THE Museo Nang Santa Rita de Cascia, under the Santa Rita de Cascia Parish in Santa Rita town, has topped its record of 5,481 pilgrims and tourist visits in 2017 as it recorded 7,652 visitors this year.
The period covered was from January to April 2018.
Museum head Annabelle Abinales said the tourist figures include visitors from the United States, Singapore, Canada and Hong Kong. There were also busloads of tourist that visited the facility from the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal and Bulacan.
The bulk of the tourists were pilgrims from neighboring provinces, local schools, and even as far as Rizal and Negros Oriental.
They accounted for 64 percent of total visits, while the rest were from Pampanga towns and cities and some 12 percent from Canada, United States and other countries.
The museum has been offering free religious tours and talks on folk spirituality and beliefs for tourists who will be visiting the local church and museum. The museum plays host to an average of 200 tourists a month outside of the pilgrim months of January to April.
The Museo ning Parokya nang Santa Rita de Cascia is located at the second floor of the old convent building attached to the old parish church. The building, which was restored in 1994, now houses the historical artifacts, contemporary and antique images, as well as old furnishings of the church and its old rectory.
The museum currently holds the images of the Cofradia ning Cintas, a lay organization of religious devotees of Augustinian saints. The group hosts the annual Grand Augustinian Procession that features the images of Augustinian saints, which are currently on display at the halls main gallery.
Two of the works of Presidential Merit Awardee for Ecclesiastical Art Wilfredo Layug are on display in one of the rooms of the museum.
The facility also offers a tour of the church, which houses the first-class relic of Saint Rita. Tourists may also visit the recently restored bell tower of the parish, which is accessible through the museum.