Faith and family bonding come together
At a pilgrimage site in Batangas anchored by one of the world's tallest Marian statues, a Philippine property developer has broken ground on an indoor ice attraction — a gesture that speaks to a quiet but persistent human instinct to weave the sacred and the playful into a single place. AbaCore Capital Holdings is expanding Montemaria International Pilgrimage and Conference Center with Ice World, a 2,000-square-meter climate-controlled facility designed for 300 guests at a time, alongside a marine adventure ride and a souvenir shop celebrating local craft. The move reflects a broader reckoning in destination development: that devotion and delight need not be strangers to one another.
- A tropical province is about to host an indoor winter wonderland — ice slides, sculpted villages, and interactive sports arriving in Batangas as a calculated surprise for families who follow pilgrims through the gates.
- The groundbreaking signals tension at the heart of the project: how to honor a site defined by spiritual gravity while layering it with the noise and novelty of family entertainment.
- AbaCore is answering that tension with deliberate design — each new attraction, from the 9D Marine Adventure ride to the souvenir shop, is positioned as a complement to Montemaria's existing identity rather than a departure from it.
- The strategy is landing as a multi-experience destination play, aiming to convert single-purpose pilgrim visits into extended family stays that generate sustained tourism revenue.
On a morning in Batangas, executives and local officials gathered at Montemaria International Pilgrimage and Conference Center to break ground on Ice World — a climate-controlled, 2,000-square-meter indoor facility that will offer ice slides, sculpted villages, and interactive winter sports to up to 300 visitors at a time. The novelty of a frozen attraction in a tropical province is precisely the point: AbaCore Capital Holdings is betting that families will follow pilgrims through the gates if there is something waiting for them on the other side.
The ceremony brought together AbaCore chairman Antonio Victoriano Gregorio III, Batangas Vice Governor Hermilando Mandanas, and Montemaria Resort president Guoan Wu, who described Ice World as a natural extension of the estate's character — a way for visitors to build memories while absorbing the site's cultural and spiritual significance. The day also saw the unveiling of a 9D Marine Adventure ride centered on the biodiverse Verde Island Passage, and the opening of a souvenir shop stocked with locally made crafts.
Montemaria is already anchored by the Mother of All Asia — Tower of Peace, a 98-meter statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary among the tallest Marian monuments in the world. Into this landscape of devotion, AbaCore is introducing experiences that blur the line between reflection and recreation. Gregorio framed the vision plainly: a destination where faith and family bonding coexist rather than compete.
What the groundbreaking ultimately reveals is a portrait of modern Philippine resort development — one that sees commercial and spiritual purpose not as opposites, but as mutually reinforcing draws capable of transforming a pilgrimage stop into a multi-day destination.
On a morning in Batangas, executives and local officials gathered to mark the formal beginning of Ice World, a climate-controlled indoor facility taking shape at Montemaria International Pilgrimage and Conference Center. The 2,000-square-meter space will eventually welcome 300 visitors at a time, offering ice slides, sculpted ice villages, and interactive winter sports—a peculiar amenity in a tropical province, but one designed to draw families alongside the pilgrims and tourists already arriving at the sprawling resort.
The groundbreaking brought together three key players: AbaCore Capital Holdings Inc., which is developing the project; Batangas Vice Governor Hermilando Mandanas, representing local government; and Guoan Wu, president of Montemaria Resort OPC. Wu framed the attraction as a natural complement to the estate's existing character. "Ice World is designed to complement Montemaria's one-of-a-kind environment, offering fun and interactive experiences for all visitors," he said, emphasizing that the goal was to appeal to families, tourists, and pilgrims in equal measure—a way to create memories while visitors absorbed the resort's natural surroundings and cultural significance.
The ceremonial event did more than break ground on a single structure. It also marked the opening of a souvenir shop stocked with locally made crafts and memorabilia, and unveiled a 9D Marine Adventure ride—an immersive experience centered on the Verde Island Passage, one of the world's most biodiverse marine ecosystems. These additions suggest a deliberate strategy to layer attractions across the property, each designed to extend a visitor's stay and deepen engagement with the location.
Montemaria itself is anchored by the Mother of All Asia—Tower of Peace, a 98-meter statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that ranks among the tallest Marian monuments globally. The site functions as both a pilgrimage destination and a conference center, drawing visitors for spiritual reasons as much as for events and leisure. Into this landscape, AbaCore is introducing experiences that blur the line between devotion and entertainment.
Antonio Victoriano Gregorio III, chairman and president of AbaCore, positioned the developments as part of a larger vision. "These developments reflect our commitment to growing Montemaria into a destination where faith and family bonding come together," he said. The framing is deliberate: Montemaria is not being repositioned as purely secular or purely spiritual, but as a place where both dimensions coexist. Visitors come for reflection, yes, but also to spend time with family, to experience something novel, to build what the company calls "beautiful memories."
What emerges from this groundbreaking is a portrait of modern resort development in the Philippines—one that recognizes the commercial potential in blending pilgrimage tourism with family entertainment. Ice World, the souvenir shop, and the 9D ride are not incidental additions. They are deliberate moves to make Montemaria a multi-day, multi-experience destination rather than a single-purpose stop. Whether that strategy succeeds will depend on execution, but the ambition is clear: to create a place where the sacred and the recreational reinforce rather than compete with each other.
Notable Quotes
Ice World is designed to complement Montemaria's one-of-a-kind environment, offering fun and interactive experiences for all visitors.— Guoan Wu, president of Montemaria Resort OPC
These developments reflect our commitment to growing Montemaria into a destination where faith and family bonding come together.— Antonio Victoriano Gregorio III, chairman and president of AbaCore
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why build an ice skating facility in Batangas, of all places? It seems almost absurd in a tropical climate.
It's not absurd if you think about what draws people to resorts. Novelty matters. Families want experiences they can't get at home, and an indoor ice world in the tropics is exactly that kind of contrast. It's also climate-controlled, so it works year-round.
But isn't Montemaria primarily a pilgrimage site? How does ice skating fit with spiritual reflection?
That's the interesting tension. The company isn't trying to replace the spiritual purpose—the 98-meter Mary statue is still the anchor. They're layering on family entertainment around it. The idea is that pilgrims bring families, families want things to do, and now there's Ice World.
So it's about extending the visit and the revenue stream.
Yes, but also about changing what Montemaria means. It's no longer just a place you go to pray. It's a place you go to pray, then spend the afternoon on an ice slide, then grab a souvenir. That's a different kind of destination.
Does that dilute the spiritual experience, or enhance it?
That depends on the visitor. For some, mixing faith and family fun might feel natural. For others, it might feel like commercialization. The company is betting that most people see it as enhancement—that a family memory made together at a pilgrimage site is actually more meaningful, not less.