Monthly Archives: July 2006

Church of Our Lady of Grace (Makati City)

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From the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, I  moved on to my next destination, travelling some distance (via EDSA, making a U-turn via the cloverleaf then turning right at Bernardino St.) to get to the Church of Our Lady of Grace.  Similarly, like at the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, a wedding was ongoing when I arrived.  This church, founded as an Augustinian mission in 1601, was completed in 1629, damaged during the 1658 earthquake, repaired from 1659 to 1662 by Fr. Alonso Quijano and again in 1706 by Fr. Juan Olarte.  It was ransacked and occupied by the British in 1762 (they made it into their headquarters) and its roof collapsed during the July 19, 1880 earthquake. 

Church of Our Lady of Grace


The church was rebuilt between 1881 and 1885 by Fr. Jose Corrugedo, served as an orphanage and trade school for victims of the 1882 cholera epidemic and was burned down  in 1898 and 1899 when Filipino revolutionaries, and later the Americans, occupied it.  During World War II, it was used as a garrison and headquarters of the Japanese.  The church was rebuilt after an agreement forged on June 29, 1970 between Cardinal Rufino J. Santos and Fr. Casimiro Garcia, O.S.A., Augustinian Vicar in the country. 

      
The church’s interior

The church houses the miraculous Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe which was saved when the church was sacked by the British in 1762.  Its semi-classical Neo-Romanesque facade has carved stonework, semicircular arched recessed main entrance decorated with floral carvings, a circular window above the main entrance and a triangular pediment with a raking cornice with crestings and floral carvings.  Inside are intricately carved interior columns.  

Church of Our Lady of Grace: 7440 Bernardino St.,Brgy. Guadalupe Viejo,  Makati City, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 896-8444. 

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul (Makati City)

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After tennis and lunch at Luk Yuen Restaurant with my good friend Leo Protacio in Makati, I decided to do some sightseeing by exploring 2 of Makati’s old churches.  Travelling to Makati’s nightlife district along Burgos St., I parked in front of an acacia-shaded plaza, across which is the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul.  This church was established as a Franciscan mission in 1578.  In 1608, its land (called Buenavista) was given by a Spanish nobleman Capt. Pedro de Britto (Regidor of Manila) to the Jesuits.  The present lovely church, built by the Jesuit Fr. Pedro de los Montes in 1620, was reconstructed in 1920 and again in 1975. 
   
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul
   
This photogenic church’s Renaissance-style facade has a semicircular arched main entrance flanked by superpositioned paired columns reaching up to the horizontal cornice, a semicircular arched window at the second level and a plain segmental pediment with a centrally located statued niche.  A 3-tiered papal tiara and keys (symbols of the Papacy, the first being St. Peter who, together with St. Paul, is the patron of the locality) dominate the façade.  The church has a rectangular, single-nave plan with an apse and sacristy.  With its beautiful, gold-plated altar and carved retablo, this church is obviously a favorite for weddings as one was about to begin when I arrived.  

The church’s interior

Church of St. Peter and St. Paul: 5539 D.M. Rivera St., Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City, Metro Manila.  Tel: (632) 890-3842.