Category Archives: Churches

Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (Sabtang, Batanes)

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Church of St. Vincent Ferrer

After our tour of Chavayan Village, we again boarded our van for 8.5-km. (20-min.) drive back to the población to visit the Spanish-era Church of St. Vincent Ferrer.  This church started as a small chapel in 1785.  In 1844, it was rebuilt in lime and stone by Dominican Fr. Antonio Vicente, OP.

Check out “Chavayan Village”

The church’s Baroque façade

In October 1956, after damage by a typhoon, Fr. Gumersindo Hernandez, OP, repaired the campanille and, from 1983 to 1984, Fr. Rafael Carpintero, OP, repaired the interior and replaced the cogon roofing with galvanized iron.

Historical plaque

In 2008, the church, convent and beaterio complex were declared as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

The massive buttresses at the sides

Like the Basco Cathedral and the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in Mahatao, this church has an espadaña-style facade, with two round arches for its two bells on the upper portion of the Baroque façade.

Check out “Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception” and “Church of St. Charles Borromeo”

The church convent

Four massive and broad pilasters, topped by heavy set, urn-like finials, flank the semicircular arched main entrance, at the first level, and the semicircular arched window at the second level.

The church’s interior

The thick walls enclosing the nave, made with stone and lime, are supported by buttresses while, at the back, four round pillars support the choir loft (below which is the baptistery).  A pedestal, with a stone statue of St. Vincent Ferrer, stands a short distance to the right of the church.

The main altar

Inside the church is the original Baroque retablo, with niches for statues of saints, above the high altar.  Made with polychrome and gilded woodwork, it was restored by Fr. Carpintero during the 1983 to 1984 renovation.

Stone statue, of St. Vincent Ferrer, on a pedestal

Church of St. Vincent Ferrer: Brgy. Malakdang (Poblacion) Sabtang, 3904 Batanes.  Mobile number: (0929) 110-2401. Feast of St. Vincent Ferrer: April 27.

How to Get There: There are scheduled 30 to 45-minute early morning boat trips by falowa (round-bottomed boat) from Ivana’s Radiwan Port to Sabtang. The church is located close to the port.

Sabtang Tourist Information Center: Brgy. Sinakan, 3904 Sabtang.  Mobile number: (0929) 226-8055.  E-mail: tourismsabtang@gmail.com.

Provincial Heritage and Tourism Office (PHTO): Mobile number: (0929) 230-5934. Website: www.breathtakingbatanes.com.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Basco, Batanes)

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Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Just 110 m. from the Casa Real is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.  Also called the Basco Cathedral or the Church of St. Dominic Guzman, this church is the oldest in the province.

Check out “Casa Real“

Established in 1783, it is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of Batanes Prelature, and was first built, with cogon and wood, in 1783, by Father Baltazar Calderon and Father Bartolome Artiguez.  It was later destroyed by a typhoon. In 1795, the church was rebuilt in stone by Father Francisco de Paula Esteban.

National Historical Institute (NHI) plaque

The present church was built in 1812 by the Father Nicolas Castaño who shortened the nave.  It 1860, the church was burned and, in 1863, it was reconstructed by Father Antonio Vicente.  In 1891, its roof was replaced with galvanized iron by Father Mariano Gomez.

The cathedral interior

In 1950, the church was refurbished by Bishop Peregrin de la Fuente.  In 2002, it was elevated into a cathedral.  During the July 16, 2000 magnitude 7 earthquake, its façade fell to the ground but, under Bishop Jose Salazar, OP, the cathedral was rebuilt, in its original form, by Father Henry Romero, and completed in 2011.

Altar retablo

The church was built in the espadaña style, with two round arches for its two bells on the upper portion of the façade.  Massive pilasters buttress the church walls from foundation to top.

It incorporates the original front and north walls while the rear and south walls are inside the original ruins.  The church is one of the first limestone buildings to be built under the Spanish regime.  The 2-storey convent, beside the church, was built in 1814 by Father Nicolas Castaño.

The 2-storey convent

Mounted in a monument, on the cathedral’s left, is the 1783 Mission Bell, a gift of King Charles III of Spain which was brought by pioneering Dominican friars Baltazar Calderon and Bartolome Artiguez, on board the packet boat Nuestra Senoña de Carmen, which arrived in Batanes on June 4, 1783 and was first rung, during the first Holy Mass celebrated on the plains of Basco, on June 8 and, later, on June 26, during the formal establishment of the Basco Mission.

