Shopping for miracles

As today’s lifestyles have become increasingly modern, hectic and fast-paced, malls in the Philippines have evolved into a place where Filipinos can “shop” not only for their material necessities, but for their spiritual needs as well.

It’s a typical sight to have crowds of families and friends spending some quality time at the malls during weekends, particularly on Sundays—a day for 80 percent of the country’s population who are Roman Catholics to hear the Holy Mass.

While not everyone may be comfortable with the idea, more and more malls have started to build chapels within their spaces, offering Church services from Sunday Masses to confessions. This was one way of bringing the Church closer to the people, amid the complex nature of the modern times.

Sacred Heart of Jesus Chapel

Power Plant Mall

Rockwell Center, Makati

Nestled within the walls of Rockwell’s Power Plant Mall, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chapel is an ideal place to find solace when in need of spiritual reflection and worship. Dedicated in 2006, it was originally located at the third floor, until the mall’s expansion relocated it at the fifth floor of the new wing.

St. Gabriel the Archangel Chapel

Uptown Mall

Taguig City

Located at the rooftop of the swanky Uptown Mall in Taguig City, the St. Gabriel the Archangel Chapel has a unique and sustainable architectural design.

Opened in 2017, the chapel features a high ceiling with a skylight in the shape of the Holy Cross, a roof shaped like a bishop’s hat, and tempered glass walls with glass fins and spider fittings. The chapel named after St. Gabriel, who serves as a messenger of God, is a breathing space against the mall’s surrounding high-rise buildings.

Of the mall’s open area, about 100 sqm are covered by St. Gabriel, which has a seating capacity of 120 persons.

St. John Paul II Parish

Eastwood City

Quezon City

Found in one of the less busier sides of Eastwood City is a quaint church that has provided solace and a spiritual home to the visitors and residents of Eastwood City.

Formerly known as the Holy Family Chapel, the church was established in 1977, even before the area became a commercial hub. After the transfer of the church from Megaworld Corp. to the Diocese of Cubao, the place of worship took a new identity.

On. Jan. 8, 2012, the name of the chapel was changed to Blessed John Paul II Parish in honor of the late Pope John Paul II. In 2014, after the late Pope’s canonization, the church was renamed St. John Paul II Parish.

The chapel’s gray exteriors and architectural design is quite simplistic, which attractively contrast against the grandiose and tall establishments surrounding it. Despite being located in a concrete jungle, the chapel does not lose its intimacy and solemnity. Inside, the white walls and mix of golden and wooden fixtures makes it a perfect place to pray.

The church is also an emerging popular venue for weddings because of its convenient location and the intimacy it offers that fits the occasion.

Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel

Greenbelt

Makati City

The Sto. Niño de Paz Chapel, more commonly known as the Greenbelt Chapel, has for 35 years served as a sanctuary amid the hustle and bustle of a thriving Makati City.

Despite being located in the middle of the towering buildings of the Greenbelt Mall, the lush greenery surrounding the chapel reiterates its purpose: an oasis and opportunity to renew one’s faith again for another day.

Here is a circular, open-air church with an altar in the middle, an eye-catching dome for its roof and appears to be floating over the small lagoon. Inside, the church is both simplistic with its pure white walls and glass sculptures fabricating its ceiling.

The chapel was inaugurated on July 28, 1983, first handled by the Salesians of Don Bosco. The present chaplain, Fr. Rufino Sescon Jr. was installed in 2005.

At present, the Greenbelt Chapel holds 31 Masses a week. The Masses attract not just shoppers in the commercial centers but also the working populace of Makati and nearby residents of the city.

St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, renowned for his zeal in the confessional, was also adopted as the secondary patron of the chapel. On March 23, 2016, the chapel hosted the relics of Padre Pio from Giovanni Rotondo, Italy. Since then, every 23rd of the month has been dedicated as Padre Pio Day at the chapel in order to promote devotion to this great saint and for more awareness on the sacrament of reconciliation.

Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod

SM Aura

Taguig City

Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod
SM Aura
Taguig City

Another chapel with a modern design is the Chapel of San Pedro Calungsod in SM Aura in Taguig. Located at the Skypark, the mall’s multilevel roof garden, the chapel has an unorthodox yet highly aesthetic tubular design. Churchgoers will be drawn to the chapel’s successive arched walls accentuated by lights. It also has glass walls for natural light to seep in.

The modern simplicity of this chapel, which can seat up to 250 people, is highlighted by sculptures of the Blessed Mother, San Pedro Calungsod, and the 14 Stations of the Cross by renowned Filipino sculptor Eduardo Castrillo.

The chapel was named after San Pedro Calungsod, who was canonized in October 2012 and became the second Filipino saint after St. Lorenzo Ruiz. Felicidad Sy, matriarch of the banking, real estate and retail family, is reportedly a devotee of San Pedro Calungsod.

Sources: Inquirer Archives, blog.megaworldatthefort, TriNoma official Facebook account, diocesofcubao.ph, greenbeltchapel.org, orlina.com, United Architects of the Philippines Makati newsletter and Eastwood City Facebook