In the busy area of Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City, known for its large billboards and its location near San Carlos Seminary, stands a simple but important church, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Celestial Patroness of the Philippines. The place was once known for its large urban poor population, and out of concern for the people living there, a parish was established in 1951.

The Sto. Niño de Taguig Church traces its humble beginnings to the devotion and unity of a small military community. In 1964, eighteen military families from the Signal Service Corps of the Philippine Army relocated from Diliman, Quezon City, to what would later be known as Signal Village. It was on February 11, 1987, when the Sto. Niño Parish was officially established.

During this New Year of 2023, I had the chance to visit the San Sebastian Church in Pasig. Its story dates back to January 20, 1572, when the Augustinian friars led by Fr. Alonzo de Alvarado, together with encomendero Juan de la Isla, arrived through the riverside to an ancient barrio that would later become the foundation of Pasig. On the very day of their arrival, they celebrated the first Mass in honor of San Sebastian, adopting him as the town’s patron saint. From then on, the place came to be known as “San Sebastian de Pasig”.