Category Archives: Churches

Church of St. Peter & St. Paul (Calasiao, Pangasinan)

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This church is one of the largest in Pangasinan.  The original church was destroyed by earthquake and burned in 1736 during the Palaris Revolt.  The present structure was built in 1753 by Fr. Dalmau, burned in 1852 and rebuilt from 1853 to 1858 by Fr. Ramon Suarez.

Church of St. Peter & St. Paul

Church of St. Peter & St. Paul

The massive March 16, 1892 earthquake damaged the church. The massive July 16, 1990 earthquake destroyed its bell tower. Msgr. Luis B. Ungson reconstructed the church, restoring the bricked front wall, antique statues and the ceiling’s original floral motif. In 2001, the church was declared as a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

The restored 5-storey bell tower

The restored 5-storey bell tower

The church is 88.3 m. long, 25 m. wide and 27.3 m. high.  The adjoining sprawling convent is 75 m. long, 25 m. wide and has two yards.  The church’s imposing Renaissance-style brick and cement facade has columns that rise from the first level to the window sill.  Its pediment has a well-defined cornice and a statued niche at the tympanum flanked by two circular windows.  Its 30-m. high, hexagonal, 5-storey bell tower, one of the best in the province, has pinnacles at each level, arched windows with columned jambs and cantons at the corners.   Its retablo mayor, ornately decorated with statues of saints, is massive and complex woodwork is seen at the back.

The church interior

The church interior

Church of St. Peter & St. Paul : Poblacion West, Calasiao, Pangasinan,

How to Get There: Calasiao is located 207 kms. from Manila.

 

Church of St. Dominic Guzman (San Carlos City, Pangasinan)

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The town’s first church was built at the western side of the Agno River (near Zambales) where the town of Binalatongan (renamed as San Carlos in 1764) was originally located. On September 1587, the church was destroyed by fire and the church was reconstructed at Baloydaan at the eastern part of the river. On August 4, 1718, the church was again damaged by a fire. The town of Baloydaan was transferred to its present site and, after the 1763 uprising, was renamed as San Carlos in 1764.

Church of St. Dominic Guzman

Church of St. Dominic Guzman

The city’s present church, its fourth, was built with bricks (ladrillo) from 1770 to 1773 by Fr. Cristobal P. Ausina. During the late 1700s, iIt used to be the largest Catholic church in the Philippines but was heavily damaged during the 1796, 1798 and 1799 earthquakes.    Between 1802 and 1804, the church was reconstructed.

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Now measuring 89 yards (267 ft.) long and 22 yards (66 ft.), its wall height was lowered and the foundations were strengthened with buttresses.  In 1822, both the church and its convent were razed by fire and the church was rebuilt before 1864.  From 1878 up to 1890, Fr. Alvarez Carrozal initiated the rehabilitation of the church and the adjoining 4-storey bell tower was also erected during his time.

The 4-storey bell tower

The 4-storey bell tower

The church’s 4-level Baroque  facade has a huge pediment (formed from the two upper levels) painted with a picture of Saint Dominic and embellished with a raking cornice with huge, elegantly designed scrolls.  Through the designs along its wall planes, the middle segment gives contrast within the levels.

The church interior

The church interior

How to Get There: San Carlos City is located 227 kms. from Manila.

Church of St. Raymond of Penafort (Mangatarem, Pangasinan)

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The town’s present one-nave church replaced a wooden church built, from 1835 to 1844, by Fr. Joaquin Perez but burned in 1862. Fr. Manuel Alvarez de Manzano laid the church’s new 6 yard thick and 6 yard deep foundation.  The construction of the church was continued by Fr. Suarez until 1875. By 1880, the façade was completed and the church was finished by Fr. Vicente Iztequi.  The church was damaged during the July 16, 1990 earthquake.

