Visita Iglesia site gets over 13K visitors ahead of Holy Week

With still one week to go before the Holy Week, the Catholic Church's online Visita Iglesia for this year has already attracted more than 10,000 visitors. A counter on the CBCP's Visita Iglesia site showed at least 13,521 had visited the site as of 7:56 a.m. Friday. The site, launched April 1 to cater mainly to Filipinos abroad or those who cannot physically observe the tradition of visiting churches during the Holy Week, has more features from last year's Visita Iglesia site. But last year's site, which had attracted 47,473 visitors last year, is no longer accessible. Visitors who try to access the old site will now be redirected to the new one.

On the other hand, it remains unclear if the site will, like last year's version, be prone to congestion and "technical difficulties" during Holy Week itself, when online visits are expected to peak. Added features in this year's site include a catechisis on Lent by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales; the Holy Week by Fr. Cris Cellan; and Easter by Manila Bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr. The site even featured an advance homily for Palm Sunday by Msgr. Lope Robredillo. — RSJ, GMA News