IN AND AROUND STA. MONICA CHURCH, SARRAT, ILOCOS NORTE AND OTHERS....

The Church Of Sta. Monica In Sarrat, Ilocos Norte.....






The Altar In Different Views.....









Statue of Sta. Monica.....






Detailed Interior.....















Open Sesame!






The Belfry.....






One Of The Stations Of The Cross.....






The Parish Museum And Convent Ruins.....





















The Real Adobe Up, Close And Personal.....






The Edralin House Of Ferdinand.....






On the third day of our trip we went to Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. Compared to other towns which features a well known church, one can say that this was off the tourist track. For one thing, Sarrat is not a town close to the national highway like for example Sta. Lucia, where the church can be seen from the national road instantaneously. I am not so sure if this church happens to be the largest in the whole of Ilocos Norte but its massive structures can make this church lay its claim to being one.

One can not mention the church of Sta. Monica without mentioning the name of the late former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos immediately after it. Marcos was born here in Sarrat. And during his term as president, his daughter, Irene Marcos was married to Greggy Araneta in a very ostentatious and grandiose wedding ceremony. Imagine a red carpet that stretched for kilometers and there was even a talk of opening up a private airstrip for guests to use when arriving for the wedding. How ironic that two months after the wedding,on August 7, an earthquake of intensity 7.6 affected Ilocos Norte and destroyed the altar and belfry of the church.

A huge hotel like building was erected and served as the guesthouse for those who attended the wedding of the former presidential daughter. Nowadays, the building has been transformed into the municipal town hall which houses the offices of the local government.