Church of St. Raymond of Penafort

Church of St. Raymond of Penafort

Formerly the largest in the country, this church has a simple Early Renaissance sandstone facade with a low pediment and upper and lower levels separated by dentil-like elements.  Niches, windows, and the doorway relieve the monotony of the simple facade. The walls used finely hewn and squared ashlar stones hewn from the stone quarries along the mountain rangesof Malabobo, located 8 kms. from the town. The church measures 82.40 m. long and 16 m. wide while the transept is 51.70 m. long and 15.40 m. wide. The sidewalls measure 2.5 yards wide while the façade and the back walls are 3.5 yards wide.

The church's simple Early Renaissance sandstone facade

The church’s simple Early Renaissance sandstone facade

Fr. Manzano also began constructing the two bell towers and was continued by his successors, including Fr. Iztequi, but the towers were never completed, reaching only 6 m. high and remains so up to this day.  Fr. Perez built the 45 yard long and 20 yard wide brick convent in 1847 but this was also burned in 1862.  The present convent was built, on the same foundation of the former, by Fr. Iztequil from 1875 to 1886.

The church's interior

The church’s interior

How to Get There: Mangatarem is located 177 kms. from Manila and 23 kms. south of Lingayen.

St. Peter Metropolitan Cathedral (Davao City, Davao del Sur)

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St. Peter Metropolitan Cathedral

The St. Peter Metropolitan Cathedral (also referred to as the San Pedro Cathedral or Davao Cathedral), dedicated to Saint Peter, is the ecclesiastical seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Davao. It is located in front of the Sangguniang Panglungsod (City Council) ng Dabaw Building.

First built using nipa and bamboo in 1847 by Don Jose Oyanguren, it was later demolished subsequently rebuilt in wood in the Neo-Gothic style in the mid 1900s by the late Architect Ramon Basa.  During World War II, it was said to have been turned into a horse stable by Japanese troops. In 1964, due to its small size, it was finally remodelled in concrete, glass and metal by Architect Manuel Chiew.

Being of recent origin, it doesn’t have the weathered look of heritage churches. Still, it has a turbulent history as the cathedral has been a witness to two grenade bombing incidents.

The main altar

The first incident, on April 19, 1981 (Easter Sunday), killed 17 people and injured 157. Again, on December 28, 1993 (Holy Innocents Day), another bombing resulted in 6 deaths and 151 injured (32 seriously).

From the outside, the distinctive modern façade is a departure from the usual façade of Catholic churches, with Islamic elements incorporated into its design.  Its curved, gray roof looks like a bow of a vinta (a traditional boat made by the Badjao tribe in Southern Mindanao) sailing over waters with a Christian cross in the middle as the rudder.

The arched windows, flanking the cathedral’s main doorway, hint at traditional Gothic design. The old altar, designed by Ramon Basa, with antique images of different saints, is preserved at the cathedral’s right wing.

The old altar at the right wing of the cathedral

The separate imposing bell tower, standing by a corner in the courtyard, has a replica of the the Pieta (a statue of the sorrowful Blessed Virgin Mary with the dead body of her son, Jesus Christ, on her lap), adorning a pocket garden, and the two concrete tablets of the Ten Commandments of God.

The separate bell tower

St. Peter Metropolitan Cathedral: San Pedro St., Barangay Poblacion District, Davao City, Davao del Sur. Tel: (082) 227-2317, 227-2398 and 226-4740.

Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (Hilongos, Leyte)

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Continuing on our way to Maasin City, Doods and I traveled the next 44 kms., past the towns of Inopacan and Hindang, to Hilongos. There, we made a brief stopover at the town’s Spanish-era, fortified Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.  This church was built by Jesuit friars in the 18th century and renovated by secular Fr. Leonardo Celis-Diaz, a native of Cebu.   

The modern Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate
Conception.  On its left is its Spanish-era bell tower

The original church, now incorporated as a transept, was a single-nave structure whose main door was also the gate to a bastioned fortification.  Some bastions and walls of that fortification still remain.  The main nave of the church is a modern construction and the church interior is completely new.

