Category Archives: Churches

St. Augustine’s Church (Macau)

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From Dom Pedro V Theater, we walked further up the square to St. Augustine’s Church, part of a monastery founded in 1586 by Spanish Augustinians, was rebuilt in 1828. The facade was originally of the Baroque style but the existing facade, dating from 1814, is more Neo-Classic. This church maintains the tradition of organizing one of the most popular processions through the city, the Easter Procession, with thousands of devotees..

St. Augustine’s Church

Its normal (10:30 AM in Tagalog and 4:30 PM in English) Sunday religious service takes into account an especially strong participation from Macau’s large Filipino community. The church has a simple, Neo-Classical facade which contrasts with the elaborate decoration of the interior nave, chancel and service area. The main entrance, flanked by 2 pairs of granite Doric columns, has windows framed with simple white relief plasterwork and a triangular pediment, on the top, with a centrally located niche with statue of the Virgin Mary.

St. Augustine’s Church – Interior

The nave is divided into 3 sections by 2 rows of archways supported on Corinthian-inspired columns. The wooden ceiling over the nave is decorated with paintings, mostly over the main altar area. There are small side altars and niches following up to the main altar, with some decorative details that display a Baroque influence. Over the main entrance there is a choir that extends to the side walls, forming a narrow balcony, a design similar to that of the Church of St. Dominic’s.

St. Augustine’s Church – High Altar

St Augustine Church’s marble-clad high altar contains a statue of Christ carrying the cross, Our Lord of the Passion (Nosso Senhor dos Passos)

St. Dominic Church and Treasures of Sacred Heart Museum (Macau)

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When we were in Largo do Leal Senado, my kids and I visited the Church of St. Dominic, situated right in the middle of the  square.  Built in 1587 by 3 Spanish Dominican priests, it is one of the most beautiful churches in Macau.   Originally built in wood, it was, in 1828, rebuilt in stone and was restored in 1994.

St. Dominic Church

The first Portuguese newspaper, A Abelha da China (The China Bee), was published here in 1822.   The church’s basic layout is influenced by both Portuguese and Spanish styles and its architecture is Jesuit Mannerist. The church is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Macau.

St. Dominic Church – Interior

We also dropped by bell tower at the back which was modified into the small Treasure of Sacred Art Museum. On the right side of the church is the sacristy (dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary), the only surviving part of the old monastery/convent that was built with the church.  Here, we went up the stairs that lead to the museum located at second and third floors.

Treasure of Sacred Art Museum – Exhibit

When the Religious Orders were abolished in Portugal in 1834, the museum received many articles of sacred art that are now presently displayed. The museum, opened to visitors in 1997, occupies what is left of the ancient cloister and also the other rooms that are still connected to the church.

Treasure of Sacred Art Museum – Exhibit

There are approximately 300 pieces of excellent quality artifacts, many of which are also from Macau. that date back from the 17th to the 19th centuries.  The rich collection includes gold objects, statues, richly ornamented canonicals, religious paintings and other liturgical vessels.

Ruins of St. Paul’s (Macau)

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The last destination in our city tour is St. Paul’s (Rua de Sao Paolo), the greatest of Macau’s churches and the major landmark of Macau. Built from 1582 to 1602 by the Jesuits, this church was dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle and was the largest Catholic church in Asia at the time. A fire started in the kitchens, during a typhoon, destroyed the body of the church in 1835.

Ruins of St. Paul’s

Now in ruins, all that remained was the magnificent, intricately carved stone facade (built from 1620 to 1627 by Japanese Christian exiles and local craftsmen under the direction of Italian Jesuit Fr. Carlo Spinola), the crypts of the Jesuits who established and maintained the cathedral, and the grand, 66-step staircase.

To preserves its aesthetic integrity, the facade is now buttressed with concrete and steel and a steel stairway allows tourists to climb up to the top of the facade from the rear. From this stairs, it is customary to throw coins into the top window of the ruins for luck. Behind the façade are remains of the original pillars and a shrine.

The facade, rising in 4 colonnaded tiers, is crowned by the cross of Jerusalem, below which are 3 tiers with niches containing statues, cast from bronze at a local cannon and bell factory. It is covered with Jesuit statues with Oriental themes (such as a woman stepping on a 7-headed hydra, described by Chinese characters as “Holy Mother tramples the heads of the dragon”), carvings of the Garden of Eden, the Crucifixion, the angel, the devil, a Chinese dragon, a Portuguese sailing ship, a Japanese chrysanthemum, pious warnings inscribed in Chinese, founders of the Jesuit Order, the “Conquest of Death by Jesus” and, at the very top, a dove with wings outstretched.