Mission Bell of Basco – 1783

On March 2018, it was removed, from the belfry, and replaced by new bells from Holland. The 1783 bell was installed, in a monument funded by the Hermanidad de Sto. Domingo de Basco, and blessed on August 15, 2020.

Church of St. Dominic de Guzman: National Road, Basco, 3900 Batanes.  Mobile number: (0947) 209-6510. Feast of St. Dominic de Guzman: August 8.

How to Get There: Philippine Airlines has one hour and 45 minute flights from Manila to Basco.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Chapel (Basco, Batanes)

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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Chapel (Tukon Chapel)

After checking in and having a breakfast of fried dibang (flying fish) with pako salad, fried egg and rice at Bernardo’s Lantia Hotel, we were all picked, at 12 noon, by our guide Harvey Gutierrez for our North Batan Tour on board a Toyota van of A.A.B. Travel and Tours.

Check out “Hotel and Inn Review: Bernardo’s Lantia Hotel”

Harbour Cafe

A short 2.3 km. (5-min.) drive brought us to Harbour Café where we had lunch before starting our tour.  The café has a good view of Basco Port.

After lunch, we again boarded our van for another short, 2.9-km. (7-min.) drive to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Chapel.  Parking along the road, we climbed a short flight of steps to get to the chapel.

Grace and Jandy

Also known as Tukon (tukon means “mountain” in the Ivatan dialect) Chapel, this project of the late Henedina “Dina” R. Abad (former Batanes Congresswoman) and her husband Florencio “Butch” B. Abad (former Department of Education Secretary) was built to help Tukon’s residents, especially the older ones, avoid the long walk to Basco to attend church services.

Interior of the chapel

Adopting the design of a traditional Ivatan house (stacking and bonding boulders to make a wall), local craftsmen, masons and carpenters built the church and it is the only chapel embodying such design.

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Church of St. Cuthbert and Graveyard (Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.)

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St. Cuthbert Parish Church

The historic parish church of St Cuthbert, and its graveyard, are a significant part of Edinburgh’s heritage (the church has been a Category A listed building since 1970) that are both well-maintained.  The church, on the oldest continually used site of worship in the whole city, a parish church of the Church of Scotland.  The earliest church on the site was said to have been founded by St. Cuthbert around 670 AD.

The graveyard beside the church

Partly due to its closeness to Edinburgh Castle, the church was, at different times, caught in cannon crossfire between opposing armies, suffering severe damage or being destroyed as a result and it is believed that there have been seven churches built on its site. The present church of St Cuthbert’s, built in the Baroque and Italian Renaissance style, was designed (except for the steeple of the previous church which was retained), by Hippolyte Blanc and built between 1892 and 1894. It is apparently quite beautiful inside, with stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Douglas Strachan, and Ballantyne & Gardiner; mural paintings by Gerald Moira and John Duncan; and memorials by John Flaxman and George Frampton.  However, on this particular day, it was closed to visitors.

The twin, 3-storey Baroque towers with the old steeple in between

The church, divided into upper and lower levels by a continuous course of ashlar dressings, has a roughly dressed and snecked, cream sandstone exterior, with every corner decorated with half-fluted Corinthian pilasters, on the upper stage (pierced with round-arched windows, with architraves  supported by half-fluted Corinthian pilasters, of each of the four western bays), and quoining on the lower (each bay pierced by an oblong window below a corniced architrave). The slated roof rests at a shallow pitch. The near-identical north and south elevations terminate with square-based, three-storeyed Baroque towers on the east sides of the transepts.

One of the twin, Baroque-style towers

The church itself was where the almost 40-year old crime writer Agatha Christie married the 26-year old (a nearly 14-year age gap which was considered scandalous by some at that time) archaeologist Max Mallowan, her second husband, in 1930, a runaway affair, with the couple eloping northwards, from England to Edinburgh, where the service was conducted without friends or family, and just two strangers brought off the street to act as witnesses to the ceremony.

