The St. Augustine of Hippo Parish in Bacong, Negros Oriental, is undertaking a novel approach to helping tourists and locales alike appreciate the history, heritage, structure, artifacts and other tourist come-ons of the church through a “scripted tour”.
Msgr. Julius Perpetuo Heruela, the parish priest of Bacong, said visitors will be able to absorb information in a fun and easy way while visiting the church, going around the compound, inside the convent with a mini-museum of religious artifacts, and other places to visit, without a tour guide.
The idea is that for every stop, a tarpaulin with a picture or pictures and as much information of that particular subject will be set-up, Heruela disclosed.
Between each location, there will also be a guide or direction for the visitor going to the next stop, he added.
That way, the tourist or tourists will not be going around in circles or losing their way within the parish grounds and the church, the priest said.
To complement this, the parish will also come up with brochures, he added.
The “scripted tour” is not only limited to the parish grounds, the bell tower, and the Church but will also include the town plaza right across the street, where a huge statue of Leon Kilat, a Filipino hero, stands in the middle, according to Fr. Heruela.
Pantaleón Villegas, popularly known as Leon Kilat, was born in Bacong Negros Oriental on July 27, 1873 and was a revolutionary leader during the Spanish era.
The scripted tour would also include seeing the centuries-old acacia trees, a visit to the old convent which is now transformed into a retreat center/function hall, and the Church’s pride, the old pipe organ which was restored in recent years.
The Bacong pipe organs is one of the country’s few remaining pipe organs and was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. It was made in Spain.
Monsignor Heruela also disclosed that a shrine in honor of the saint, Padre Pio, is being built and will soon be inaugurated and blessed, and will also become part of the sites in the scripted tour in Bacong. (JFP)