Ruins of the bastioned fortification

However, the town is more known for its octagonal flanking bell tower, now considered as the highest existing bell tower built in the Spanish era.  Also built by Fr. Celis-Diaz, this  independent multi-storey structure is now plastered over with Portland cement.   The convent, probably completed in the 19th century, houses many of the church’s antiques including silver vessels from the 18th century.

Baybay City (Leyte)

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After breakfast at Bahia Coffee Shop, I was picked up at the Hotel Don Felipe lobby by Mr. Doods Alcaraz, a medical representative requested by my sister-in-law Paula to drive me to Maasin City where I was to do map updating for United Tourist Promotions (makers of EZ Maps).  We used Dood’s car for this purpose.  We left Ormoc City by 8:30 AM.  The Maharlika Highway, though concreted, was pockmarked with cracks and potholes and first time drivers along this route would have to drive with caution.  Doods, however, frequently plied this route and knew it like the palm of his hand. 

Baybay City Hall

After 46 kms., past the town of Albuera, we made our first stopover for  merienda at a Jollibee outlet at the new component city of Baybay (it became such by virtue of Republic Act No. 9389 and was ratified by a plebiscite held on June 16, 2007) on the central west coast of Leyte where ferries leave for Cebu and the other islands.  This wasn’t my first visit to the city as its port was our jump-off point for our April 22, 2000 visit to the Cuatro Islas (under the jurisdiction of Inopacan).   

Baybay Port

On November 18, 2008, the Supreme Court struck down Baybay’s cityhood law, making Baybay a municipality again.  On December 22, 2009, acting on the appeal of the so-called “League of 16 Cities” (of which Baybay is a part of), the Supreme Court reversed its earlier ruling but, on August 24, 2010, again reinstated its 2008 decision. On February 15, 2011, the Supreme Court upheld, for the third time, the cityhood of Baybay.  Baybay is a city again.

After merienda, I dropped by the town’s Spanish-era Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.  The church was built in 1852 by Fr. Vicente E. Coronado and continued under the supervision of Maestro Proceso from Manila.  In 1866, fire destroyed the church except for the Chapel of the Holy Cross.  It was repaired in 1870 and finished by painter and sculptor capitán Mateo Espinoso (probably a local dignitary and artisan). 

Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption (Maasin City, Southern Leyte)

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From Hilongos, Maasin City was just a further 37 kms.away, past the towns of Bato and Matalom. Doods and I finally reached city by 12:30 PM and Doods conveniently parked the car in front of the city’s Spanish-era Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption.  This church was started in 1771 by Jesuit Fr. Serapio Gonzalez, continued by Fr. Jose Paco from 1839 to 1852, destroyed by fire in 1884 and later rebuilt.  In 1968, the church was made into a cathedral and, in 1993, the cathedral was made a National Shrine by the National Historical Institute.

 Cathedral of Our Lady of Assumption

Its simple, sparsely-decorated Early Renaissance façade has a semicircular arched main entrance flanked by narrow paired columns, a pediment with a centrally located a statued niche flanked by square windows and topped by a circular window.  On its right is a tall and slender 3-storey bell tower and surrounding the church is a fortification with quadrilateral bulwarks at the corners. Part of the fortification has been demolished to give way to a school. A bulwark on the western side of the site has the inscription “San Carlos Año de 1781.” Inside the cathedral are Spanish-era images and santos found in its altar and ceiling.

The cathedral’s interior

Stopovers at Sariaya (Quezon) and San Pablo City (Laguna)

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After 4 days in Marinduque where we attended the Moriones Festival and did a lot of sightseeing, it was now time to return to Manila.  It being Easter Sunday, we wanted to avoid   the huge afternoon rush for tickets going home so we went to Balanacan Pier very early in the morning.  I was able to secure tickets for the 8:30 AM trip back to Dalahican Pier in Lucena City (Quezon) on board the Roll-On Roll-Off (RORO) ship MV Maria Rebecca of Montenegro Shipping Lines.

