Category Archives: Churches

Church of St. Augustine (Paoay, Ilocos Norte)

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Church of St. Augustine

After our delicious lunch at Cafe Herencia, we still had time  to visit Paoay‘s most notable landmark, its Aztec-like Church of St. Augustine, situated near the banks of the Wawa River.  This fortress-like church, a premier example of Philippine Earthquake Baroque architecture, has been declared a National Cultural Treasure for its architectural style and cultural value and was included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1994.  This will be my second time to visit the town, and the church for that matter, but it was only a stopover for photo ops and I never got to enter the church.

The gracefully curving and flowing, 
scrolled stone buttresses

Built from 1699 to 1702 by Augustinian Fr. Antonio Estavillo, the church was repaired in 1865 by Fr. Ruperto Rodriguez and Fr. Baldomero Real did major restoration work from 1889 to 1898.  The church was officially inaugurated on February 18, 1896.  The church has 24 2.5-m. thick, massive but gracefully curving and flowing scrolled stone buttresses that ballast the walls (found nowhere else in the country) and two exterior stone staircases (near the main altar transept) on both sides that reached the church’s roof.  Its 1.67-m. thick coral block walls were faced with bricks and sealed with a particularly hard lime mortar mixed with sugar cane juice.  The main nave, supported by 14 molave posts, is 60 m. long, 15 m. wide and 5.10 m. high.  The transept is 7 m. high. The church’s unique two-level triangular facade, divided by horizontal string courses, combines Gothic, Baroque and Oriental (Indian Madjapahit) designs. The buttresses are Baroque features and the decorative pinnacles are reminiscent of Gothic architecture.  Chinese elements are seen in the gable, while the crenellations and five niches (each with a large statue of a saint) topping the walls suggest Javanese influence.    

The church interior

Inside is a 3-storey main altar and two side altars each fitted with gilded retablos.  Over the wooden rail of the choir is a large wooden statue of Christ.  Its intricately designed pulpit and a statue of the Holy Family where brought from Spain in 1891.  Its separate three-storey, coral stone bell tower, was first built with 3.5-m. high wooden posts and three bells and enlarged from 1753 to 1756 by Fr. Tomas Torres with chopped 12 inch by 16 inch coral stones and molave braces put together.  The main entrance door was installed in 1793 and five bells were installed by Fr. Jose Nieto in 1818.  The bell tower was used as a watchtower by Katipuneros in 1898 and by local guerillas during the Japanese occupation.

Pabirik Festival (Paracale, Camarines Norte)

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Pabirik Festival

Paracale was one of three parishes (the others were Daet and Vinzons) celebrating the quadricentennial of their parish’s foundation, an event which I, event organizer Bernard Supetran, blogger Mark Vincent Nunez and mediamen Kara Santos (Sunday Inquirer) and Joselito “Lito” Cinco were to cover.  Our second day in the province was, coincidentally, also the high point of the town’s Pabirik Festival.  We arrived just as the street dancing parade was making its way into the town’s gym for the final judging.  We first dropped by the town’s Spanish-era Church of Our Lady of Candles which was reconstructed between 1888 and 1898 under the direction of Fr. Jose Cardenoso, the last Spanish priest to serve the parish.  After that, we proceeded to the gym to watch the contingents perform.

Church of Our Lady of Candles

The festival showcases the rich mining industry of the town (the pabirik is a tool used in gold mining) which started when a large gold mine was discovered here in 1626. Locals here still pan for gold.  In fact, the town’s name was derived from para cale, meaning “canal digger.” Paracale  is still the center of the jewelry-making industry and, although the art has declined in importance, the town is still regarded as a good place to buy finely-crafted gold jewelry such as the agimon (or alakdan), a flat necklace chain of the 19th century.  The festival  also coincides with the feast of Our Lady of Candles (Nuestra Senora del Candelaria), the town’s patroness and, as such, her statue is borne by most participating contingents in the street dancing competition, together with cardboard or wood replicas of the gold panning trade. Check out my Business Mirror article “Camarines Norte: 400 Years of Keeping the Faith.”