The large graveyard, near Edinburgh Castle, is believed to be on the oldest Christian site in Edinburgh.  The graveyard is impressive, containing hundreds of monuments worthy of notice, including one to John Grant of Kilgraston (near Perth), and a number of graves that are worth examining as it holds the remains of notable individuals like Thomas De Quincey (1785–1859, author of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater) and John Napier. The first reference to a graveyard here is recorded as being in 1595.

The graveyard

The mathematician John Napier (1550–1617) discovered logarithms and invented ‘Napier’s Bones’ (because the instruments were originally carved from bone or ivory), a device for easily calculating large sums, a precursor to the pocket calculator. He is buried in an underground vault on the north side of the church (reburied after destruction of the kirkyard of St. Giles to build Parliament House).

The three-bay Gothic mausoleum of the Gordons of Cluny, by David Bryce contains the tomb of Cosmo Gordon of Cluny FRSE (1736–1800), a politician and co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783.

Obelisks used to mark the graves of notable individuals and families

Robert Tait McKenzie, a Canadian doctor and sculptor, created the memorial known as The Call 1914, in nearby Princes Street Gardens, which commemorates the Scots soldiers who were killed or injured during the First World War. His heart is buried in St Cuthbert’s kirkyard, with a small decorative plaque commemorating his life. Mackenzie originally wanted to be buried in front of the memorial after his death.

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756–1823), one of Scotland’s foremost portrait painters in the eighteenth century, is buried on the eastern wall of the graveyard. Another artist buried here is Alexander Nasmyth (1758–1840), also an architect and inventor, whose most notable painting is the much-copied portrait of Robert Burns. His son, James Nasmyth, also a prolific inventor, is most famous for the steam hammer while his other son, Patrick Nasmyth continued the family line as an artist of note.

Also buried here is Jessie MacDonald, granddaughter of Flora MacDonald (who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender of the Jacobite Uprisings, escape Scotland after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746), and George Meikle Kemp (1795–1844), the self-taught architect and master joiner whose major gift to the city of Edinburgh was the Scott Monument, the “Gothic rocket’’ of in Princes Street Gardens.

Other noteworthy burials in the graveyard include:

Many were also buried within the church. They include William Paul (1754–1802), Chaplain in Ordinary to George III; and Sir James Rocheid of Inverleith (1715–1787).

West of the transept, on the north side, are steps that descend to a round-arched doorway, in the basement level, that lead to the Nisbet of Dean burial vault. Buried here is Henrie Nisbet of Dean (died 1609) and his son William Nisbet of Dean. Henrie was Provost of Edinburgh, from 1592 to 1593, while William was twice Provost of Edinburgh 1615 to 1619 and 1622 to 1623. Constructed in 1692, it was retained during the construction of the current church and its predecessor.

Dog sculpture commemorating Edinburgh’s sister city of San Diego (California, USA) and their respective celebrity dogs (Greyfriar’s Bobby, of Edinburgh, and Bum of San Diego)

St, Cuthbert Church Graveyard: 5 Lothian Road, New Town, Edinburgh, EH1 2EP, Scotland.

Greyfriars Kirkyard (Edinburgh, Scotland, U.K.)

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Greyfriars Kirkyard

On our way to St. Giles Cathedral, we made a stopover at Greyfriars Kirkyard, the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk, a parish church of the Church of Scotland constructed between 1602 and 1620. Located at the southern edge of the Old Town, it is adjacent to George Heriot’s School.

Check out “St. Giles Cathedral”

Greyfriars Kirk

Since the late 16th century, burials have been taking place here and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. Operated by the City of Edinburgh Council, in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church, the Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building.  The name Greyfriars is taken from the Observantine Franciscans friary (dissolved in 1560) whose friars of wear grey habits.

List of notable burials


The graveyard is associated with Greyfriars Bobby, the loyal Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier dog who spent 14 years guarding the grave of his master John Gray (a nightwatchman for the Edinburgh City Police who died on February 15, 1858) until his death on January 14, 1872. This tale of a dog’s devotion is similar to that of Hachiko, the faithful Japanese Akita dog of Prof.  Hidesaburō Ueno in the 1920s.

Check out “Hachiko Memorial Statue”

Greyfriars Bobby Statue

Greyfriars Bobby headstone

Bobby’s headstone, erected by the Dog Aid Society in 1981, is located at the entrance to the Kirkyard to mark his reputed burial place.  However, as there are no parts of the kirkyard that is not consecrated, it is also believed he was buried under a tree outside the gates to the right of the current main entrance.