Church of the Immaculate Conception (Guiuan, Eastern Samar)

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Church of the Immaculate Conception

After attending the star-studded and colorful Sangyaw Festival of Tacloban City, Jandy and I decided to get some “rest and recreation” at the progressive town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar, our first in the province. To get there, we left the city after lunch, proceeded to downtown and boarded an airconditioned Van-Van van.  The trip took just 3 hrs., made possible by the opening, in the late 1990s, of the South Samar Coastal Road which cut land travel time to Guiuan by about 2 hrs..  As usual, we crossed the beautiful, S-shaped San Juanico Bridge (the country’s longest) into Samar, traveling along a coastal highway which runs past mountains, steep cliffs, distant rock islands and boat-filled bays, then making a right at a T-junction (the left goes to Borongan City) to an occasionally potholed asphalt road all the way to Guiuan.  We arrived there by 4 PM and were guests at the house of Ms. Vibina “Bebeng” Juaban. 

San Juanico Bridge

The best way to explore this coastal town is by hired tricycle.  Vestiges of Spanish era history can be seen at the “fortress Baroque” Church of the Immaculate Conception, considered to be the finest in the Eastern Visayas.  Started in the 1630s, it was rebuilt in stone in the early 18th century.  From 1844 onwards, Fr. Manuel Valverde and Pedro Monasterio renovated the church, covering the roof with tiles. In 1854, Franciscan friars added a transept and baptistery and built a massive bell tower (which once served as a watchtower) on top of a seaside bastion of the fort.   

The church belfry

The church’s façade has triple but slim engaged columns, arches and carvings at the pediment’s borders and 3 entrances with elaborately carved, hardwood doors.  Inside are a single nave with a main altar and two side altars, a beautiful retablo from Franciscan times, a Rococo frontal with the Augustinian emblem and old santos.  The church is enclosed within the partially preserved quadrilateral fort of cut stone, said to be the best and most regularly planned in all the Visayas. Today, this church has been declared as a National Cultural Treasure (unique structures that possess outstanding artistic, historical and cultural values that are significant to the nation), one of 26 named as such by the National Museum in 2001. 

Church of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (Baler, Aurora)

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From the Baler Museum, we walked a short distance to the small but venerable San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Church, the site of the siege depicted in the movie.  Commonwealth Pres. and native son Manuel L. Quezon was also baptized here.  However, the present masonry church is nowhere near  the appearance of the wooden church depicted in the movie Baler which deteriorated later and was rebuilt in brick and stone in 1939.

Church of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
The church was declared as a National Historical Landmark on February 29, 2000.  On the left side of the church is a marker, installed in 1931, to commemorate the capture of Lt.-Cmdr. James C. Gilmore and 16 American marines of the U.S. gunboat Yorktown who attempted to relieve the Spanish garrison.

Central United Methodist Church (Manila)

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The beautiful Central United Methodist Church (CUMC), the first Protestant church in the Philippines, was founded on March 5, 1899 during the American Occupation and originally named the Central Methodist Episcopal Church.  The church’s history is closely intertwined with that of Knox United Methodist Church.  Both churches were the result of Filipino-American ties during the surrender of Manila in 1898.

Central United Methodist Church (CUMC)

On August 28, 1898, the first Protestant worship service in the Philippines, officiated by Rev. George C. Stull, was attended by both American soldiers and Filipino civilians.  During the Philippine–American War, the congregation separated itself from Knox United Methodist Church, the American component, who transferred its services to the YMCA and was organized in 1899.

The massive pointed, Gothic-style arch of the facade

On December 23, 1901, its first chapel of the CUMC was completed but, in November 1906, it was replaced by a structure, designed by C.B. Ripley, made of stone. In 1916, the church was renamed as the Central Student Church and, in 1932, the present structure, the third church on site, was designed by Juan Marcos Arellano using Gothic Revival architecture,  was completed and inaugurated on June 19, 1932.  That same year, it was elevated to a cathedral.  Among Methodists the church is known as  the “cathedral.”

