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.
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| 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.
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| 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.