THE CHURCHES OF ABRA: Part Two

             On our third day in Abra, we visited seven towns and six parish churches, including La Paz, Danglas, Lagayan, Dolores, San Juan, Tayum, and Tineg. Although we didn’t reach the town proper of Tineg, which was still several kilometers away, we did pass by the municipal hall, which was relocated near the Apao Rolling Hills—one of the province's key tourist attractions.

We enjoyed lunch in Tayum, hosted by the parish priest. In the afternoon, we visited the Lusuac Cold Spring in Lagayan. On our last day, we could only view the town of Langiden from across the river, as the bridge connecting it to Suyo, Pidigan which was along our way was still under construction. The final town and parish church we visited was in San Quintin.

One of the striking features of the province of Abra is the presence of the mighty Abra River, with its vast basin—the sixth largest in the country. The river flows from north to south and then turns westward in the middle of the province before emptying into the West Philippine Sea in Ilocos Sur. As a result, long bridges are essential in Abra. Eighteen years ago, during my first visit to the province, many of these bridges were still unfinished. This time, most have been completed, with a few more under construction. Hence, a common sight along the river is the balsa, which are rafts made of bamboo that carry passengers across the river. The local term for these rafts is rakit. 

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER PARISH (F-1970)
Mudeng, La Paz, Abra

OUR LADY OF FATIMA PARISH (F-2016)
Canan, La Paz, Abra

Municipal Hall of the town of Danglas

Since we could not find the Catholic chapel in the town of Danglas, if ever there was one, we just took a picture of the town hall. 

Legislative Building of Danglas

This is the road leading to the town proper of La Paz, Abra.

OUR LADY OF PEACE PARISH (F-1832)
La Paz, Abra

The Municipal building of La Paz.

The road going to the town of Lagayan, Abra. 

The Catholic chapel of the town of Lagayan.  The parish priest of La Paz is the one taking of the chapel. A donor had constructed a convent near the chapel and had wanted that a priest who retired stay in the convent and be the one to celebrate masses in the chapel. But the priest passed away before he could transfer. 

The municipal hall of Lagayan

One of the new bridges connecting Lagayan to the town of Dolores. 

OUR LADY OF SORROWS PARISH (F-1882)
Dolores, Abra

With the parish priest of Dolores

ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST PARISH (F-1880)
San Juan, Abra

The parish convent of San Juan

The school grounds of the parochial school.

One of the sites in Abra is the Apao Rolling Hills in Tineg.  Near the Apao Rolling Hills, the mayor of Tineg constructed a chapel in one of the promontories. 

From the plaza of the municipal hall of Tineg can be seen the chapel with a huge cross. 

ST. CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA PARISH (F-1803)
Tayum, Abra

Last July 27, 2022 the church of Tayum suffered a heavy damage due to a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Portions of the belfry fell off and damaged part of the roof. The altar also came crumbling down. 

Since the church was declared as a national cultural treasure by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2001, its restoration will be undertaken by that commission of the government. Hence it will still take sometime before the work can began. Hence, the parishioners decided to construct a temporary church beside the convento. 

The image of St. Catherine of Alexandria did not suffer any damage from the earthquake. 

With the parish priest of Tayum and Vicar General, Mons. Sam Baruela (left), Fr. Allan Flores (3rd from left) and members of the Parish Pastoral Council. 

To see old picture of the Tayum Church before the earthquake click here.

LUSUAC COLD SPRING, LAGAYAN

I realized we missed the opportunity to visit the town of Langiden, which we should have explored after our stop at the Lusuac Cold Spring in Lagayan, as it was on the same side of the river. On our return journey to Manila, we went to Suyo,  Pidigan which was the closest to the Pidigan poblacion just across the river. However, when we arrived in Suyo, we discovered that the bridge was still under construction. Although we could have taken the raft (rakit), the walk to the town would have taken too much time. Instead, we settled for a good view of the town from across the river.

ST. QUINTIN PARISH (F-1968)
San Quintin, Abra

 

Just near the church, we saw a woman selling some grasshoppers. We bought some and had them fried when we came back to Manila. 

Some of the bridges in Abra.