National Historical Institute (NHI) plaque installed in 1985 (Tagalog)

During the Liberation of Manila in 1945, fighting between the combined Filipino and American troops and the Japanese Imperial forces severely damaged the CUMC and rendered it unusable. Its congregation was again reunited with Knox United Methodist Church until 1949, when the CUMC was rebuilt, following its original Arellano design, in its original site along San Luis Street (now T.M. Kalaw Street). The rebuilt church was inaugurated on December 25, 1949.  In 1985, a historical marker was installed by the National Historical Institute.

Since then, membership of CUMC has shifted rapidly, from predominantly American to a mixed Filipino and American demographic. Former Chief JusticeJosé Abad Santos and Dr. Jorge Bocobo (former Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, 1942-44) used to congregate here.

Central United Methodist Church: 694 Kalaw Ave.cor. Taft Ave., Brgy. 666, Ermita, Manila, 1000 Metro Manila. Tel:  (02) 8525 7329.  Fax: (02) 8525-7590. E-mail: info@cumc-manila.org.  Website: www.cumc-manila.org.   Sunday church services here are held in Tagalog (8 AM), Ilocano (9:20 AM) and English (10:40 AM). Vesper at 5:30 PM. Coordinates: 14.582662°N 120.983586°E.

How to Get There: Take the LRT to United Nations Avenue Station.  The church is across from Plaza Olivia Salamanca.

The City of "Angels" (Angeles City, Pampanga)

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Angeles City

After the culmination of Clark’s Hot Air Balloon Festival, Jandy and I drove on to Angeles City for a walking tour of the City of Angels.  Many know Angeles City only as a rest and recreation area frequently visited by the U.S. servicemen from nearby Clark Air Base.  Even with the base’s closure, Angeles is still home to a large colony of expatriates as many Americans chose to permanently settle in city, particularly in the Balibago District.  They were just about everywhere I looked in the city.  However,  not many people know that, on March 17, 1899, Angeles was briefly made the capital of the First Philippine Republic by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.  In fact, the first and only anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence (June 12, 1899) was celebrated here.  Upon its capture by the Americans on November 5, it was made the headquarters of Maj.-Gen. Arthur MacArthur (father of Douglas).  Angeles, once just a jungle clearing and a northernmost barrio of San Fernando called Kuliat (after an indigenous vine that grew abundantly in the area), soon grew rapidly around the former Clark Air Base and was made into a chartered city on June 22, 1963 by virtue of Republic Act No. 3700.

Holy Rosary Cathedral

Many relics of the city’s Spanish and American era past still exist, all within the Sto. Rosario Historic District and all within walking distance from each other. My walking tour started at the Holy Rosary Cathedral (where I parked my car), along Sto. Entierro corner Sto. Rosario St.

Check out Cathedral of the Holy Rosary

The Holy Family Bldg., the former convent, was used by the U.S. Army from August 1899 to December 1900 as a military hospital and by the Japanese Army as a troop barracks, officers’ quarters and arsenal in early 1942.

Angeles Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center

Adjacent to the cathedral is the 2-storey Museo Ning Angeles, the former City Hall built in 1922.    This museum, opened on December 8, 1999, now showcases Kapampangan lifestyle and culture.

Check out Museo Ning Angeles

The Angeles Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center, now a center for polio and stroke patients, was first built in 1899 as the deposito for religious statues and carriages used in religious processions.   From 1899 to 1901, it was utilized by the U.S. Army as a jail  for recalcitrant U.S. troops and, from 1946 to 1947, as headquarters of U.S. Army 11th Film Exchange.  From February 6, 1967 to 1986, it was  the City Post Office.

Bale Matua

The oldest building in the city is Bale Matua, also known as the Founder’s House.  It was built in 1824 by Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda, the former gobernadorcillo of San Fernando, and his wife Doña Rosalia de Jesus.  Together, they founded Angeles in 1796.  On December 8, 1829, the barrio was separated from San Fernando and was renamed Angeles in honor of Don Angel and the town’s patron saints, the Holy Guardian Angels (Los Santos Angeles de los Custodios).  To build Bale Matua, Angel used materials salvaged from their older house built around 1811. The house was later inherited by their only daughter, Doña Juana de Miranda de Henson.  It has high stone walls and an ornate gate and was declared as a Historical Site by the National Historical Institute.