Greyfriars Bobby Drinking Fountain

A drinking fountain, topped with Bobby’s statue, sculpted by William Brodie, was commissioned by English philanthropist Lady Burdett-Coutts who was charmed by the story. It was erected, in 1873, at the junction of George IV Bridge and Candlemaker Row, opposite the entrance to the churchyard.

Tomb of James Murray

The graveyard is also said to be one of the most haunted in the world and most of those hauntings are linked to the ghost of Lord Advocate Sir George Mackenzie (1636–1691), the merciless judge who, in the 1670s, presided over the trials of the Presbyterian Covenanters who petitioned the King to allow freedom to practice their religion without interference.  The Kirkyard was involved in the history of the Covenanters whose movement began with the signing, on February 28, 1638, of the National Covenant in Greyfriars Kirk as it was a place of free legal public assembly.

Tomb of Scottish architect John Mylne

Following the defeat of the militant Covenanters at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge on June 22, 1679, Bloody Mackenzie imprisoned some 400 (out of 1,200 brought to Edinburgh) Covenanters in a makeshift “prison” at a field to the south of the churchyard, spending four months outside while awaiting trial. It has been described as the world’s first concentration camp.  In the 18th century, part of this field was amalgamated into the churchyard, as vaulted tombs, and the area became known as the “Covenanters’ Prison.”

Tombstone of surgeon James Borthwick (1676)

In a twist of faith, Sir George Mackenzie is buried in an Italianate monument (also known as the “Black Mausoleum”), just around the corner from Covenanters’ Prison, one of the most notable monuments in the graveyard  The distinctive domed tomb, designed by the architect James Smith, was modelled on the Tempietto di San Pietro (designed by Donato Bramante).

Grave of Prof. Alexander Murray

Mackenzie may be dead and gone, but his spirit is said to live on as the Mackenzie Poltergeist who physically attacks people.  In fact, by special arrangement with the guides at Greyfriars Kirk, the area is accessible, during the day, during their opening hours, and at night by going on a City of the Dead Tour where you can visit the mausoleum.

Monument for John Carmichael

In the 1840s, during the early days of photography, the kirkyard was used by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson as a setting for several portraits and tableaux such as The Artist and The Gravedigger.

Monument for William Rutherford

Some of Scotland’s finest mural monuments, from the early 17th century, are mostly found along the east and west walls of the old burial yard to the north of the kirkyard.  Rich in symbolism of both mortality and immortality, they include the Death Head, Angel of the Resurrection, and the King of Terrors.

Grave of Gerard Bruce Crole

Other notable monuments include the Martyr’s Monument, which commemorates executed Covenanters; the memorial to Gaelic poet Duncan Ban MacIntyre (1724–1812, renovated in 2005, at a cost of about £3,000, raised by a fundraising campaign for over a year); and the monument of Sir John Byres of Coates (1569–1629), one of the last works of the royal master mason William Wallace.

Tombstone of Alexander MacDuff

Other notable burials here include:

Grave of Katharine Margaret Crole

Greyfriars Kirkyard: Greyfriars Place, 26 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh, EH1 2QE Scotland. Tel: 01316644314. E-mail:  bereavement@edinburgh.gov.uk.

How to Get There:   A 10-minute walk from Edinburgh Waverley Station, the Kirkyard is also within easy walking distance of the Old Town and the Grassmarket.   You can take a bus from the nearby stops. Specific bus routes that stop nearby include the 9, 23, 27, 35, 41 and 42.

Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Bacoor City, Cavite)

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Church of St. Michael the Archangel

The original church, in one of the oldest parishes in Cavite (established as a separate parish, from Kawit, on January 18, 1752), was made from wood, stone, bamboo and nipa in 1669 and used to face Bacoor Bay.

The church’s Baroque facade

In October 1762, due to its strategic location, the church and convent was destroyed by the British on their way to occupy Cavite Puerto (now Cavite City).  In 1774, it was rebuilt in stone and, from 1788 to 1820, Fr. Domingo Sevilla Pilapil rebuilt the church in stone and mortar, adding the retablo, bell tower and patio.

