Philippines/Cebu: Sibonga – Monastery of the Holy Eucharist
This place in the town of Sibonga in the middle of the Cebu Island is absolutely surreal – it’s half Sagrada Familia-lookalike in scale and half an absolute “temple of kitsch”. It goes under several other names – Our Lady of Lindogon Shrine or Mama Mary Cathedral or Simala Shrine. The construction started in 1988 on a sacred pilgrimage site of supposed religious healing by Virgin Mary and is still ongoing – having evolved into a super massive shrine/cathedral complex. The sacred image of Virgin Mary housed here supposedly can shed tear and back in 1998 healed a whole bunch of people sick with dengue fever. Since then the holy image has diversified into healing a whole slew of diseases, including getting people to throw away their crutches (all displayed here). The complex is a bizarre collection of over the top structures and insane religious fervor.
