| Santa Maria Church | |
|---|---|
| Minor Basilica and Parish of La Purisima Concepcion | |
La Basilica Menor de la Purísima Concepción | |
 Churchfaçade andbell tower in 2014 | |
| 14°49′10″N120°57′48″E / 14.819513°N 120.963234°E /14.819513; 120.963234 | |
| Location | Santa Maria, Bulacan |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Minor Basilica |
| Founded | 1793 |
| Founder(s) | Francisco Javier and Tomás Marti |
| Dedication | La Purísima Concepción |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | National Historical Landmark |
| Designated | 1939 |
| Architectural type | Church building |
| Style | Barn-style Baroque |
| Completed | late 1800s |
| Specifications | |
| Number of domes | 1 |
| Materials | Volcanic Tuff or Adobe |
| Bells | 5 |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Manila |
| Diocese | Malolos |
| Episcopal area | Eastern District |
| Parish | Santa Maria |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Alberto R. Suatengco |
| Vicar(s) | Arvin Ray Jimenez Jonathan Paul Ventura |
TheMinor Basilica and Parish of La Purísima Concepción, locally known asSanta Maria Church, is aRoman CatholicMinor Basilica inSanta Maria, Bulacan,Philippines. The shrine is dedicated to theBlessed Virgin Mary of theImmaculate Conception. The church is the seat of the Episcopal Vicar of the Eastern District of theDiocese of Malolos.
Pope Francis granted a Pontifical decree of coronation to the enshrined Marian image on March 28, 2019. He later raised the shrine to the status ofMinor Basilica via decree on March 21, 2021.[1]
Santa Maria Church was founded byFranciscan Friars as avisita by the priest Francisco Javier under the parish of Saint Martin of Tours inBocaue. The materials was initially made of cogon and bamboo and later stronger materials. Then by 1792,Santa Maria de Pandi gained independence from its matrix and the construction of a bigger church commenced. The church was renamedParroquia de la Purísima Concepción dedicated to theVirgin Mary.[2]
The church is home to an image of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be miraculous. There are two local legends as to how the image arrived in Santa Maria: first is that it was brought to the town by the Franciscan Friars, second is that it was sculpted out of wood from a galleon. The image has been stolen in the 1930s and was retrieved inNueva Ecija by a man named Teofilo Ramirez who claimed that the Virgin Mary appeared in his dream and gave instructions as to where the image can be found. The image was returned to the town on a February and the townsfolk accordingly adjusted their feast day to the first Thursday of February except when its falls on February 2 (the feast of Our Lady of the Candles).[3] The image was first granted an episcopal coronation on March 3, 2018, by Bishop Jose Oliveros of Malolos.[4] On March 28, 2019, Pope Francis granted thecanonical coronation of the image of La Purisima Concepcion.[5] The coronation took place on February 1, 2020.
The facade of the church has a marker dated 1939 from the Philippines Historical Committee, now theNational Historical Commission of the Philippines. The marker bears the name "Church of Pandi".[6] The nearby town of Pandi has its own church, dedicated also to the Immaculate Conception, and is located about 5 kilometers from the minor basilica in Santa Maria, Bulacan.[7]
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