Parish of San Nicholas de Tolentino (Cabatuan, Iloilo)
July 9, 2009 by
admin
Filed under
Central Iloilo, Churches
The construction started in 1833 and fully completed in 1866 under the supervision of Fr. Manuel Ruiz. It is one of the best structure and largest in Panay. The interiors composed of a spacious transept and one main nave. A neo circular type, each side of the church seemed to be a facade. It is sandwiched by massive squat towers which destroys the balance of its classic structure. Three bull’s eye windows is pasted on the rear wall of the citadel. Fr. Manuel Gutierrez decorated the interiors in 1894 that resembled a basilica rather than an ordinary church. It has originally four big bells on each window of the four belfries. The ceiling is adorn with famous painting in Romes and beautiful chandeliers.
baptistery
The church has three domes: on each side of the main structure is a bell and a huge clock and the third dome was over the center. The pediment of the church is decorated with the pope’s tiara flanked by an Augustinian emblem of a transfixed heart capped by the Bishop’s heart surrounded by a cord. There are nineteen circular windows on the upper part with panes of different colors and ten massive doors including the main entrance. There were two minor altars besides the main one where masses and religious ceremonies were being held. The symmetrical arrangement of voids place a bit of neo-classic into Baroque roundness and massiveness.
Through the Scorched Earth Policy, the church was destroyed through fire by the guerillas. To repair the Tiring Land Field using bricks and stones during the Japanese Occupation in 1943, the church was completely demolished except for the front portion. In 1984, they began to reconstruct the church.
A Romanic cemetery in perfect square shape was built by Fr. Porras with solid base stone and steel railings is found in Barangay Banguit. The chapel found inside the cemetery has Byzantine touches.
the cabatuan cemetery
A touch of neoclassical is seen amidst the Baroque roundness and massiveness with the symmetrical arrangement of voids. It is said to have the most organized and planned niches in the whole province of Iloilo. Although the cemetery was heavily damaged during the 1948 earthquake, it was reconstructed to its original form.
Location : Cabatuan, Iloilo
Feast Day : September 10
(3 votes,5.00)
Loading ...
unsecured personal loans on Thu, 30th Jul 2009 10:13 am
Thats a rally freaky looking church. I would not want to be there alone at night.
bugtong na may sagot on Thu, 29th Apr 2010 2:28 am
my brothers girlfriend is from cabatuan. maybe thats the church na jan sila mag pakasal hehehe