14 FAMOUS CHURCHES IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA: Discovering their Beauty and Uniqueness thru VISITA IGLESIA (Part 1)
VISITA IGLESIA is a Roman Catholic tradition when the faithful visit and pray the Way of the Cross in different churches during the Holy Week, usually on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. I had the opportunity to join the Bicol Society of Austria in their Visita Iglesia activities in Vienna during this year's Holy Week. This is their way of gathering fellow Filipinos together to strengthen friendships and keep alive Philippine religious traditions and practices in this predominantly Roman Catholic city in Europe which they now call home. WHY VIENNA HAS MANY BEAUTIFUL CHURCHES Vienna was the center of the Habsburg monarchy from 1273 to 1918 which championed Roman Catholicism and repressed the Protestant Reformation. For this reason, many beautiful cathedrals, basilicas, chapels and other churches were built in Vienna almost adjacent to each other. Compared to the Philippines where we need to take long rides from one church to another to complete the church