Nepomuceno Ancestral House

The Nepomuceno Ancestral House, along Sto. Rosario St., was the home of Don Ciriaco de Miranda, the first gobernadorcillo of Angeles. Built in 1840, it was inherited in 1868 by Don Ciriaco’s niece, Doña Agustina Henson de Nepomuceno.  A restored grain storehouse (kamalig), along Sto. Rosario St., between these two old houses, was also built in 1840 by Don Ciriaco. In 1980, it was restored by Armando L. Nepomuceno and is now home to Armando’s Pizza and the Camalig Restaurant.   Bale Herencia, at the corner of Lakandula and Sto. Rosario Sts., was built in 1860 by carpenters from Vigan (Ilocos Sur). Said to have been built for the mistress of a parish priest, the current owners now use it as a banquet hall.

Bale Herencia

Cathedral of the Holy Rosary (Angeles City, Pampanga)

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Cathedral of the Holy Rosary

The Cathedral of the Holy Rosary was first built of light materials (nipa) and of wood in 1855 by Fr. Guillermo Masnou.  The present stone and brick edifice was started in 1860 by Fr. Ramon Sarrionandia through the forced labor system (Pols y Servicios), continued by Fr. Juan Merino in 1880 and completed by Fr. Pedro Ibeas in 1891.

Historical plaque

It was restored by Fr. Rufino Santos from 1893 to 1897.  The backyard of the church was an execution ground for Filipino rebels from1896 to 1898.  Later, it was used by the U.S. Army as a military hospital from August 1899 to December 1900.

The cathedral’s Renaissance-style facade

The cathedral, measuring 70 m. long, 20 m. wide, and 12 m. high, has a beautiful transept and a Renaissance style of Corinthian pilasters and recessed arch and segmented windows topped by triangular canopies.

One of two bell towers

There is a projecting portico with elliptical arches at the main entrance.  Spandrel and pier dados are ornamented with relief carvings.  Flanking the facade are twin bell towers moving upward in a slow sweep and in uneven levels.  The window casements have Renaissance-influenced latticework.

The cathedral’s interior

The main altar and retablo

Cathedral of the Holy Rosary: Sto. Entierro cor. Sto. Rosario St., Angeles City, Pampanga. Feast of the Holy Rosary: Second Sunday of October.

How to Get There: Angeles City is located 82.8 kms. (a 2-hour drive) from Manila and 13 kms. (a 30-min. drive) west of the City of San Fernando.

San Agustin Church (Manila)

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Francis and Vicky Dionela, our balikbayan relatives, from Vienna, Austria, were in town  and my brother-in-law Mark and I toured them around Intramuros, availing of a calesa to do so.   Joining us were Mark’s sons Miguel and Matthew.  The first stop in our calesa tour was  the San Agustin Church.  I have been inside this church a couple of times, notably during the wedding of the former Susan O. Bilog, my wife’s first cousin, to Alfredo Azarcon on January 31, 2001.  However, this was my opportunity to explore it in detail.  During our visit, the church was again being prepared for another wedding.

San Agustin Church

Named after St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, San Agustin Church is the fifth church to be built in the country.  The mother church of the Augustinian Order, it is said to be the first mission constructed in Intramuros after the defeat of Rajah Sulayman by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1571.  The first two churches were destroyed by fire on December 2, 1574 during invasion of Chinese pirate Limahong and by fire caused by a candle spark on February 28, 1583 during Gov.-Gen. Gonzalo Ronquillo de Penalosa‘s funeral.  Again fire damaged the church on the evening of March 30, 1586.  It was also damaged during the major earthquakes of 1645, 1754, 1852, June 3, 1863 and July 19, 1880.  During World War II, it was the only church in Intramuros (there are 7) to have survive the American bombardment during the liberation of Manila in 1945. Only the roof was destroyed.  However, the adjacent monastery was totally destroyed but rebuilt in 1970.  It is now the San Agustin Museum.  In 1994, the church was declared by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for Baroque Churches.

       
The adjacent San Agustin Museum

The present 67.15 m. long and 24.93 m. wide church, one of the most typical examples of the colonial Semi-Classical styles, was built between 1587 and 1604 by Juan Macias (said to be a Pampango builder) using hewn adobe stones quarried from Guadalupe, Meycauayan, San Mateo and Binangonan.  It has not undergone major change except for minor restorations and its being able to withstand 5 major earthquakes is attributed to its elliptical foundation (like the hull of the ship) and 1.5-m. thick walls.

