National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Postcards

The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, also called the Redemptorist Church and the Baclaran Church, is a Roman Catholic in the Diocese of Parañaque. On January 1958, the Philippine hierarchy officially declared the Baclaran Church to be the National Shrine of the Mother of Perpetual Help. The parish celebrates its fiesta on June 27, the feast day of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.

Baclaran Church Postcard 1

The Redemptorists brought the picture of the Mother of Perpetual Help to the Philippines in 1906. The increasing attendance of the devotees forced the Redemptorists to consider a more spacious church. The foundation stone had been laid by Cardinal Gilroy of Sydney on January 11, 1953.

Baclaran Church Postcard 2

The Church’s architecture is described as Modern Romanesque. Cesar Concio, its architect, and Jesse Bontoc his associate, had planned a higher church with a bell tower. But because of its proximity to the airport, civil aeronautic regulations prevented them from carrying out their plan in full.

SOURCES:
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Wikipedia EntryOur Mother of Perpetual Help History

Wat Phra Kaew Postcard

The Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha; full official name Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram) is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. It is located within the grounds of the Grand Palace.

Wat Phra Kaew Postcard

The construction of the temple started when King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) moved the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok in 1785. Unlike other temples it does not contain living quarters for monks; rather, it has only the highly decorated holy buildings, statues, and pagodas. The main building is the central ubosoth, which houses the Emerald Buddha. The Temple also contains a model of Angkor Wat, added by King Nangklao (Rama III), as the Khmer empire of Cambodia and the Thais share cultural and religious roots.

SOURCE:
Wat Phra Kaew Wikipedia Entry

Wat Yai Postcard

Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahatat Woramahawihan, also commonly referred to as Wat Yai, is a Buddhist temple in Phitsanulok, Thailand. Wat Yai is famous throughout Thailand for its golden sculpture of the Buddha called the Phra Buddha Chinnarat. It depicts Buddha in the posture of submission.

Wat Yai Postcard(Bought by my sister during her visit to Bangkok)

The cloister of the temple was established in 1357 during the reign of King Maha Thammaradscha I of Sukhothai. The temple'slarge vihara has an immense main entrance with mother-of-pearl inserts donated by King Boromakot in 1756. Beyond the vihara is a Khmer style prang, the inside of which can be accessed via a stairway. The Prang is said to enshrine relics of the Buddha.

SOURCE:
Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat Wikipedia Entry

Phra Maha Suwanpatimagorn Postcard

Phra Maha Suwanpatimagorn or Sukhothai Trimitr golden Buddha image is the largest golden Buddha image in the world. It is a Buddha image in the mara conquering attitude. It is made of pure gold, measuring 12 feet 5 inches in diameter and has a height of 15 feet 9 inches from the base to the crown and it weighs approximately 5 tons.

Phra Maha Suwanpatimagorn Postcard(Bought by my sister during her visit to Bangkok)

Originally, this golden Buddha image was completely covered with plaster to conceal it from the enemy then invading Thailand and was installed as the principal Buddha image in the main temple building of Choti-naram Temple or Wat Phrayakrai. The Ecclesiastical Commission then move this golden Buddha image to the Trimitr Witthayaram Temple where it now remains, discovering in 1955 that it was made of pure gold.

SOURCE:
Phra Maha Suwanpatimagorn

Wat Ratchanaddaram Postcard

Wat Ratchanaddaram, a Buddhist temple which means Royal Niece, was built to the order of King Nangklao (Rama III) for Mom Chao Ying Sommanus Wattanavadi in 1846.

Wat Ratchanaddaram Postcard(Bought by my sister during her visit to Bangkok)

The temple is best known for the Loha Prasat, a one of a kind in structure Thailand. The pagoda is a replica of the Loha Prasat built in India. It is 36 m high and has 37 metal spires, signifying the 37 virtues toward enlightenment. In 2005, the temple was submitted to UNESCO for consideration as a future World Heritage Site.

SOURCE:
Wat Ratchanadda Wikipedia Entry