the catholic church of leon, iloilo

According to MRF Julean Martin in his Archivo Historico Hispano, the Leon Roman Catholic Church is the biggest stone edifice in the whole Panay. The Renaissance-Romanesque style church stands proudly in the heart of the town, fronting the plaza.

Although the town was established in 1866, the problem of where to build their house of worship surfaced. It was the Vicareate of Cebu that prearranged the church should be built in the most elevated section of the town. For two years, the governor of the town exempt from sending force labor.

this used to be the wall of the former church

Stones, primarily lime stones were quarried from the adjacent hills of Ayabang in the north and Cabobogan in the south. Stones were transported by sledges, rafts of human labor. It was then shaped into shapes called “tabla.”The builder and architec was Fr. Manuel Arizmendi. The scaffoldings were placed on both sides of the walls. It covers almost two streets, Sta. Catalina St. and Sto. Niño St. extending to about 300 feet. The altar that was made in Camando was transferred to the main building when it was about to be finished. The slabs were pasted with a gutate substance from the hinaramay tree with mixture of lime, water and white egg.

The altar was made of wood with lateral carvings molded with lime and then painted. It was placed in the interior wall bordering Sto. Niño Street. The high altar of configuration was made by Fr. Jose Gorosari in Camando. It has two rows of five niches on top of the other, with one niche at the top most with St. Catherine’s image on it.

The altar and the candelabra were made of hardwood covered by silver ornate. Columns of porches which divided the church into trees naves. Chandeliers of Arana de Luces were hanged along the columns. The choir loft was found in the entrance, there were an organ and a carillon. Don Juan de Cambronero donated Php 327.00 for the musical instruments in 1891.The church have three aisle of huge proportion that could be compared to the Cathedral of Leon in Spain. The church’s spacious transept is a blending of Doric and Byzantine design. It was said that the church was a result of fraternal rivalry between parish priests of Oton and Leon.

Fr. Serapio Gonzales officiated the first mass in 1873.

In 1898, when the Americans came they unroofed the crucero and the altar at the back and brought it to roof the school building on west side of the plaza. According to history, the mountains of Leon was a refuge during the time of unrest. Americans made it their haven during the revolution of 1898. The placed served as a prison for the natives during the Japanese era and served as their garrison as well.

The devotees made a barong-barong in lieu of the old church during the revolution amidst the debris and ashes of the old one. A church within a church was built by the Mill Hill fathers assigned in this parish with the rehabilitation fund in 1946.

Almost two decades later, in 1966 the plan for the reconstruction was started. Leonians here and abroad contributed to the fund that was to restore their house of worship back to its former glory.