National Shrine of St. Anne

The National Shrine of Saint Anne, honoring St. Anne, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was first built of stone and brick from 1731 to 1734 by Fr. Juan Albarran OSA, but burned down on August 12, 1748. The church was rebuilt on its present site (moved due to flooding on the former site) by Fr. Eusebio Polo in 1749 and completed in 1752 by Fr. Buenaventura Roldan.

It was replaced with a stone church by Fr. Juan Coronado from 1815 to 1836, damaged by fire in 1856 and enlarged in 1862 by Fr. Manuel Alvarez.  The church was again damaged by during the 1871 earthquake and was repaired in 1872 by Fr. Ignacio Manzanares who strengthened the choir loft’s supporting arches.

NHI plaque installed in 1981

It was intermittently restored in 1936 and, in 1961, a monumental porte-cochere  was added by Fr. Celestino Rodriguez.  Prior to the mid-20th century renovation, the church façade was bare of ornamentation save for volutes founds on the end of the imaginary triangular pediment, circular reliefs and buttress-like pilasters capped with roof tiles.

The church’s Baroque facade

However, much of the design of the façade has been changed after the 1968 to 1970 renovation (under Monsignor Jose B. Aguinaldo and inaugurated on July 25, 1970) when the wood trusses and galvanized iron roofing were replaced, roof and main altar painted and the façade coated white and decorated with images placed above pilasters.

Statue of St. Anne

In 1981, a marker bearing a brief history of the church was installed on the facade by the National Historical Institute (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) and, in 1991, church was declared as a National Shrine.

Statues of Augustinian saints

The church’s Baroque façade, pierced with 5 windows (three semicircular arched ones and two rectangular ones on the first level), now sports three arched entrances, all featuring hardwood doors carved with great details.  The main entrance, with an antique hardwood door carved with bas-reliefs, is flanked by two smaller semicircular arched doorways.

Another row of statues of Augustinian saints

The four sets of superimposed pilasters, incorporated with Tuscan capitals, divide the facade into two levels (the first smaller than the second) and ends up in a triangular pediment with huge, contemporary statues of Augustinian saints flanking that of St. Anne.  At the center of the pediment is a rose window and a tableau of Saint Anne and the Virgin Mary. The porte-cochere, with its balustraded top, mars the view of the bottom part of the façade.

Cross with two cherubs at the top of pediment

The second level, dominated by a rose window in the center, has windows corresponding to the choir loft and partly hidden by the portico.  The convent beside the church is now the main building of St. Anne’s Catholic School.

The former convent, now St. Anne Catholic School

The six-storey square bell tower, to the left of the church, was originally a five-level tower.  During the 1968 to 1970 reconstruction of the church, the sixth level and a cupola was added. for Save for the balustrade, semicircular arch windows and buttresses placed at the corners of the tower, the bell tower is bare of detailed ornamentation. A cross, held up by two cherubs, caps off the entire façade.

Elaborately carved wooden door at main entrance

Another elaborately carved wooden door at the side entrance

This church holds the relics of St. Anne from the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, the international shrine in Quebec, Canada and also the relics of St. Joachim, the husband of St. Anne. 

The six-storey bell tower

National Shrine of St. Anne: Brgy. Sto. Niño, Hagonoy. Tel: (044) 793-2829. Feast of St. Anne: July 26.

How to Get There: Hagonoy is located 55.6 kms. (a 1.5-hour drive) from Manila an 15.5 kms. (a 40-min. drive) from Malolos City.