Plaza Gomes

After the June 3, 1863 Manila earthquake, the church was reoriented inland (to prevent entry of sea water during high tides),  rebuilt, and enlarged with adobe, from 1863 to 1870, by parish priest (from June 2, 1824 to 1872) Fr. Mariano Gomes delos Angeles (of GOMBURZA fame) and Architect Felix Rojas (who later designed the Neo-Gothic Church of Sto. Domingo in Intramuros, Manila).  In 1872, after Fr. Gomes’ execution on February 17, the administration of the church was turned over to the Augustinian Recollect Fr. Juan Gomez.

The church’s three-storey bell tower

The National Historical Commission plaque installed in 2022

On May 31, 1898, during the Philippine Revolution, revolutionaries raised the Philippine flag on the bell tower.  After the revolution, the church was returned to the secular clergy. 

Important Cultural Property Marker

The present structure is what remained of this once longest church in Cavite, which once measured 20 brazas (33.4 m.) long and 5.5 brazas (9.9 m.) wide), after a third of the church was destroyed, on June 13, 1899, during the Philippine-American War.

The church interior

The choir loft area

On December 28, 2020, the church, as well as the nearby Cuenca House, were declared as an Important Cultural Properties by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and the National Museum of the Philippines.

The main altar

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

The church’s Baroque façade has a segmental arch main entrance (topped by a segmental arch statued niche), flanked by coupled flat pilasters, with Doric capitals and urn-like finials, and narrow, semicircular arched windows.  The triangular pediment has a centrally located, semicircular arch niche with a statue of St. Michael the Archangel.

The three-storey bell tower, on the church’s right, has a square base with coupled flat pilasters (also topped by Doric capitals) and a segmental arch open and blind (where the “Simbahan ng Bacoor” plaque is mounted) windows.  The upper two storeys, in receding planes, are octagonal, with blind and open, semicircular arch windows.

Inside is a narrow nave, exposed roof trusses with no ceiling, a main altar and two side altars.  Along the walls are burial niches.

One of the burial niches along the walls

In 2021, a historical marker and a bust of Fr. Mariano Gomes was installed front of the church convent, built in 1843 by Fr. Gomes.

The convent on the church’s left

The Padre Mariano Gomes Marker

Church of St. Michael the Archangel: Gen. E. Evangelista St., Poblacion, 4102 Bacoor City, Cavite.Tel: (046) 436-0456, 434-5679 (office) and 434-6466 (rectory). E-mail: sanmiguelbacoor@gmail.com.  Feast of St. Michael the Archangel: May 12.

How to Get There: Bacoor City is located 24.5 kms. (a one-hour drive) from Manila and 26.5 kms. (a one-hour drive) from Trece Martires City.  The church, right in front of the city’s Hall of Justice and Justice B. Ocampo Park, is located near the City Hall.

St. Ferdinand Parish Church (City of Ilagan, Isabela)

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St. Ferdinand Parish Church

The St. Ferdinand Parish Proto-Cathedral, one of the oldest churches in Isabela, is located beside St. Ferdinand College and Rizal Park.  The present foundations of the present church was built, from 1696 to 1700, by Fr. Miguel Matos, O.P.,  as a mamposteria and brick church.

In 1777, the solid belfry (existing up to present) was started by Fr. Pedro de San Pedro, O.P., and finished, in 1783, by Fr. Joaquin Sancho, O.P.. In 1786, the bell of the church was forged.  On December 20, 1803, the church became the final resting place of Nueva Segovia Bishop Agustin Pedro Blaquer, OSA, who died in Ilagan on December 19, 1803 after he got sick during his visit to Cauayan. He was interred at the Epistle side of the church.

Old photo of the church probably showing the 1930 facade (St. Ferdinand Official Facebook account)

In 1829, Fr. Luis Garcia, O.P., constructed the sacristy  of ladrillo and finished in 1833. The 1866 typhoon destroyed the church dome and Fr. Pablo Almazan, O.P., demolished major portions of the church’s solid walls in order to build a bigger one.  In 1892, Fr. Isidro Martinena, O.P., established a campo santo (cemetery) in Barangay Santo Tomas, located outside of Ilagan poblacion.

