Location          : La Paz, Iloilo

Feast Day        : May 24 (Annual district fiesta)

History            : This neo-classical church was made of stone and bricks with Greek pediments. The parish was organized in 1870 under the leadership of an Augustinian priest, Fr. Candido Gonzales. The church was composed of red bricks, stone, cement and wood. It was damaged during the Second World War and the infamous 1948 earthquake. The only thing that with stood the forces of men and nature is its façade. The convent was immediately renovated after the war ended. Major restorations were done through the years but mostly during the incumbency of Msgr. Melicio Fegarido. The inauguration of the fully restored church was done on May 24, 1995 during the celebration of the town fiesta.

sta. barbara catholic church and convent

Catmon is the old name of the town. In 1849, a Baroque-Renaissance model of church was built up in lieu of the old church that was destroyed in the 1787 earthquake. It took almost thirty years to finish it (1878). The interior is composed on one nave and a very spacious transept which is said to belong to the Tuscan orders.

the main entrance

Furthermore, huge stones that were used as walls, posts and floors of the church and convent were called bato piedra sileria and piedra tsina. The former stones came from the mountains of Leon, Alimodian and Tubungan, while the latter was use as ship ballast sailing from China to the Philippines. Other materials were steel, wood and galvanized iron. Carabao-drawn carriage pulled the stone blocks quarried from Alimodian hills through the almost-impassable roads during the rainy months.

Forced labor was also employed in building this church to men aging 16 years old and above. It is a law called ‘repartamiento’ wherein they would serve for 40 days of compulsory service. Each family had to contribute 8 reales (P1.00) which was later increased to 12 reales (P1.50) as a source of fund. People who are well-off were allowed to pay in cash instead of serving for 40 days.

the convent from inside the church

There was no plan in building this church. Completion of one portion prompted the plan for the next. Thus, closer inspection of the walls and posts shows sketches which shows plans and designs were made gradually. Its façade and three altars were designed after the churches in Spain.

The church is luckily spared from destruction during the hostilities and remained unscathed during the Japanese regime and even survived the 1948 earthquake that destroyed a lot of churches.

Some say it possesses a neoclassical style of white-coral edifice. It has a well-unified design of broken arches, columns and top finials. The main entrance is a semi-circular arch and both sides stood another arched niche. A carving of an Augustinian emblem toppled three identical windows. The interior reveals a spacious and large, devoid of any ill-placed pilars which causes obstruction of lighting and sound. The convent, on the other hand, is a long and big two-story building.The ground floor is made of bricks and piedra sillen while the second floor is of wood and steel. The roof is made of galvanized iron sheet and maintains its perfect condition even after 130 years.

Most outstanding feature of the church was the painting of the four evangelist, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John high above the ceilinig. However, this masterpiece was brought down and completely destroyed by the 1948 earthquake. It was only in the early 60s when the belfry was materialized by Msgr. Juan Nilmar.

This was the headquarters of the celebrated Ilonggo hero, Gen. Martin Delgado and his forces in 1898 against the Spaniards and American forces.

cemetery of sta.barbara

Half-kilometer away from the church in Sitio Anghasan is the cemetery of Sta. Barbara, built on the same year as the creation of parish in 1760.However, it was only in 1845 when the massive stone gate of the cemetery was built, the year the church convent was also constructed. It is composed of big stone blocks called piedra por esta ultimo. This is the place where the town’s illustrious citizen, General Martin Delgado, the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army was laid to rest.

Location          : Sta. Barbara, Iloilo

Feast Day         : December 4

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

After two churches were burnt down and raided by Muslim pirates in 1741 and 1754, a site in Tacas was chosen on top of a hill which has a perfect view of the Miag-ao River. This world-famous Miag-ao church is one of the four baroque churches in the Philippines recorded in 1993 on the World Heritage List sponsored by UNESCO. The three other churches are: (1) Immaculate Concepcion (Intramuros, Manila), (2) Nuestra Senora (Ilocos Sur) and (3) San Agustin (Ilocos Norte).

An egg and a limestone – two things that the natives were obliged to bring in building this church or face whipping. The travel is about 30-35 kilometers from the mountains of Sitio Tubo in San Joaquin and from the Mountains of Igbaras enduring a stone of weight on one shoulder.

The whole church featured a Neo-classist type of design fused with several local tendencies and the builders achieved in making a national architecture. The balance is reinforced by the massive bell towers, suggestive of a medieval castle. Two belfries taper up gradually and end up in uneven height. Fr. Francisco Perez, the old man of Miag-ao added one story to the left tower in 1830 in order that the two could be equal in height, still the left tower is short with one level.

