basilica minore of our lady of piat

AletaPhil

From a trip to Kalinga, and after having lunch at the hotel in Tuguegarao, I decided to go to Piat. It was my only chance to do this since I had to take the flight back to Manila the next day. I left Tuguegarao at about 3 pm, after waiting 30 minutes for the van to be filled up with passengers to go to Piat. I arrived at Piat at 4 pm, and the driver asked whether I was a resident of Piat and I said no. He told me that his van was the last trip going back to Tuguegarao and I can only get a van going back if I went to another nearby town. I was glad he offered to wait for me when I said I was going to spend a few minutes in the Basilica. It was a Friday and there were no crowds inside or even vendors rushing to sell you something. I was glad I went there on a weekday because a friend, who visited there on a weekend a few years back, said that the crowd and people selling outside do not really contribute to the solemnity of the place.Anyway, whatever your reason for visiting this place- praying or as a tourist - the Basilica is a good depiction of the culture of the people of Tuguegarao.

RichieSel

It wa sunexpected but we were told this was a great place to visit both as a religious and tourist site. The shrine was far from Tuguegarao but worth it to visit to pray and see all the religious articles being sold and blessed by the priest. We were told we came at a good time, because there is no room to park for miles if it was Holy Week!

quadro

I have always heard of Our Lady of Piat and was thrilled to finally go there. Going to the Basilica we took a Van. Just say to the Tricycle driver to take you to the Van Terminal to Piat (Fare is 60). Travel time is around an hour and you will be dropped off in front of the Basilica.At the entrance you will be greeted by middle aged to old aged ladies offering all sorts of religious items from rosaries to hankies to statues.The Basilica looks like it was renovated but nonetheless it is still a beautiful church.Be sure to go to the side of the church so you can hold the end of the cape of Our Lady of Piat.

RCIsidro

Solemn church for reflection and meditation.It's a good hour drive from Tuguegarao City but worth it.Bullet points on the history of the site and the apparition of Virgin Mary are nicely depicted on the walls of the church!Highly recommended!

jamescV6257VB

A very lovely church. I've been here ever since I was a child and it never fails to amaze me even today. It is a very simple church, and it also looks simple inside. It doesn't really have any extravagant features but it boasts the phrase "Simplicity at its finest".

JEmmanuelLasPinas

A nice quiet place for meditation. Choose a day when the church is not crowded with devotees and visitors. A good place to visit while in Tuguegarao.

enah

The church was undergoing some renovations when we went there. I must admit, it was not as I expected it. Very simple but of course we did not go there to just see the site, we went to pray so it is still worth the visit.

zenizen111

Its a nice and quiet church, apt for praying. They have several small stores and street vendors offering religious souvenirs and they were very persistent and followed me around from the gate/entrance of the compound where the church is up to the entrance of the church. There is another bigger store which I think is owned by the church. Souvenirs include replica of Our Lady of Piat, rosaries, and healing water. There is also parking space inside the compound. Religious souvenirs are also blessed by a priest when I was there. I was also told that the priest also blesses cars upon request. The church is a good pilgrimage site but I hope that the small stores and the vendors are relocated outside the compound of the church.

MU347

Like a lot of the reviewers, my major problem with the place is not just the presence of but the sheer abundance of street vendors and beggars. They were present from the entrance of the church and even inside the complex, the candle lighting areas and inside the church itself.It's a real shame as the religious place is turned into a marketplace which I dont understand as the church already has its own store (2 even). We decided to buy religious articles and candles from the official store to support the church.There was an area at the back of the church where you are allowed to touch the clothes of the statue. There was no queue when we went there so we were able to spend some time there.We bought thin candles which were to be lighted in the rosary garden. The wind was very hard here so the lights kept going out. It's more advisable to buy tealight candles and light them at the designated area at the back of the church.All in all, I did not regret going to the place but I was and still am bothered by how the atmosphere has turned out.

design_0616

i disliked the vendors of religious souveners/items kept on following and insisting you to buy of there items

Li2R

Months ago I heard of the this church up North. Decided to pay a visit with family and choose to visit the church on a Sunday to hear a mass. Although not as grandeur as other churches in the North, the fact that stories of the miracles of the patron saint is enough for us.

Ernest_Canon

Our Lady of Piat Basilica is to me one of the beautiful churches inside. However, there is just too much business or busyness outside the church. I just wish there would be restrictions on what gets sold outside the church. In what world, does Sponge Bob balloons and the Roman Catholic Church work together? In addition, there should be a limit on how many vendors should be allowed on the church grounds. I found that the most irritating. The Church should be a place of worship and not a place of business. I did not mind seeing the vendors on the side streets on my way to and from the church, but to have vendors right in front of the main door. That is ridiculous. Again, there really should be restrictions on what gets sold and who is allow to sell.

JuvyR

Our Lady of Piat is one of the oldest Marian images in the Philippines. The Ibanags call her “Yena Tam Ngamin” (Mother of Us All) and to the natives of Piat, Cagayan, she is known as “Apo Baket” (Grand Matriarch).The Basilica of Our Lady of Piat is in the town of Piat, which is 30-40 minutes away by land from Tuguegarao City, Cagayan Province. You can ride a van from Shell Station located in Ugac, Tuguegarao that goes directly to the Basilica. It only costs 60php.One thing that is different about the Basilica of Our Lady of Piat was its entrance arch. It was at the back of the church and one has to go around from the entrance to see the church facade.At the back of the church are staircases leading to a window exactly at the back of the Virgin Mary wherein devotees can touch the dress of Our Lady.

DryedMangoez

A lot has changed since our family's last visit. A huge, fancy new restaurant, a newly reinvigorated prayer garden, new restrooms, wider streets. But instead of these improvements being more helpful and comfortable for visitors, it has turned the area into a commercial experience instead of a more spiritual. The worst change has to be the various vendors selling various religious articles and children's torys. While it is understandable that they are just trying to make a living, it seems they have become much more aggressive in their sales style, now even following visitors into the prayer garden while people light candles and pray. In the past, they would stop at the gate and allow people their time alone. But now, you've got them following you everyone, right to the door of the church even. And when you don't buy anything, you can hear them say things under their breath. Though if you don't understand Ilocano, you might not know how they really think of you.Overall, it's difficult to have a meaningful and spiritual experience when the focus has become money, money, money. Very disappointing.

WenaO

Since its my bday when i arrived in tuguegarao my first destination is our lady of piat. It was a beautiful church. I attend mass at 8am. I like its architectural design.