Immaculate Conception Cathedral

The mother church  and the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Pasig, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, also called the Pasig Cathedral, is one of the oldest structures in the city. This church was first built by Augustinian missionaries in 1575.  Initially consecrated to the Visitation of Our Lady (consecrated on July 2, 1573), on April 25, 1587, the parish was changed to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of the Augustinian priests during that time.

The Neo-Classical and Colonial Baroque facade

The present structure, started before 1639, was said to have been finished during the brief British occupation of Manila from 1722 to 1747 (when it was converted into horses’ stables and served as the British military headquarters) and its belfry used as a watchtower against the Spanish defenders.  In 1764, it underwent repairs.

Historical Plaque

The stone convent was built by Fr. Felix Trillo.  In 1879, the church was restored by Fr. Simon Barroso who also replaced the roof with galvanized iron. From 1910 to 1979, the parish was administered by the CICM Fathers, after which the Filipino clergy took over the pastoral leadership of the parish.

The four-storey bell tower

In 2000, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral was declared one of the Jubilee churches in the Archdiocese of Manila (the parish was a part of this archdiocese until August 21, 2003 when the district was elevated as a separate and independent diocese on October 2001, with the elevation of the parish into the status of a cathedral).

Porta Sancta

On December 7, 2008, the Solemn Canonical Coronation of its patron as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Pasig  was led by Edward Joseph Adams (the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines), the Bishop of Pasig, and the entire faithful in the diocese.

The cathedral interior

In February 2021, as part of the Celebration of the 500th year anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines, the cathedral was named as a Jubilee Church in the Diocese of Pasig along with the Diocesan Shrine of St. Martha and Parish of St. Roch in Pateros and the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Anne in Taguig City.

The choir loft

The main altar and retablo

On March 25, 2022, after a 7 year-long restoration and renovation of the cathedral (including the addition of ceiling paintings), the cathedral was inaugurated and blest by Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara.

Ceiling painting

Its plain Neo-Classical and Colonial Baroque façade has triglyphs that separate the first level from the second and third level; semicircular arched doors and windows, and small rose windows and the Augustinian symbol of the stylized heart on the second level.

Left side altar

Right side altar

Its triangular pediment, with its centrally located statued niche and supported by slender Doric columns, is topped by a Renaissance-influenced min-balustrade lacing the raking cornice.  The massive five-level bell tower is located on the church’s left.

Old church bells

Candle gallery

Immaculate Conception Cathedral: Justice Hubson St., Plaza Rizal, Brgy. Malinao, Pasig City 1600, Metro Manila.   Tel: (632) 8641-1784 and (632) 8864-6197.  Fax: (632) 641-3460. E-mail: iccpasigdop@gmail.com.

Minor Basilica of San Sebastian

The earthquake-proof Minor Basilica of San Sebastian (better known as San Sebastian Church), an example of the Gothic Revival architecture in the Philippines, is the first and only steel building in the Philippines and in Asia, the second in the world after the Eiffel Tower of Paris and probably the first prefabricated building in the world.

The basilica complex

It is the church of the Parish of San Sebastian and also a Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Senora del Monte Carmelo) and is under the care of the Order of Augustinian Recollects (who also operate the San Sebastian College-Recoletos adjacent to the basilica).

The author with son Jandy

This church was originally founded by Fr. Rodrigo de San Miguel as a nipa and bamboo church in 1621 (on land donated by Bernardino Castillo, a generous patron and a devotee of the 3rd-century Roman martyr Saint Sebastian). The original structure, made of wood, burned in 1651 during a Chinese Filipino uprising and rebuilt with bricks with a single tower. Succeeding structures, which were built of brick, were destroyed by fire and earthquakes in 1859, June 3, 1863 and July 19, 1880.

The Neo-Gothic facade

In the 1880s, Fr. Esteban Martínez, the parish priest of the ruined church, proposed construction of a new church and approached Spanish Engineer Genaro Palacios y Guerra to build a church that will withstand the earthquakes. Planning to build a fire and earthquake-resistant structure made entirely of steel, Palacios completed a design that fused Earthquake Baroque with the Neo-Gothic style.

Augustinian Recollect Fr. Jesús Pastor Paloma noted that the bottom part of the church was designed to resemble a ship’s hull, so that it would sway during an earthquake.  Palacio’s final design was said to have been inspired by the famed 14^th century Gothic Burgos Cathedral in Burgos, Spain.

Side entrance

It has long been reputed that Gustave Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer behind the Eiffel Tower and the steel structure within the Statue of Liberty, was himself also rumored to have been involved in the design and construction of San Sebastián, but this was never confirmed.

One of the twin openwork bell towers with pyramidal spires

However, later on it was confirmed that Eiffel was involved in designing and supplying the metal framework for San Ignacio Church in Intramuros, thus confirming the contribution of Eiffel in Philippine church architecture, if not in the Minor Basilica of San Sebastián.

The church was started by Fr. Gregorio Serma while the 52 metric tons (51 long tons; 57 short tons) of prefabricated steel sections manufactured in Binche, Belgium were ordered from the Societe anonyme des Enterprises de Travaux Publiques in Brussels by Fr. Toribio Minguella, imported, piece by piece, in eight separate shipments (total load: 50,000 tons) from Antwerp to Manila.

