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 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.