The façade is breathtaking with an intricate sculpture of coconut, banana and papaya trees and stylized guava fruit and below is a niche encasing the patron saint of the town, St. Thomas of Villanova.

The construction of this house of worship started in 1798 under the supervision of another Augustinian Priest, Fr. Francisco Gonzales and it took ten years to finish the whole structure. The church is not built solely for the reason of hearing mass; this fortress also provided the natives a strong defense against the invading Moors. The left belfry has a clear view of the shores of this town. The bell would ring as a warning of the approaching enemy and the townsfolk’s would rush inside the church to protect themselves. It sinks to as deep as six meters below the ground with walls as much as 2 ½ meters thick including the outside columns.

The side walls of the exteriors is said to liken the keys of the piano, except that it doesn’t produce any sound and the color became green because of the moss-growth throughout the years.

It is an architectural wonder how an egg yolk managed to paste the group of lime stones on top of the other (no steel bars) and survived the 1898 revolution, 1910 fire and the 1948 earthquake that toppled the belfry of Jaro Cathedral and destroyed the church of Oton, although a small portion of its left belfry was also damaged.

An excavation was done in 1982 that led to the discovery of the original altar which is used until today. It is partially made of gold and silver. A saint made of lime was also discovered during the excavation and is now encased in a glass panel situated near the Baptistery. Their Baptistery, where the Birhen ng Baranagy statue stood, is found at the right side of the church facing the altar, still used until today to welcome new members of the Catholic Church.

The patron saint is Santo Tomas de Villanova and their annual fiesta falls on the 22nd of September.

the church with two red-topped towers

This house of worship prides itself with the most collection of female saints among all churches in the island. This is said to be the most beautiful church in the whole of Western Visayas. Sixteen almost life-size images of female saints adorn the sides of its walls. On the right side stood: Sta. Juliana, Sta. Lucia, Sta. Rosa de Lima, Sta. Teresa, Sta. Clara, Sta. Cecilia, Sta. Margarita, Sta. Marta and on its left side: Sta. Marcela, Sta. Apolonia, Sta. Genoveva, Sta. Isabel de Ungria, Sra. Monica, Sta. Felicia, Sta. Ines, and Sta. Maria Magdalena. The construction of this citadel started in 1831 under the administration of Rev. Pablo Montaño and completed under that of Rev. Agapito Buenaflor.

The church has five massive doors, with ceilings shaped as domes. It is said to be in a Neo-Classical elegance, with some details in Gothic styles. The twin belfries rise in unison into a red-sharp top, the two towers gives a visually vertical orientation of the structure and breaks the monotony of the morning sky. The church is practically situated in the middle of the town.

The church survived several earthquakes but not the war. On March 19, 1945, the church was bombed and the two belfries were destroyed and the church was partially damaged. There are originally 36 bells of different sizes but destroyed during the way when the Japanese used the tower as machine gun nests and shelled by American artillery. Under the supervision of Gov. Timoteo Consing and the parish priest Rev. Manuel Alba, the fortress was reconstructed with the support of the Molo population. The church contains remains of many prominent Ilonggo personalities.

It was the painting of biblical characters during the last part of the 19^th century that urged our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal to drop by the Molo church on his way to Dapitan in August 1896.

The relics of St. Anne is exposed for veneration every 26^th of June, her feast day.

Location          : Molo, Iloilo City

Feast Day         : 26^th July

The only Cathedral in Panay Island. Jaro prides itself with its lavish fiesta where 35 masses are held on the 2^nd of February for the devotees of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, the only rose among the male collection of saints that adorn the walls of the cathedral.  The image of Our Lady of Candles is the 2^nd oldest Marian image in the Philippines. The statue was crowned by Pope John Paul II on February 21, 1981 when he visited Iloilo and proclaimed as patroness of Western Visayas the following year.

The image is made of limestone and is continuously growing through the years. It had become too big to fit on its former niche found just above the present one.

It is neo-classical in style built under the leadership of Bishop Mariano Cuartero in the 1870’s from the plan of Francisco Agueria who constructed a brick factory soley for this project. Two thousand pieces of wood (12×13 ft long) came from the forests of Negros and from the concepcion districts.

Damaged during the infamous 1948 earthquake, it was restored in 1950 by the order of the first archbishop of Jaro, his excellency Jose Ma. Cuenco.

The belfry of Jaro was heavily damaged during the 18th century earthquake.

The Jaro Cathedral presently is undergoing careful reconstruction to restore the old citadel to its former glory.

Location          : Jaro, Iloilo City

Feast Day         : 2^nd February