MANAOAG – Some 100,000 pilgrims and devotees will flock to Manaoag during the coming Holy Week as part of their yearly devotion to the Blessed Mother.

This was disclosed by Mayor Napoleon Sales who said the number is just a conservative estimate because on Sunday’s even when it is not Holy Week, the devotees swell to some 30,000 to 40,000 alone.

“We expect a bigger crowd on Holy Week, especially on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, than on ordinary Sundays, that is why we are preparing for their short stay,” he said.

Noting that only a few hotel rooms are available in the town, Sales said the municipal government is preparing an area at the back of the town’s central school where the pilgrims may stay overnight on Holy Thursday to wait for Good Friday.

It is on Good Friday where the crowd is expected to reach some 100,000 or more.
The pilgrims come from all over the country to renew their Christian faith with the
Blessed Mother of Manaoag.

The mayor said pilgrims may also stay at the premises around the municipal hall to spend the night on as they waif for daybreak of Good Friday.

The pilgrims usually stay overnight at the back of the Manaoag church or the church itself because hotels in town could accommodate only a few guests.

Sales said the pilgrims need not worry because there is enough comfort rooms or even shower rooms at the back of the Church, at the Rizal Park and at the tourist lounge of the Manaoag police for everybody to use, he said.

Among the pilgrims are people who trek to Manaoag on foot from their respective homes to the Manaoag Church from Holy Thursday to Good Friday as a symbol of penance and sacrifice. (PNA)