Mayor’s Office: Municipal Hall, Poblacion, Paracale, Camarines Norte.  Tel: (054) 449-1008.

Celebrating Four Centuries of Christianity in Camarines Norte

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Courtesy call on Gov. Edgardo A. Tallado

The year 2011 marks the quadricentennial of the University of Sto. Tomas, the oldest university in Asia. In Camarines Norte, it marks a different milestone – the 400th year foundation anniversary of the three parishes of Daet, Paracale and Vinzons.  Although all these towns were founded by Franciscan missionaries in 1581, it was only in 1611 when permanent parish priests were assigned. Yours truly, together with events organizer Bernard Supetran, travel blogger Mark Vincent Nunez (L.E.N.S.) and mediamen Mr. Joselito “Lito” Cinco and Ms. Kara Santos (Sunday Inquirer), were invited to cover the quadricentennial activities in these towns. All five of us met up at Starbucks in Magallanes Village in Makati City where our transportation and our hosts, Mr. Amable Miranda and Roufel “Raffy” de Vera of the Provincial Tourism Office awaited us.  We left the place by 5:30 PM and the 350-km. long-haul drive took all of 8 hrs., including stopovers for toilet breaks and dinner at a Chowking outlet in Quezon, snatching sleep in between.

Bulawan Museum

We arrived at Bagasbas Lighthouse Resort in Daet, our home during our 3-day stay in Camarines Norte, by 2 AM and were soon checked in and back on the sack.

Check out “Resort Review: Bagasbas Lighthouse Hotel Resort“

Come morning, right after breakfast, we were picked up by Amable and Raffy to visit Bagasbas Park and the First Rizal Monument (unveiled on December 30, 1898) then meet up with Atty. Debbee G. Francisco, the Provincial Tourism Officer designate, at the Provincial Capitol as well as visit the Bulawan Museum with its collection of old photos, portraits of past governors, busts of local heroes, family heirloom pieces, numismatic collection and paintings.

Church of St. Peter the Apostle in Vinzons

From Daet, we moved on to Paracale where we were to attend its Pabirik Festival which showcases the rich mining industry of the town. We next left for Labo where we checked out the Museo de Labo, the Church of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist and a showcase of the town’s handicrafts.  After a few hours rest bit back at the resort, we proceeded to the town of Vinzons where we interviewed Fr. Francisco P. Regala, Jr., the parish priest of the town’s Church of St. Peter the Apostle, the oldest in the province (first built in 1611 by Fr. Juan de Losar and rebuilt at its present site in 1624).  Fr. Regala, narrated in detail, the town’s town’s quadricentennial plans on June 29, the town’s fiesta.  We capped this evening with dinner at the residence of Atty. Francisco where I stuffed myself full with angko, a glutinous, rice-based and thumb-size native delicacy with a filling of sweet, grounded peanuts.  We left right after this as we were scheduled to leave early in the morning for overnight camping at the Calaguas Islands.  That night it started to rain heavily.

Daet Heritage Center

That same heavy rain welcomed us early in the morning and a phone call confirmed our worst fears – the trip to the Calaguas Islands was cancelled.  Regretfully, we switched to Plan B – hiking to Nakali Falls in San Lorenzo Ruiz town, rain or shine.  The physically draining hike took all day. It was raining less the next day and all had lunch with Daet Mayor Tito S. Sarion at Golden Palace Restaurant followed by an ocular tour of the newly-established museum at the Daet Heritage Center (formerly the old municipal hall), a courtesy call to Gov. Edgardo Tallado at the Provincial Capitol and a farewell visit to Atty. Francisco who gifted us with daing, dried dilis (anchovies) and my favorite angko.  Amable and Raffy accompanied us on our return trip to Manila, with a delicious dinner stopover at Lita’s Carinderia along the way.  We made it back by midnight. Check out my Business Mirror article “Camarines Norte: 400 Years of Keeping the Faith.”