In 1888, the first shipment arrived and Belgian engineers supervised the assembly of the church, the first column of which was erected on September 11, 1890 under the supervision of Fr. Bernardo Muros.   To achieve greater stability and regulate the church’s exterior temperature, the walls were filled with mixed sand, gravel and cement.

Historical Reasearch and Landmarks Committee plaque installed in 1934

According to Fr. Paloma, the church was also supposed to have a prefabricated retablo (reredos) altar.  However, it was lost at sea when the ship carrying it from Belgium capsized in a storm so a wooden altar was made locally in its stead. The foundation was done by a French contractor, construction was supervised by a British foreman while the floors were done by Chinese craftsmen.

Plaque installed by the National Museum in 2011 declaring the basilica as a National Cultural Treasure Plaque

The church was finally completed by Fr. Francisco Moreno. On June 24, 1890, it was granted minor basilica status by Pope Leo XIII and, on August 16, 1891, the Basílica Menor de San Sebastián was blessed by Bernardino Nozaleda y Villa , OP, the 25th Archbishop of Manila.

Rust – the number one enemy of steel

Sitting on a 704 sq. m. site, it has central nave 12 m. (39 ft.) from the floor to the springing dome and 32 m. (105 ft.) to the tip of the spires.  The basilica has two openwork towers with pyramidal spires and steel vaulting. The interior, incorporating groined vaults in the Gothic architecture style (permitting very ample illumination from lateral windows), was repainted to make it appear like faux marble.

To give the appearance of marble and jasper, the steel columns, walls and ceiling were painstakingly painted by Lorenzo Rocha (multi-awarded portraitist and royal court painter) and turn-of-the-century artists Isabelo Tampingco and Félix Martínez.

The trompe-l’œil paintings of saints, angels, evangelists and martyrs were done by the students of the Academia de Dibujo, Pintura y Arte headed by Lorenzo Rocha. True to the Gothic revival spirit of the church, the confessionals, pulpit, altars and five retablos were designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Rocha. The statues of holy men and women were carved by sculptor Eusebio Garcia while the six holy water fonts were each crafted from marble obtained from Romblon.

The beautiful stained glass windows, depicting the life and story of Jesus Christ, were imported from the Heinrich Oidtmann Company, a German stained glass firm (local artisans assisted in applying the finishing touches).

The basilica interior

Inside, on a prominent place above the main altar, is the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Señora del Carmen).  A gift of the Discalced Carmelite Sisters from San Jose Monastery in Mexico City, it was brought here in 1617 by Recollect Reverend Fr. Provincial Rodrigo de San Miguel.  The image survived all the earthquakes and fires which had destroyed previous incarnations of San Sebastian Church but, unfortunately, its original ivory head was stolen in 1975.

The main altar with the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. At the back you can see the scaffolding used for the Phase 1 restoration

Devotion of this image (feast day on July 16) was propagated in conjunction with the wearing of the scapular which promised the wearer quick deliverance from the suffering of purgatory. During the translacion of the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene in January, the image of Our Lady meets the Black Nazarene in the so-called dungaw.

On August 1, 1973, through Presidential Decree No. 260, it was declared a National Historical Landmark by President Ferdinand Marcos. On August 15, 2011, with the unveiling of the marker on January 20, 2012, the church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.

The vaulted ceiling

On May 16, 2006, on account of its architectural and historical heritage, the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian was included by the National Historical Institute (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) in the Philippines’ Tentative List for possible designation as a World Heritage Site. As of 2017, the church is no longer included in the Tentative List.

The intricately designed rose window above the choir loft

In recent years, the steel structure has encountered threats to its structural integrity in the form of rust and corrosion due to sea breezes from nearby Manila Bay. In 1982, when state funding was accorded to the church through the National Historical Institute, restoration was undertaken. Likewise, the Augustinian Recollect community has expended funds for the church’s maintenance and restoration.

During the 2000 and 2010 World Monuments Watch (a global program of the World Monuments Fund), it was placed, along with the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras and Santa Maria Church, on the biennial watch list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. In 2011, after the passage of the National Cultural Heritage Act, all of the sites were taken off the list.

The pulpit designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Lorenzo Rocha

It used to be in the UNESCO tentative list but, in 2015, was removed due to structural decay. To re-establish the site’s integrity and re-inclusion in the tentative list, the basilica will have to undergo another massive restoration program.

The basilica’s pipe organ which was constructed as a pure pneumatical organ by Walcker in 1914.  After World War II, a new console was added.

After an exhaustive two-and-a-half year diagnostic study (funded by a 2012 grant from the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, made possible by the U.S. State Department), using state-of-the-at equipment and science, it was found that there were 300 leaks in the building with up to 3 m. of rainwater collected in the church’s hollow columns.

The Gothic-inspired confessionals also designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Lorenzo Rocha

Some of the leaks have already been taken care of by a team of hired graduates from Escuela Taller, a craft school for economically challenged youth.  Advanced stages of corrosion have also caused parts of the basilica (around 40 kgs. of steel) to literally fall off.

