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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.