Provincial Tourism Office: Provincial Capitol Complex, Daet, Camarines Norte.  Tel: (054) 721-3087.  E-mail: come2camnorte@yahoo.com.

Reminiscing in San Miguel de Mayumo (Bulacan)

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Church of St. Michael the Archangel

We were now on the final leg on our Lakbay Norte 2 tour and our final destination was the marble quarrying, first-class municipality of San Miguel de Mayumo, a town rich in history within the equally historic province of Bulacan.   Our special Victory Liner bus first dropped us off at the Church of St. Michael the Archangel where we were welcomed by Mr. Jose G. Clemente and Ms. Amelia Aquino, both of the Bulacan Tourism Convention and Visitors Bureau (BTCVB); Mr. Jimmy Corpuz, head of the National Historic Conservation Society; and municipal tourism officer Ms. Divina Quetua.  This Baroque-style church, with its statue of St. Michael the Archangel slaying the dragon at the center panel of the pediment, was built (or rebuilt) in 1848 by Fr. Juan M. Tombo and was completed in 1869 by Fr. Francisco Arriola.  Maximo Viola, the financier of the printing of Rizal’s Noli me Tangere, is buried in a vault within the church.  After the church tour, we all cross the street to pay a courtesy call on Mayor Roderick Tiongson at the municipal hall (built in 1874). 

Simon Tecson Mansion

Being an hour behind schedule, we had no time to tour, on foot, San Miguel’s 25-30 ancestral houses (the town is called the “Vigan of Bulacan”) scattered around the town proper as we had to drop by Biak-na-Bato National Park, site of the Biak-na-Bato Republic.  These bahay na bato were built with different styles of architecture and colors during the Spanish and American eras, all existing testimonies to the abundance and prosperity of the past. Instead, we did a slow tour via our bus, along the town’s narrow streets, with Mr. Clemente commenting on each house we passed. In the past, landed barons running haciendas in Central Luzon built their grand residences or vacation houses in San Miguel de Mayumo where they hosted lavished parties or soirees.

Bahay Paniki Cave

We arrived at the 2,117-hectare Biak-na-Bato National Park by 5 PM.  Our 1-hr. tour took us past Gen. Aguinaldo Cave (Emilio Aguinaldo‘s headquarters in 1897 and site of the Biak-na-Bato Republic) all the way up to Bahay Paniki Cave, located upstream from the Balaong River.  Probably the largest cave in the area, the cave has a rather deep natural indoor swimming pool fed by an underground stream.  Thousands of fruit bats fly in and out from dawn and dusk but we were not to witness this as approaching darkness would make our return trek difficult.

Lakbay Norte media group with BTCVB

It was already dark when we returned to the park’s new pavilion for a snack of ensaymada (a brioche made with butter and topped with grated cheese and sugar) and arroz caldo (a rice porridge flavored with chicken)  After a short press briefing and photo ops, we all returned to bus for our 2-hr. return trip to Manila.  However, the grateful town and its people wouldn’t let us go without bringing home some pasalubong of the town’s famous delicacies.  Waiting for us at the bus were pastillas de leche (delicious, mouth-watering candy made from sugar and pure carabao’s milk), tableya (old fashion Philippine chocolate), minasa (cassava cookies), yema balls (a sweet custard candy made with condensed milk and egg yolks) and chicharon (fried pork crackling). 

Bulacan Tourism Convention and Visitors Bureau (BTCVB): c/o Ciudad Clemente Resort, Paombong Bulacan.  Mobile number: (0927) 669-5655. E-mail: joclemente01@yahoo.com.

