THE TRUE CROSS AT MONASTERIO DE TARLAC

A thirty-foot statue of the Risen Christ towers over the rolling landscape of the
Province of Tarlac. We were at the hillside retreat of Monasterio de Tarlac for Tara Quin
Tarlac, a familiarization tour spearheaded by Microtel Luisita to open the floodgates of
tourism in the region.

A monk from the Servants of the Risen Christ Monastic Community approached us,
welcoming us to the Mountain of Resurrection where the monastery is built on. We asked a
few questions and he gamely answered, explaining the origins of their order and the
monasterio itself.

The Monasterio de Tarlac is not as old as the monasteries most people have in mind.
In fact, its construction concluded only in the year 2000. Very, very recent, considering most
monasteries are centuries old; well, at least those we see in Hollywood movies, them
medieval ones complete with hooded monks and cobwebby halls.
 Monasterio de Tarlac’s claim to fame, besides the colossal statue of the Risen Christ,
is the Relic of the True Cross which is enshrined inside the monastery chapel.

Remember Santa Cruzan? The story goes that when St. Helena dug under Calvary Hill
in Jerusalem, he found three crosses. Unsure which one of the three was Jesus’, she asked a
dying woman to touch all the crosses. The one that revived the woman was declared to be
the True Cross.

Through the years, that cross was passed through many hands until it was split up
into smaller and smaller parts. In 2007, a splinter of that said cross was brought from
Germany to the Philippines. It now resides at the white Baroque chapel of Monasterio de
Tarlac.
 The relic, which is purported to be miraculous, is housed in an ornate golden box
under the church altar. The faithful are allowed to touch only the enclosed box after every
mass. However, open veneration of the cross also occurs twice every year during the 19th of
January to commemorate its enshrinement and the 14th of September to celebrate the
Servants of the Risen Christ anniversary.

Besides that heavy religious stuff, the Monasterio de Tarlac is beautiful in itself.
Elevated three hundred meters above sea level, the air here is fresh and calming. Trees
abound and the silence is a soothing change for frayed nerves; a perfect place to slow down
and reflect.

There are spots which looked a bit Disneyland-ish, but I guess it’s simply the Filipino
kitsch that usually pervades most parks and open spaces. I honestly can do away with the
castle-like parapets and turrets, but yeah, that’s just the snobbish me. I’m sure most
Filipinos dig this kind of architecture.