A pilgrimage to Sulangan

St. Anthony (1195-1231) was a Franciscan friar from Portugal. He was a gifted speaker and famous preacher. St. Anthony spent most of his career in Italy. He was sickly, and died young, near Padua, Italy. It is said that, on his death, the children cried in the streets and all the bells of the churches rang of their own accord.

St. Anthony is buried in the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua.

Image: Santo Antonio de Padua, painting by Francisco de Zurbarán.

Sulangan is a small town on the extreme southeastern tip of Samar. The area is a popular destination for windsurfers.

Apparently, the statue of San Antonio (St. Anthony) in Sulangan was actually meant for the nearby island Suluan, but several attempts to bring the statue failed: Each time, winds and rough sea would force the boat onto Sulangan. Eventually, a shrine was built in Sulangan to house the statue.

Several miracles are attributed to this statue of St. Anthony, including some miraculous healings.

The road from our base in Tacloban City to Sulangan was long: To be in time for mass we had to leave just after 4 am. First we went to pick up a few family members who wanted to come with us, in other parts of the city. Then we crossed the 1.3 miles long San Juanico bridge into the neighbouring island Samar, and started our long drive over the badly maintained roads of Samar.

Sulangan is in the municipality Guiuan, in the extreme southeastern tip of the island Samar. The area seems to be poor and sparsely populated. Sulangan itself is on a small island, just off the coast of the main island, and can be reached by a bridge.

When we arrived we first visited the office, where my companions requested their prayers, and changed money into small coins. We still had time to wander around to take a few photos, and buy a statuette of St Anthony at one of the souvenir stalls.

Then we went inside the church. Inside are many statues of saints, each with their own trunk. It is the custom here to visit each saint, say a prayer, and put a coin in his trunk, taking care not to offend any saint by bypassing him.

The mass itself was in Waray-Waray, the local dialect, so I missed most of what was said and done. After the mass we shook a few hands (there were several people my wife recognized, that also made the pilgrimage the same day), and my wife went looking for the priest to have our St Anthony statuette blessed.

The church had become too small to house all pilgrims, and building works were on their way to extend the church. We hope to see the new church on a future trip to Sulangan.

We had an enjoyable drive back home, with stopovers in interesting places (like Balangiga). But those places deserve their own lens.