance from the town hall which is also historical a picture of which also appears in the current 500 peso bill. 

This house was constructed way back 1939. 

It was only in 2011, courtesy of President Noynoy Aquino, that this house was open to the public.

Explore Pinas!