Another old photo of the church, probably showing the 1960s renovation as the buttresses are now more prominent and entrance and stained glass windows have been modified. (photo: hiSTORYA)

The present façade and major parts of the church were constructed in the 1930s. It was renovated in the 1960s. The bell tower, sanctuary, sacristy, parish hall and the old campo santo are the remaining traces of the Spanish-era church.

The present Baroque facade. The buttresses  are now rounded and the stained glass windows and blind arches have also been modified.

During a recent renovation, the ladrillo details of the sanctuary, the Epistle side and Gospel side of the church were once again revealed after the cement were chipped-off.  The ladrillo fence of the campo santo could still be recognized.

AUTHOR’S NOTES

The church’s single level Baroque façade has a semicircular arched main entrance flanked by massive circular buttresses (in turn topped by urn-like finials) and semicircular blind arches (with two smaller semicircular arches within).

Above  the main entrance is a corbelled cornice with a blind semicircular arch enclosing three (one big flanked by two small) semicircular arch stained glass windows.  The triangular pediment, with broken curves along the top, has a centrally located blind rose window.

On the church’s left is the original four-storey square bell tower.  It has narrow semicircular windows, paired Solomonic columns (topped by urn-like finials) at the corners and is topped by a pyramidal roof. 

 

In 1973, the church became the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan, a suffragan diocese (founded on January 31, 1979) of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuguegarao. However, in 2003, the diocese was transferred to the new Cathedral Church (and Bishops’ Residence) in Barangay Upi, in Gamu, Isabela.  In 2013, the present cathedral was placed under the patronage of St. Michael the Archangel. Despite the transfer, both city and diocese still remain under the patronage of St. Ferdinand III of Castile, whose feast day is celebrated on May 30. At present, the centuries-old structure is designated as a proto-cathedral by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan.

The 4-storey bell tower is all that remained of the original Spanish-era church

On October 29, 2023, a mass was held for the celebration of the first Holy Rosary Festival wherein the pilgrim image of the St. Ferdinand Parish – Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary was episcopally crowned by Most Rev. David William V. Antonio, D.D., STHD., bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan.

The April 22, 2024 fire that engulfed the church (photo: Rappler)

On April 22, 2024, Monday, at around 11:40 AM, a devastating fire started from the roof of the church while workers were installing steel trusses on the church’s ceiling,  It was extinguished after an hour but most of its interior was destroyed. The final investigation report of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) identified the total cost of the damages is estimated to be around P35-40 million which include antique religious items among others. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Ilagan City Engineering Office conducted a series of tests and studies which revealed that only around 20-30% of the structural integrity of the church remained after the fire took down most of its interior.

The burnt out interior of the church (photo: Philippine News Agency)

Just days after the fire that destroyed the proto-cathedral, the City Government of Ilagan, in coordination with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan, were able to put up a temporary altar and steel benches covered with aluminum roofing sheets and steel trusses in the church-front courtyard (often referred by locals as the Family Park). Since April 28, 2024, while the clearing and restoration of the church is still ongoing, all regular masses of the parish were temporarily being held, by parish priest Fr. Ric-Zeus Angobang (he became parish priest in August 2023), in the make-shift altar.

St. Ferdinand Parish Church: Centro Poblacion, 3300 City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 624-2467.  Mobile number: (0997) 068-9967.

City Tourism Office: 2/F, City Hall Bldg., 3300 City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 624-1511. E-mail: tourism@cityofilagan.gov.ph.

City of Ilagan Tourist Information and Assistance Center: Bonifacio Park, 3300 City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 324-7769.  E-mail: ilaganinfocenter@gmail.com.

Isabela Provincial Tourism Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-3146.  Mobile number: (0917) 317-3820.  E-mail: isabelatourismoffice@gmail.com.

Isabela Provincial Information Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-0248.  Mobile number: (0927) 395-7555.  E-mail: letters_info@yahoo.com.

How to Get There: The City of Ilagan is located 429.3 kms. (an 8-hour drive) from Manila and 35.5 kms. (a 1-hour drive) from Cauayan City.

Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (Manila)

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Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (Church of St. Vincent de Paul)

The airy and relatively cool Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (the original and established center for the propagation of the Miraculous Medal and the Vista Domiciliaria), formerly the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, had its beginning in 1872 when the Vincentians bought a piece of land in the barrio of San Marcelino (a part of the Parish of San Fernando de Dilao in Paco) which was a rice field near the Pasig River.