Church of St. James the Apostle (Guagua, Pampanga)

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Guagua’s Church of St. James the Apostle

From Bacolor, we next proceeded to Brgy. Betis in the woodworking (furniture, guitars, pool sticks, etc.) town of Guagua, my late father’s hometown, where we were welcomed by Sangguniang Bayan member Anthony Joseph “Tonton” Torres and Guagua councilor Roy Sunglao at the 17th-century Church of St. James the Apostle. The church, now honored as one of 26 National Cultural Treasures by the National Museum, has a profusely ornamented, two-level, German Baroque façade with decorative, coupled columns and skillfully arranged flora,  spirals and intricate curvilinear carvings decorating the projecting portico. The church’s wooden entrance doors are intricately carved with the “Dreams of Jacob” from the Old Testament.

The breathtaking trompe l’oeil dome

Its awe-inspiring interiors are something else. The huge, elaborate retablo is furnished with authentic icons, while spectacular murals of 19th century artist Simon Flores, as well as the father-and-son team of Macario and Jose Ligon (finished before World War II), fill the walls. The interpretation of the Bible is painted on the entire wooden ceiling and the breathtaking trompe l’oeil dome, truly the Philippine’s version of the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican. At the center of the plaza, fronting the church, is the first artesian well in the Philippines, built by Fr. Manuel Camanes in the late 19th century. Before leaving Guagua, I bought some yema and pastillas as pasalubong.  Check out my Business Mirror article “Tripping on History and Culture in Pampanga.”

Pampanga Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (PCVB): c/o Everybody’s Café, Nepo Mall, Brgy. Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, Pampanga.  Mobile number: (0917) 245-4834.  E-mail: poch168@gmail.com.

Church of St. William of Aquitania (Bacolor, Pampanga)

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Church of St. William of Aquitania

We were now on our fifth and last day of our Lakbay Norte 2 media tour and come morning, after a hearty breakfast at Sands Resto Grille in Lighthouse Marina Resort, we were on the road again in our special Victory Liner media bus, this time to return to Pampanga and  visit two of the province’s famous churches—one noted for its resiliency in the face of calamity, and the other for its artistic beauty. In Bacolor, we were met at the town’s Church of St. William the Hermit by Mr. Poch Jorolan of the Pampanga Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (PCVB). This church, one of the oldest and largest churches in the province, is a survivor. Probably built in the early 17th century, it has survived damage from the 1645 and 1880 earthquakes, a fire in 1672, as well as heavy damage during the British occupation, being restored each time. However, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption produced lahar flows on September 3, 1995,  forcing its more than 50,000 residents to evacuate to safer ground and burying the church  up to one-half its 12-m. height. Its 4.9-m.-high main entry disappeared. However, this bastion of faith refused to follow the footsteps of the half-buried Cagsawa Church (Albay) and Guiob Church (Camiguin), all victims of the violent eruptions of Mt. Mayon and Mt. Vulcan Daan, respectively. Bacolonians painstakingly dug up the ornately-carved main and side altars, century-old statues and  the retablo (altar backdrop) of the Lady of La Naval from the mud and relocated the retablo under the dome in order for it to fit.  They also built a new concrete floor almost at the level of the windows.  The profusely and intricately ornamented window of the choir loft now serves as the new main entrance.

Pampanga.Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (PCVB): c/o Everybody’s Café, Nepo Mall, Brgy. Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, Pampanga.  Mobile number: (0917) 245-4834.  E-mail: poch168@gmail.com.

Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando (San Fernando City, Pampanga)

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The Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando

The town’s present church was probably built at the end of the 18th century by Fr. Sebastian Moreno and finished by Fr. Mariano Alafont in 1781.

Bell tower on the left

It was restored in 1853 (by Fr. Pedro Medina) and 1866 (by Fr.  Antonio Redondo who added the majestic dome and finished painting the interior).

