On Visiting the Manila Cathedral

Manila offers a wealth of tourist sites for visitors coming to the Philippines. As the capital city of the country, one can find that it still retains the elegance of the "old city"; when horse-drawn carriages, called "kalesa", plied the streets and pollution was unheard of.

The growth and development of the city and its inhabitants can be seen from different perspectives. As the seat of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, the Manila Cathedral provides an important counter-balance to the rough political landscape, which still rears its ugly head, at times.

Located in Manila's Intramuros District, Pope Gregory XIII dedicated the cathedral to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1581. It became a minor basilica through Pope John Paul II's papal bull in 1981.

It has since become a prime basilica, as the Pope had given it special recognition and importance, which, among other things, caused long queues of couples waiting for their turn to tie the knot. If only for the chance to witness the Filipino way of celebrating the Sacrament of Matrimony, be sure to include this in your itinerary.

Foreign nationals interested in architecture, history, politics, religion, art and culture may find in the Manila Cathedral, and the Intramuros District, a perfect jump-off point to explore the rest of the country. To this end, those who come may find, embedded in its sacred walls, both happy and painful memories of love and war, of triumph and defeat -- 'till death do us part.