       
Corridors leading to the San Agustin Museum

Its design shows Mexican influence.  The unassuming Neo-Classical façade has two levels.  The first level has 4 pairs of Ionic columns and statued niches filling the walls.  The second level has an equal number of Corinthian columns, semicircular arches and square windows.  Above it is a triangular pediment with a circular window.

       
TheProto-Baroque molave main door

The church interior is in the form of a Latin cross.  It has 14 side chapels. The original retablo, built in 1671 by Juan de los Santos, was replaced in 1681, coated with gold leaves in 1704, but was defaced in the British invasion in 1762.  The courtyard entrance and columned facade are guarded by granite lions (fu dogs) given by Chinese converts. 

       
The church interior

The church originally had two four-storey hexagonal bell towers, but the left one was dismantled after the 1863 earthquake.  It has an intricately carved, 24 ft. high and 16 ft. wide Proto-Baroque molavemain door with 4 panels depicting Augustinian symbols, an exquisite Baroque narra pulpit carved in 1627, tombstones on the floor and 12 side chapels (originally 14) dedicated to various saints. 

     
The tromp-l’oeil ceiling

Its vaulted tromp-l’oeil (from the French word meaning “deceives the eye”) ceiling, from which hang 16 crystal chandeliers from Paris (1879-80), was painted by Italian artists Giovanni Alberoni and Caesar Dibella in 1875.  Viewing it from below, the designs appear as 3-dimensional.

      
The pulpit

The magnificent choir loft, the only one of its kind in the country, has 68 beautifully handcrafted molaveseats with ivory encrustations supported by huge elliptical arches.  It was ordered by Fr. Miguel Serrano and brought in from Macao by Bishop Hernando Guerrero in 1614.   A crucifix here dates from the 17th century.  The big lectern has 16th and 17th century cantorals.

       
The main altar

Its 18th century pipe organ was newly-restored and inaugurated on November 1998.  Its classical tones, to which are attached renowned composers  Fr. Manuel Arostegui and Pakil (Laguna)-born Marcelo Adonay, echoed again during the 3-day Second International Music Festival  hosted by San Agustin Church.

       
A side altar

The remains of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Martin de Goiti, Juan de Salcedo and various early governors and archbishops are buried in a communal vault in a side chapel to the left of the main altar. Their bones were mixed up when the British desecrated their graves when they sacked Manila from October 6-7, 1762.  The reclining bronze statue of Legaspi was done by Spanish sculptor Juan Miguel Iriarte.  The remains of painter Juan Luna, and statesmen Pedro Paterno and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera are also housed in the church.


Another side altar

San Agustin Church: Cor. Gen. Luna St. and Calle Real, Intramuros, Manila.

Church of St. Fabian, Pope & Martyr (San Fabian, Pangasinan)

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Originally built with brick in 1768 by Dominican Fr. Francisco Ferrer, the Church of St. Fabian, Pope and Martyr, as well as the semi-claustral convent (which was constructed in 1763 by Fr. Holego Francisco Ferrer and converted into a public oratory), were destroyed by a fire in 1856 and subsequently restored.

The Church of St. Fabian, Pope & Martyr

The Church of St. Fabian, Pope & Martyr

Fr. Juan Gutiérrez, O.P. (1859-1862) rebuilt the church and the sanctuary (1857 and 1860) in cruciform (59.85 m. long and 11.40 m. wide; at the cruciform, 20 m.). In 1863, the present masonry church, convent and bell tower were built by Fr. Ramon Fernandez (parish priest from 1860 to 1870).

The restored, 5-storey octagonal bell tower

The restored, 5-storey octagonal bell tower

The massive earthquake of March 16, 1892 again damaged the church and convent which were later rehabilitated. On January 1945, during World War II, the church was damaged and bell tower and convent were destroyed by American naval shelling and, in 1952, the church and a portion of the convent were repaired by Engr. Santiago Alhambra, Fr. Francisco Posadas (1944-1952) and Fr. Emeterio Domagas.  In 2003, the bell tower was fully restored.

The church interior

The church interior

Church of St. Fabian, Pope & Martyr: Braganza St., San Fabian, 2433 Pangasinan. Tel: (075) 511-4841.

How to Get There: San Fabian is located 28 kms. east-northeast of Lingayen and about 184 kms. northwest of Manila.