Scaled model of the basilica

With regards the stained glass windows, some soiling, sagging, missing panes and a few cracked frames were noted.  Talks are ongoing with the Heinrich Oidtmann Company, the German firm that supplied the stained glass, to convince the studio to run a training program to teach Filipinos how to make the colored glass.

Stained glass window depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ

The trompe-l’œil ceiling is another concern as corrosion has caused the delicate oil-based paintings on the steel canvas to flake. A varnish treatment on one of the panels done 20 years ago may delay the deterioration of both the panel and its painting.

The San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation is looking to a complete and comprehensive restoration in a little over 10 years. Phase 1 (repairs to the dome and roof), from 2022 to 2026, is now ongoing with some areas sealed off beginning 2021.

Scene depicting Jesus carrying his cross

A 24-m. high, custom-made scaffolding has been installed, allowing assessment and repair of the dome columns and its surrounding area (dome crockets, stained glass windows and original paintings).  Phase 2 is projected for 2027 to 2029 while Phase 3 is scheduled for 2030 to 2033.

Another greater threat looms over the horizon.  On October 1, 2018, it was revealed that Summithome Realty Corporation was planning to construct University Home Recto, a 31-storey residential high rise building beside the historic church.  As the area around the church is integral to the site as a “buffer zone,” it would negatively affect the site’s possible re-inclusion in the UNESCO tentative list.

Check out  my Business Mirror article “Seriously Saving San Sebastian”

With the looming threat of the high-rise building, the site’s inclusion in the UNESCO tentative list is bleak as, without the site managers being initially informed, Summithome was able to acquire a barangay clearance supporting their application for a building permit from the barangay chairman.

Minor Basilica of San Sebastian: Pasaje del Carmen St., Plaza del Carmen (at the eastern end of C.M. Recto Avenue), Quiapo, 1001 Manila.  Tel: (632) 734-8908, 734-8931, 742-3510 and 742-3331.  Fax: (632) 736-1185.  E-mail: sansebastianparish@gmail.com. Coordinates: 14°35′59″N 120°59′21″E.

Church of St. John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist Church (Filipino: Parokya ng San Juan Bautista), also known colloquially as the “Pinaglabanan Church,” is located several meters from the Pinaglabanan Shrine.

Check out “Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine”

The first church was constructed, under the supervision of architect Luis Arellano and the financial support of Mariano Artiaga. A Franciscan, Fr. Roman Pérez, OFM, a year after the parish was established on July 15, 1894.  Fr. Perez served as the first parish priest from 1894 until 1897.

The Romanesque Revival facade

On August 30, 1896, the Battle of San Juan del Monte between Filipino and Spanish troops occurred on the tract of land fronting the newly built church. Damaged during the Philippine Revolution, Ramón J. Fernández spearheaded repairs to the church.

Plaque installed by the National Historical Commission in 1974

In 1951, when Fr. Hernando Antiporda (who later became Auxiliary Bishop of Manila) was parish priest, the church was renovated and expanded under the supervision of architect Otilio A. Arellano (grandson of Luis Arellano, the original architect) who notably preserved the original façade and nave of the structure.  The church acquired two additional front doors with the expansion.

The church’s interior

In 1975, Msgr. Severino Casas built two mortuary chapels in the church compound. In 1983, the nave was lengthened, the choir loft above the main door was removed and a crucifix above a new altar was installed.  The retablo (reredos) was preserved and the antique, centuries-old image of St. John the Baptist (previously at the top-center of the retablo) was moved to the St. Joseph Chapel.

Main altar

In 1987, a rectory, social hall, and crypt were built on the location of the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto (built in 1955) and, a year later, a Perpetual Adoration Chapel was built (only to be demolished to make way for the Holy Child Parochial School, now the St. John the Baptist Catholic School). In 2009, a smaller, air-conditioned Adoration Chapel, at the ground floor of the school near the church’s southern entrance, was finished.

St. John the Baptist Catholic School

The St. John the Baptist Church was declared as a historical landmark through San Juan Municipal Council Resolution, Ordinance No. 63 Series of 1989.

San Juan Centennial Belfry

On May 15, 1994 (Feast of the Ascension), Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila, blessed and inaugurated the new San Juan Centennial Belfry, built to commemorate the church’s hundredth anniversary. Designed by Architects Renato Berroya and Arsenio Topacio, the belfry matches the façade and houses the church bell that dates to 1896.

Centennial Tower plaque

AUTHOR’S NOTES

The church’s single level Romanesque Revival façade has a semicircular arch main entrance in receding planes.   It is flanked by semicircular arch niches with statues of St. Peter and St. Paul.  The triangular pediment, with its oculus, is topped by a small decorative cupola. The left and right wings, with their square doors, were added during the 1951 expansion.

 Church of St. John the Baptist: 140 Pinaglabanan cor. Mons Alvarez Sts., Brgy. Pedro Cruz, San Juan, Metro Manila. Tel: (02) 8725-7731.