SIMALA

SIMALA….No place is too far to visit for a miracle.

At the Mother Mary Shrine in upper Lindogon in Barangay (village) Simala, Sibonga town, 48 kilometers south of Cebu City, devotees come by truckloads to be there every 13th of the month to hear Mass at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. or during the weekends at 3 p.m.

Driving to Simala shrine by private car from Cebu City means two to three hours on the road, barring heavy traffic in the outlying towns. Public buses ply the south Cebu route but one would have to get off a corner of the national road to reach upper Lindogon and hail a motorcab or a habal-habal (motorcycle-for-hire) for P20 to take you to the shrine about four kilometers up the mountains.
At the site, one has to cross a foot bridge and walk up a concrete pathway to reach the church, an imposing concrete structure at the top of the mountain. It takes about 10 minutes to reach the peak, which offers a breathtaking view of green slopes and fresh air.
The Marian monks who maintain the shrine have also landscaped the area, which has a mini falls that cascades down a small pool and well-tended gardens.
We ate our lunch on the grass…spreading a mat (smiles) some had their meals in cottages built for visitors. My daughters as well as the adult love to throw coins in a wishing well which features a large bell.

It was my first time to go there, but my kids and parents and sis go there as often as twice a month. I couldn’t come coz it usually falls on working day when they visited the place. I was so amazed and happy to see the castle like church of the miraculous Virgin Mary.

A major purpose of visitors and devotees who go to Simala is to offer their petitions. Blank sheets of paper and pens on which to write their intentions are prepared by the monks for one to drop in a box at the right side of the glass-encased Marian image. Thank you letters are dropped in a box to her left side.

One could not describe the great feeling being in such a magnificent place.