Both church and convent were burned on May 5, 1899 by Gen. Antonio Luna, reconstructed, burned by a big fire in 1939 and rebuilt in 1950 by Arch. Fernando Ocampo. In 1948, the church was elevated to a cathedral when it became the seat of the Diocese of San Fernando.

The cathedral interior

The cathedral measures 70 m. long, 13 m. wide, and 11 m. high and has a Tuscan interior.

The main altar

The Neo-Classical facade has a huge balustered portico, a profusion of columns and a triangular pediment.  Along the sides are dentils and tooth-like decorations.

Pulpit

A round and majestic, Baroque-style dome rises from the rotunda of the transept.   Its four-storey, hexagonal bell tower tapers up in uneven levels with alternating arched and segmented blind and open recesses.

The Baroque-style dome

Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando: City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Feast of St. Ferdinand: May 30.

How to Get There: The City of San Fernando is located 68.9 kilometers (a 1.5-hour drive) from Manila.

Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag’s Candle Gallery (Pangasinan)

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Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag

After our very educational patupat factory visit in Pozorrubio (Pangasinan), we now boarded our special Victory Liner media bus for the long haul drive to Microtel Inn & Suites Luisita (Tarlac) where we were to be billeted prior to our Pinatubo trek.  Along the way, we made a short stopover at Manaoag, also in Pangasinan, so visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag (formally Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario de Manaoag or Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag) and its newly opened Candle Gallery.  I have been to the shrine a number of times but this would be my first time to visit the Candle Gallery, built on the site of the old comfort rooms and canteen, to accommodate pilgrims who want to light candles as they make their humble petitions. The building, designed by Arch. Armando “Don” de Guzman, was only blessed December 7 of last year by Fr. Stephen Redillas, OP, the Prior of the Manaoag Shrine.

Our Lady by the Fountain at the Candle Gallery

Its centerpiece is an 8-ft. high wooden statue of Our Lady by the Fountain with the baby Jesus and the Holy Rosary in her arms, both sculpted by Nicolas Lugue,  and at its base is a fountain, its water cascading from the four sides of the rock base, guarded by four angels, and then down to a circular pool where the pilgrims may sit and reflect.   Above, naturally providing light to the image, is a glass skylight. Beside the Candle Gallery is the Blessing Area where pilgrims who brought or bought (from the new store that sells candles, rosaries, images of saints, spiritual books, etc.) religious articles, may have them blessed by a priest right after every Mass celebrated in church (3-4 PM).  It also accommodates the pilgrim’s requests for holy water and the blessing of their vehicles.The Feast of Our Lady of Manaoag is held on the third Wednesday after Easter but as Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of Manaoag, it observes its universal feast day on the first Sunday of October.

Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag: Tel: (075) 529-0132.  Website: www.ourladyofmanaoag.org. Victory Liner, Five Star and Dagupan Bus Line buses ply the 4-hr. Manila to Manaoag route. From Baguio City (Benguet), it is a 2-hr. drive.

Dutch Square (Melaka, Malaysia)

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From the ruins of the Church of St. Paul, we went down St. Paul’s Hill, to picturesque and postcard pretty Dutch Square (also called Red Square).  Along the way, we passed the Democratic Government Museum (Muzium Pemerintahan Demokrasi), formerly Melaka’s State Legislative Assembly building.

Democratic Government Museum

At the square, the port-red theme (originally painted as white, it was repainted as such in 1911) predominates with the buildings around the square as well as the Tang Beng Swee Clock Tower (also called the Red Clock Tower, it  was erected in 1886 to honor the generous Chinese tycoon Tan Beng Swee).

Tang Beng Swee Clock Tower

The massive Stadthuys, built between 1641 and 1660, is a reproduction of the former Stadhuis (town hall) of the Frisian town of Hoorn in the Netherlands which existed from 1420 until 1796.  This building was the official residence of the Dutch governor and his deputy.  Believed to be the oldest Dutch building in the East, this preserved example of original Dutch architecture has solid doors and louvered windows. Now the Museum of History and Ethnography (converted as such in 1982), it exhibits traditional wedding clothes and artifacts of Melaka, dating back to its days of glory.