Disembarking the MV Maria Rebecca

The 2.5-hr. boat trip was uneventful and we arrived at Dalahican Port by 11:15 AM.  We promptly boarded my parked Toyota Revo and left the harbor for the return trip to Manila.  Upon reaching Sariaya, we stopped over at a local eatery for a much needed lunch.  As the others were still eating, I decided to burn some calories by making a quick tour of the town, especially the Rodriguez Ancestral House where Jandy and I once stayed in 8 years ago.

The Rodriguez Ancestral House

Together with the others, we dropped by the town’s Church of St. Francis of Assisi. At the back of the church, we visited the devotional park where life-size statues  re-enacting the Last Supper were set up.

We just had lunch but now we’re joining the Last Supper

We again boarded the Revo and continued on our way, exiting Quezon Province and entering Laguna Province at San Pablo City where we made a short stopover at the stone balustrade across the street where we had a panoramic view of the 105-hectare Sampaloc Lake, the largest, nearest and most accessible of the city’s 7 iconic lakes and, from afar, the hazy silhouette of Mt. Cristobal.

Lake Sampaloc

 

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception ( Boac, Marinduque)

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We first visited, via a short hike up a hill, the fortress-like Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.  Built in 1656, this church houses the statue of the miraculous Ina ng Biglang-Awa (translated as “Mother of Instant Mercy”), the province’s patron saint (since 1792) to which is attributed deliverance from a 19th-century Moro attack. The revolution’s flag was brought here by Canuto Vargas to be blessed in 1899.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The cathedral has a simple brick facade and a 4-storey (square at the first 2 storeys and octagonal at the upper 2) bell tower on its left.  Its carved wooden portals are decorated with flora and fauna, cherubs and the images of the Four Evangelists: John, Luke, Mark and Matthew. Within the church grounds is an old, broken bell.

Cheska with the old, broken down church bell

As the church doors were locked, we weren’t able to see the church’s well-maintained and faithfully restored interior said to have brick walls, wall-hung period lamps, a ceiling with designs of Muslim brass gongs, two sets of Stations of the Cross (in wood and stained-glass windows) and three richly decorated and intricate retablos (altar backdrops).

Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo, Manila)

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From Binondo Church, Jandy and I had to walk some distance to make it the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, more commonly known as Quiapo Church.  This church was first built with nipa and bamboo by Franciscan missionaries but was burned by Limahong in 1574.  It was founded by Franciscan Fr. Antonio de Nombella in 1588, burned in 1603, reconstructed by Gov.-Gen. Santiago de Vera in 1686, destroyed by the British in 1762 and during the June 3, 1863 earthquake, reconstructed by Fr. Eusebio de Leon in 1879 and completed under the auspices of Fr. Eusebio de Leon and Fr. Manuel E. Roxas Manio in 1889.  It was destroyed during the October 30, 1929 fire (only the belfry and scarred walls remain). 

      
Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene

The current church, the fourth on the site, was built with plans prepared by Arch. Juan Nakpil from 1933 to 1935.  Arch. Jose Ma. Zaragosaenlarged the church and changed the design of the lateral walls in 1984, retaining the facade and the large, imposing central dome at the transept.  The church was conferred the title Basilica Minore de Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno in 1988.

      
Interior of the basilica

The church’s distinctive Baroque facade has twisted Corinthian columns on both levels with the second level having 1/3 of the shaft near the base twisted and the rest smooth. The triangular pediment‘s tympanum has a pair of chalice-like decorations and urn-like vases at the ends of the raking cornice.  The church has 3 4-storey bell towers with the topmost portions balustered and decorated with huge scrolls.  

Inside are a high altar of carrara marble and the Shrine of the Black Nazarene, a miraculous, life-size statue of Christ bearing the cross that was carved in dark wood by Mexican Indians and brought to Manila by galleon in 1606.  It now sports a deeper tan color darkened with age and by the constant wiping of hankerchiefs by religious devotees.  Devotees flock to the church every Friday.    The Feast of the Black Nazarene is held on January 9.  

Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene: cor. of Plaza Miranda and Quezon Blvd., Quiapo, Manila.  Tel: (632) 733-4944 to 45.  Fax: (632) 733-4434.