navalas church, facing the waves of Guimaras Island

The parish priest Fr. Francisco Consing started the construction of the church in 1880 using coral rocks that are found in the vicinity. It was built through community labor or what the Guimarasnon refers to as Dagyaw.

Don Miguel Jayme donated a piece of agricultural land as support for the parish and together with Doña Carmen Javellana, they contributed most to the church construction. The former was given the privilege to choose the patron saint and then selected San Isidro Labrador.

church from afar

A belfry was once a home for a very big bell made of an alloy of silver and gold. The diameter was about a meter and it could be heard as far as the town of Dumangas across the strait. The bell served as a warning to the natives from the approaching Moro raids. But one time, when Muslims raided Navalas, they took away the bell and on their way, they threw it at the sea near the Islas de Siete Pecados.

oldest church in Guimaras