Nearby is Christ Church, the oldest functioning Protestant church in Malaysia.  Built in 1753, in the Dutch Colonial architectural style, as the Bovenkerk (High Church), the main parish church of the Dutch Reformed community, it was re-consecrated in 1838 with the rites of the Church of England and renamed Christ Church. After the British takeover of Malacca, its original Dutch windows were reduced and ornamented.  The porch and vestry were built only in the mid-19th century.

Christ Church

This church, measuring 25 m. (82 ft.) by 13 m. (42 ft.), has a roof  covered with Dutch tiles, walls of brickbuilt on local lateriteblocks then coated with Chinese plaster, and floors paved with granite blocks originally used as ballast for merchant ships.  Inside are hand-crafted church benches, joint-less ceiling skylights, a copper replica of the Bible, a headstone written in the Armenian language and a replica of “Last Supper” made with glazed tiles and located over the altar.  Its 12 m. (40 ft.) high ceiling has 15 m. long beams made from a single tree.

Christ Church – Interior

Between the two buildings, right in the middle of Dutch Square, is the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Fountain, probably one of a few functioning colonial water fountains in Malaysia. Erected in 1904 with English marble, it commemorates the queen’s 60th anniversary (Diamond Jubilee) on the British throne.

Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Fountain

The Malaysia Youth Museum & Art Gallery (Balai Senilukis Melaka), between Christ Church and Laksamana Road, was built in 1784 as the Dutch Administrative Complex. In 1826, it was converted into the Malacca Free School and, in the 1920s, was renovated to be a 2-storey building to be later used as a post office before conversion into a museum.

Malaysia Youth Museum & Art Gallery

Church of St. Paul Ruins (Melaka, Malaysia)

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From Fort A’Famosa and Porta da Santiago, we next hiked up a steep, 110-step paved stairway to the summit of St. Paul Hill (formerly called Malacca Hill) where the roofless ruins of St. Paul’s Church can be found.

The Stairway Up St. Paul Hill

Built by Portuguese Capt. Duarte Coelho in 1521, it was formerly called the Chapel of Madre de Deus (Mother of God) and Nossa Senhora do Oiteiro (“Our Lady of the Hill”).  The Portuguese enlarged the chapel in 1556, adding a second storey to it. Further renovation was carried out in 1590 with the addition of a tower.  A burial vault was opened in 1592 and many people of distinction were buried there, including Pedro Martins, the second Bishop of Funay (Japan).

St. Paul Church Ruins

The body of St. Francis Xavier, a missionary who came to Melaka in 1545, was temporarily interred here in 1553 before it was taken to Goa (India) after 9 months. In front of the church stands a huge, pearl-white statue of the saint, erected in 1952 in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of his sojourn in Malacca. A day after the statue was consecrated, a large casuarina tree fell on it, breaking off its right arm (incidentally, the right forearm of Xavier was detached in 1614 as a relic).  His now empty open grave, now covered by a wire mesh, marks the place of Francis’ temporary burial.

Statue of St. Francis Xavier

When the Dutch wrestled Malacca from the Portuguese in 1641, they took over the church, repaired it and reconsecrated it into a Dutch Reformed Church, calling it St. Paul’s Church, a name which remains today. It was used this way for the next 112 years, until it was abandoned in 1753 after the Dutch built their own church at the foot of the hill, Christ Church.

St. Paul Church Ruins – Interior

When the British took over Melaka in 1824, St. Paul’s Church had lost its tower. The British added a lighthouse in front of it and used the church as convenient storehouse for gunpowder. Today, several old monumental Dutch and Portuguese tombstones, with Dutch and Portuguese words engraved on it, can be seen leaning against the strong brick walls of the church.

Old Tombstones Along the Brick Walls