Plaque installed by the Historical Research and Markers Committee in 1935

The house they built served as refuge to the seminarians and Vincentians housed in the San Carlos Seminary which was destroyed, together with most buildings in Intramuros, by the July 1880 earthquake.

The church portico

A chapel, adjacent to the Vincentian Central House, was built in 1883.  Later, the chapel was used as a church, from 1898 to 1909, when the church and convent of Paco were destroyed by the American forces in retaliation for their initial defeat by the Filipino forces following the declaration of war against the Americans in 1899. The parish was canonically established on December 6 1909 by Archbishop Jeremiah Harty (an alumnus of the Diocesan Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri which was under the direction of the Vincentians).

Historical plaque installed by the National Museum in 2018 declaring the church as an Important Cultural Property

The present concrete church was designed by Architect Andres Luna de San Pedro (son of the great Filipino painter Juan N. Luna) and built in 1912 (the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Vincentians and the Sisters of Charity in the Philippines) by Belgian missionaries.

Decree of Erection

During World War II, the Japanese occupied the church for almost 7 months and, during the Battle of Manila in February 1945, was badly damaged when the Japanese burned the interior of the church, massacring scholars, professors and Vincentian Fathers who were living there.

Dedication of the archdiocesan shrine

From 1946, the dome, belfries and roof were restored and fitted with a stained glass windows. From 2007 to 2010, the pillars and walls were retrofitted; the galvanized iron of the roof was replaced with long-span, blue-colored sheets; the wooden trusses were replaced with steel trusses; and the entire exterior and interior walls of the church were repainted.

Interior of the church

On September 10, 2022, seismic base isolators (acting like wheels to stabilize the building during earthquakes) were mounted, by RBRA Consulting Firm, on the pillars of the church, making it the first earthquake-resistant church in the Philippines.

Painting of St. Vincent de Paul flanked by stained glass windows

On December 5, 2018, the church was declared as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines and, on July 16, 2023, it was elevated into an archdiocesan shrine by Manila Archbishop Jose F. Cardinal Advincula.  On that same date, the newly-renovated retablo (altar backpiece) was also blessed.

 

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

The church has a Latin Cross layout and a dome.  Its two-level Baroque façade has balustraded portico with semicircular arched main entrance flanked by flat pilasters (with Corinthian capitals) and two smaller, semicircular arched entrances (topped by festoons) at the first level.  Above the main entrance, at the second level, is a rose window flanked by two semicircular arched windows.  

The triangular pediment, topped by a statue of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, has a centrally located bas relief also of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Flanking the façade are two four-storey, square bell towers with semicircular arched windows. The receding fourth level has a balustrade.

The main altar with its newly-renovated retablo (altar backpiece)

Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal: 959 San Marcelino St., Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila.  Telefax: 2525-7853 and 2524-2022 local 101.  Feast of St. Vincent de Paul: September 27.  Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal: November 27.

How to Get There: The church is located within Adamson University (the church is commonly called Adamson Church), beside the university’s CS Walkway and SV Building.  The nearest bus stop to Adamson University is D. Romualdez Sr./United Nations Ave..

Church of St. Rose of Lima (Gamu, Isabela)

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Church of St. Rose of Lima

This church, constructed in 1738 by Fr. Martin Fernandez, OP, was, together with the convent, destroyed by the strong Intensity 6 earthquake on December 29, 1949. From 1950-1951, a wooden church was constructed, next to the ruins of the Spanish church. La Salette missionary, Fr. Maurice Cardenal, started the restoration of the Spanish church. In 1968, a new roof was constructed together with the flooring.

The Baroque-style, brick facade

In March 1978, CICM missionary Fr. John Couvreur, the 75th parish priest, completely renovated the interior of the church and, in March 1979, the ruins of the sacristy were restored and transformed into a week day chapel.  From 1950 to 1951, a new brick bell tower, in Spanish style, was built but was later dismantled and the recovered materials were used to build chapels in several barrios.  From the ruins of the convent, a multi-purpose hall and dormitory were put up for seminars and meetings.

