Our Household Spiritual Journey of Hope

Last November 13-16, 2025, our group of 10 pilgrims – Roland and Chona Nillas, Tony and Dorie Liza, Aster and Esther Bughao, my husband Binky Valenzuela and I, headed by Pancho and Marilyn Lopez-Tan, embarked on a spiritual journey of hope as we offered our simple homage to The King of Kings. Our destination: Cagayan, my husband’s home province. It was a personal journey for every one of us. In every church we visited, each couple would find their own space, kneel and pray unhurriedly, taking advantage of the opportunity to offer our grateful hearts and lift up our pains, fears, and intentions.

We visited a total of 10 Jubilee churches and 2 parish churches, from Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, all the way to Aparri, Cagayan! At every church, we prayed fervently for our families, our CFL community, our country, and the world. We admired the beauty and history of each church, and we were like kindergarten kids eager to have our Journey of Hope, CFL Jubilee Pilgrimage Passports stamped at every church we entered!

Among the most notable of the churches we visited was the St. Nicholas of Tolentine Cathedral in Cabanatuan City, a beautiful church founded in the 1700s with a marble retablo and a huge and life-like crucifix. The cathedral and the Plaza Lucero in front are known as the death place of General Antonio Luna. Another beautiful and modern Jubilee church is the Our Lady of Chartres Chapel in Tuguegarao, a university chapel run by St. Paul sisters, a replica of the Our Lady of Chartres Cathedral in France. It had beautiful stained glass windows and also houses the first-class relic of St. Teresa of Avila. One of the most memorable was our visit to the centuries-old brown Madonna, Our Lady of Piat, in the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat, also known as the Pilgrimage Center of Northeast Luzon. The area behind the altar was exclusively opened to us for a few minutes, and we had the opportunity to touch Our Lady’s garment and pray.

We also visited St. Peter Metropolitan Cathedral Parish, a beautiful 18th-century Baroque church, built by Dominican friars, the seat of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao and one of the largest churches in Cagayan Valley. We had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Archbishop Ricardo Baccay at the Bishop’s House, where we were able to introduce our CFL community to him. We presented him with a souvenir plaque of St. Padre Pio as well as our CFL Primer. He was very welcoming and enthusiastic to have our community established in his archdiocese. The last, but definitely one of the most beautiful of the churches we visited was the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary in Aparri, a beautiful old brick and adobe-stone church with intricate retablo and ceiling, and an elegant gilded altar in maroon and gold. At the backyard of the church is a solemn open-air columbary with a wall engraved with the names of all its parish priests from the 1700s to the present.

Sometime in August, when we started talking about doing a household activity during this Jubilee year, all we planned for was an out-of-town pilgrimage. Little did we expect that our journey would turn out to be an opportunity to do mission work as well. With help from the very able staff of the Andres Tamayo Foundation (who arranged the meetings with the priests and bishops), headed by their big bosses, our very own bro. & sis. Danny and Cynthia Tamayo, we were able to connect with so many priests in the province who were just so eager and excited to welcome and have a community like CFL in their parishes. It was indeed overwhelming, and delightful at the same time, to witness their earnest desire to partner with us in their work to pastor their respective parishioners, esp. the youth.

Of course, the other wonderful part of our journey was the bonding moments at the breathtakingly beautiful home of the Tamayos in Sta. Teresita. They were our most generous and gracious hosts for two nights and three days. We were treated with a tour of the expansive farm surrounding their home, lined with dragonfruit, palm trees, rice paddies, and other fruit-bearing trees. But the real highlight of the tour was their 62-hectare Shrimp Farm and Processing Facility, the biggest supplier of shrimps in the whole of Luzon! Excellence is the best way to describe their awesome and impressive operations! Just before sunset, we also had the chance to go fishing at their Tilapia ponds and, despite the threat of sugar-spikes, we had some local halo-halo merienda by the ponds, complete with the sweetest yema on top.

We capped our last night in fellowship with about 6 priests from different towns and parishes around the Cagayan Valley, at the lovely and grand living-dining rooms of the Tamayos. With live piano music and singing, delicious food and drinks, it really was one enjoyable, relaxing, memorable, and productive night. While the husbands entertained the priests, the wives were busy chatting and doing funny poses for photos around every corner of the beautiful house.

As we reached the end of the pilgrimage and it was time to say goodbye to the beautiful province of Cagayan and to Bro Danny and Sis Cynthia, I knew deep inside that we had just planted the seed and there is much work to be done, that we all share a common vision of an active, vibrant, and growing CFL community in Cagayan.

Truly, it was a most wonderful spiritual and bonding experience with my brothers and sisters in the household. It was a back-breaking 26-hour road trip back and forth, but it was all worth it! I felt truly blessed to have had this amazing time! The journey brought me closer to all my brothers and sisters in the household and made me all the more realize how important our work is in CFL. I will forever cherish the warm memories of this experience and keep the learnings and insights we all gained. My heart is full and overflowing with graces and blessings from our blessed Mother and Lord Jesus. This is the beginning of a new journey, and I am ready to soar on eagle's wings!​