National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio, a PWD-friendly church

Last Easter, I, together with my family, went to the National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio located in Batangas. It was a sudden decision; at least it was made the day before. To be quite honest, I didn’t have any idea what the place would look like, but I had the faintest of knowledge about its popularity to people with sickness and/or wishes. As a wheelchair-user, I was curious.

The drive wasn’t that long, coming from the City of Sta. Rosa in Laguna. In fact, I think it only took us a good 45 minutes, a rough estimate, to reach the place (huge thanks to Maps, although going back, it suggested the wrong route because apparently, it wasn’t informed of the rerouting made by the local government; give Google a break). The real challenge was the heavy foot traffic on the way to the church. We had to endure not just the long line of cars heading to the church, but also the people crossing and walking on the sides, and sometimes on the road itself. But it’s Easter, so it was to be expected. Going on a normal Sunday, I don’t think it would be burdensome.

Entering the vicinity of the church, looking for a good parking spot was the first task to be accomplished. All parking spaces were filled, except for the paid ones that goers will see before they reach the church itself. Mind you, these spaces were just provided by the residents with their open areas (a show of Filipino’s wit when it comes to earning money, I suppose).

Luckily, a security guard in the entrance informed us that there are a lot of spaces reserved for Persons-with-Disability (PWDs) uphill, beside the worship area itself, and this impressed me. We parked, and the second task was to look for a bathroom, and so we did.

Another impressive fact, is that they do have not just one, but two sufficiently-spacious accessibility bathrooms. This simple thing made me smile because it showed the church’s sincerity to serving their goers, no matter the physical capacity, with utmost consideration.

To add, a wheelchair-user won’t have a hard time reaching one point to another because the place is filled with ramps that are “serviceable” enough. I’ve tried thousands of ramps, and although not comparable to the best ones, they’re still, again, usable enough.

What’s more worth mentioning than the architecture that is inspired by native and local culture, and the overall solemnness of the place with its stories of miracles, is the fact that the people running the church really focus on providing an accessible place for Catholic PWDs to visit. I wish I could say the same to more places not just in the Philippines, but in other countries as well.

In totality, the National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio is a visual and spiritual treat made available for everyone to enjoy and engage in.

If you want to know more about the National Shrine of Saint Padre Pio, you may visit their page: http://nationalshrineofsaintpadrepio.com.ph/