The paired columns (round and square) flanking the main entrance

On June 24, 1993, the roof and ceiling of the church was destroyed by typhoon Goring.  It was restored, in a short time, and a beautiful ceiling was built.  The church houses a life-size image of the Peruvian nun Rose of Lima, the patron saint of embroidery, gardening, and cultivation of blooming flowers.

The National Museum historical plaque

On June 27, 2019, the National Museum of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) recognized the church, and its surrounding complex, as an Important Cultural Property and, on May 12, 2023, a historical marker was installed. This church, as well as the Church of Our Lady of Atocha in Alicia, and the Church of Our Lady of the Pillar in Cauayan City, are examples of what is called as the “Cagayan Style” of Spanish churches that was inspired by the Tuguegarao church.

Check out “Church of Our Lady of Atocha“ and “Church of Our Lady of the Pillar“

The modern interior

AUTHOR’S NOTES

The church’s Baroque-style, brick façade has a semicircular arch main entrance flanked by paired (one square and one round) pilasters, above which are semicircular arched windows, and semicircular arch niches for statues (currently empty).  The undulating pediment, capped by pinnacles, has a small, centrally located rose window.

On the church’s right is a three-storey, square bell tower, with receding storeys, semicircular arch blind window on the first storey, segmental arch open windows on the two upper storeys and a pyramidal roof.  On the church’s left is the brick convent which is now a multipurpose hall, used for seminars and meetings, and a dormitory.

The main altar and retablo

Church of St. Rose of Lima: Poblacion, 3301 Gamu, Isabela.  Mobile numbers: (0916) 680-3680 and (0936) 360-1064.   E-mail: srlgamu@zoho.com. Feast of St. Rose of Lima: August 23.

Isabela Provincial Tourism Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-3146.  Mobile number: (0917) 317-3820.  E-mail: isabelatourismoffice@gmail.com.

Isabela Provincial Information Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-0248.  Mobile number: (0927) 395-7555.  E-mail: letters_info@yahoo.com.

How to Get There: Gamu is located 413.4 kms. (a 7.75-hour drive) from Manila and 21.5 kms.(a 30-min. drive) from the City of Ilagan.  The church is located in front of the town’s municipal hall.

National Shrine of Our Lady of the Visitation of Guibang (Gamu, Isabela)

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National Shrine of Our Lady of Visitation of Guibang

This pilgrimage site, the Philippines’ eighth national shrine (declared as such on February 13, 1986), is the only national shrine in the northern Ecclesiastical Province of Tuguegarao, comprising the Tuguegarao archdiocese and the Diocese of Ilagan and Bayombong.

It is consecrated to the miraculous pilgrim image of Blessed Virgin Mary of Guibang which was episcopally crowned, by the Most Rev. Carmine Rocco, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, on May 26, 1973 at the former St. Ferdinand Cathedral (now St. Ferdinand Parish Church) in the City of Ilagan.

Historical Plaque

 

The original 750 sq. m. shrine, built in 1726, had a unique façade of layered bricks and stone.  In December 2018, construction of a larger, 1,100 sq. m. church, which can hold around 750 seats and a full-standing area capacity of around 1,200 people, began on the same location.

The church interior

While the construction was ongoing, liturgical services and devotional activities were held in the adjacent Poor Clare Monastery.

Main altar and retablo

The newly rebuilt and larger pilgrim church was blest and dedicated, by Papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown, on February 3, 2023. The church comes alive on July 2 of every year when religious pilgrims from all walks of life come to offer prayers of good health, peace, abundance and good voyage among many other intentions.

Miraculous image of Our Lady of Visitation of Guibang

National Shrine of Our Lady of the Visitation of Guibang: National Highway, Brgy. Guibang, 3301 Gamu, Isabela.  Mobile numbers: (0920) 503-311 and (0915) 499-1058. E-mail: ourladyofguibang@gmail.com.

Isabela Provincial Tourism Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-3146.  Mobile number: (0917) 317-3820.  E-mail: isabelatourismoffice@gmail.com.

Isabela Provincial Information Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, City of Ilagan, Isabela. Tel: (078) 323-0248.  Mobile number: (0927) 395-7555.  E-mail: letters_info@yahoo.com.

How to Get There: Gamu is located 413.4 kms. (a 7.75-hour drive) from Manila and 21.5 kms.(a 30-min. drive) from the City of Ilagan.