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| The altar |
Since my mother and I were in Pangasinan for two days, we visited The Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary Manaoag and heard mass that Sunday. Every Sunday, masses are held hourly from 5-11am and 3-6pm (I think). Since it was a Sunday, hundreds of people were in Manaoag to hear mass, buy religious items, take photos, etc.
As a popular religious and tourist spot, Manaoag has a hodgepodge of vendors around it. Vendors sell a wide range of products from religious trinkets to local food items. If you're walking towards the Shrine, vendors will offer you the Lady's image in different sizes.
We arrived in the Shrine a few minutes after the 9am mass. We entered using the side entrance and were able to have seats even if there were many church goers; it was like a mass in Quiapo Church. After the mass, the priest blessed religious items and the people as well at the front of the altar. I was able to take a picture of Our Lady up close. If you want to touch the statue, you can queue outside the Church where there is a long line of devotees waiting to be near and touch Our Lady's gown.
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| Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag |
After the mass, I bought candles and lighted them at the designated place. There was a prayer when lighting candles.
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| Prayer when lighting the candle |
I bought a small bronze-like statue of Our Lady and had it blessed. In Manaoag, there is an area where religious items are blessed 15 minutes after every mass. If you weren't able to have your religious items blessed after the mass, you can still do so in this area. People place their items on the platform and wait for the priest to bless them.
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| Religious items waiting for the blessings |
Before leaving Manaoag, we bought food such as the native delicacies Tupig and Puto Calasiao.
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| Soft Puto Calasiao |
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| Tupig |
