| Santa Ana Church | |
|---|---|
| National Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned | |
 Churchfacade in 2019 | |
 Santa Ana Church | |
| 14°34′55″N121°00′49″E / 14.5819°N 121.0137°E /14.5819; 121.0137 | |
| Location | New Panaderos Street, Santa Ana,Manila |
| Country | Philippines |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Former name | Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish |
| Status | National Shrine |
| Founded | 1578 |
| Founder | Vicente Inglés |
| Dedication | Our Lady of the Abandoned |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | National Cultural Treasure |
| Architectural type | Church building |
| Style | Baroque |
| Groundbreaking | September 12, 1720 |
| Completed | 1725 |
| Construction cost | ₱ 33,000 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 63 m (207 ft)[1] |
| Width | 30 m (98 ft)[1] |
| Other dimensions | Façade facing north[1] |
| Number of domes | 1 |
| Number of towers | 1 |
| Materials | Adobe blocks |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Manila |
| Deanery | Holy Family[2] |
| Parish | Our Lady of the Abandoned |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Rev. Fr. Virgilio Del Mundo, Jr.,OFM[3] |
| Assistant priest(s) | Rev. Fr. Armando Obal,OFM |
TheNational Shrine of Our Lady of the Abandoned,[a] also known asSanta Ana Church,[b] is aSpanish colonial periodRoman Catholic church located in the district ofSanta Ana inManila,Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of theArchdiocese of Manila. The parish was established by theFranciscan missionaries in 1578 under the patronage ofSaint Anne. The present stone church was constructed by Vicente Inglés from 1720 to 1725 and dedicated to its present patron,Our Lady of the Abandoned. The revered image of its patron was made inValencia,Spain in 1713, and arrived in the Philippines in 1717.
The church houses twoNational Cultural Treasures declared by theNational Museum of the Philippines: the Santa Ana Site Museum located in the conventpatio, and theCamarín de la Virgen (“Dressing Room of the Virgin”). It was elevated to the rank ofnational shrine in 2021.
The town of Santa Ana was first established by the SpanishFranciscan missionaries in 1578, in a settlement beside a creek connecting to thePasig River, which the local inhabitants referred to asSapà in the ancient Tagalog kingdom ofNamayan. Its first church, dedicated to their titular patroness Saint Anne, after the similar-soundingNamayan, was made ofnipa andbamboo until a decree from the colonial government in 1599 permitted the religious order to build the church in stone.[4] However, the construction came only around 1720 upon the direction of then parish priest of Santa Ana, Vicente Inglés, wherein a new site was chosen, which is the current location of the structure. Dedicated toOur Lady of the Abandoned (Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados), the building of the stone church began on September 12, 1720, with the laying of the cornerstone byGovernor-General andArchbishop of ManilaFrancisco de la Cuesta.[4] Construction took five years to finish, with the total cost amounting to₱ 33,000 including the donation of ₱4,000 by the Governor-General.[4][5]
In the early 1700s, Inglés went toValencia,Spain. The friar had been very enamored of a famous image of Our Lady that had become a popular spiritual attraction in Valencia. The image was known as theOur Lady of the Abandoned, comforting those whose loved ones have departed the mortal plane. While Inglés was in Valencia in 1713, he decided to have a copy of this image for Santa Ana Parish, which was in the process of being constructed near Manila. After reverently touching the copy to the original image, the friar brought the new replica with him back to the Philippines in 1717. The image has been venerated in Santa Ana since then. In time, the parish became known by present name of Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish, though Saint Anne still is honored with a statue of her and the Child Mary in thereredosniche directly above that of Our Lady of the Abandoned.[6] Governor-General De la Cuesta offered hisbastón de mando to the image, and proclaimed herGobernadora de la Ciudad de Manila ("Governoress of the City of Manila").
Santa Ana Church also served asbarracks for wounded American soldiers during thePhilippine–American War in 1899.[5] The church complex was not destroyed by any bombs during theBattle of Manila in 1945.
TheCatholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines approved the petition to elevate the church to anational shrine in January 2020. The solemn declaration was held on May 12, 2021, the church’s titular feast day.[7]
The church structure follows theBaroque architectural style, utilizingadobe blocks in its wall surface finish to give an impression of massiveness.[8] Its floor plan formed the shape of aLatin cross oriented in north–south direction, with the main entrance facing north. The churchfacade is divided into three levels by heavily moldedstring courses. The topmost level or thepediment is adorned withVitruvian-scroll design on its rakingcornice, and a centralniche flanked with octagonal windows.[8] The second level is composed ofsemicircular arched windows covered withstained glass. The lowermost level is the main entrance flanked with two niches containing the statues ofAnne andJoachim, the parents of theMary. The ornamentation is mostly found in the frames of lateral niches and themoldings in the cornices and theapertures.[5] Attached to the right side of the structure next to the church facade is the four-floored octagonalbell tower, also made of adobe blocks and were embellished by heavy string courses and other ornamentation.
Thebaptistery orbautisterio is located at the base of the bell tower on the right side of thevestibule or entrance hall. Inside the small room contains the marblebaptismal font and aNeoclassicalretablo featuring the painting of theBaptism of Christ,[9] framed by twoCorinthian columns on each side. Conservation efforts on the Santa Ana church revealed that two paintings have actually adorned theretabloof the baptistery. The first painting one was done on wood, which depictedJohn the Baptist pouring water on Jesus Christ, theHoly Spirit (symbolized by the dove) together withcherubs above them, and two angels holding a red cloak to cover Jesus. The wooden painting was later covered with the painting on metal, which most likely dated around 1938.[10] The second painting has much simpler depiction, composing of only St. John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit above them.
Themain altarpiece or theretablo is inchurrigueresque style, characterized by heavy ornamentation, which is further highlighted by gold leaf on its details. It has thirteen niches, framed withsolomonic and churrigueresque columns.[5] Thetabernacle orsagrario occupied the central niche at the lower level and is flanked by Franciscan saints, namelyBonaventure,Peter of Alcantara,Bernardino of Siena andClare of Assisi. The central niche of the second or main level is occupied by Our Lady of the Abandoned at the center, which is flanked by the images ofDominic andFrancis of Assisi, founders ofCatholic religious orders, and Biblical figuresJohn the Baptist andJohn the Evangelist. The upper level niches contained the images of Anne (the titular patron saint of Santa Ana district) at the center withPeter andPaul on its sides. At the top theretablo is the image ofMichael the Archangel, which is flanked bymedallions containing the painted images ofDidacus of Alcalá andPaschal Baylon.
The interior of thedome located above the crossing has two layers ofbalconies. Sixteen paintings depicting Jesus, theTwelve Apostles (withMatthias replacingJudas Iscariot), theFour Evangelists;Mark andLuke, andJohn decorate the first level balcony.[5]
TheCamarín de la Virgen (Dressing Room of the Virgin) is a smallchapel located behind the niche of Our Lady of the Abandoned on the second tier of theretablo. It was built around the same period as the church (c. 1720–1725) and has retained most of its original features.[5][11] One can view thenave of the church from the octagonal vaultedniche (hornacina) where the image stands. Its high-arched opening is crowned with a large, silvercorona imperial (imperial crown). Below thehornacina is a semicirculargilded platform, which is said to be a part of thegalleon that brought the image fromValencia all the way to Manila, theSanto Cristo de Burgos. Wooden steps flank the platform, and are used by devotees to climb and venerate the image. At present, only the Virgin's long cape can be touched or kissed.
Of note in this structure are the paintings on the ceiling and on the entrance, which are believed to be as old as theCamarín and the church itself. These paintings belonged to the short-livedEstampita Age of Filipino-Spanish art.[11] The entrance paintings depict life-size images of thearchangelsMichael andGabriel guarding the door, also painted with a heavenly scene surrounding theAuspice Maria, a monogram of the letters "A" and "M" representing the term "Under the guidance of Mary" and has the popular meanings ofAve Maria as well as theHoly Name of Mary. The ceiling paintings show Heaven in the center surrounded by eleven segments, with scenes from the lives of Mary and Jesus, from Mary'sBetrothal toJoseph to theBaptism of Christ. The central panel shows theHoly Trinity and the kneeling Virgin Mary, withcherubim and angels on both sides.[5]
Due to the considerably good preservation of the structure as well as the irreplaceable value of its paintings, which were considered the oldest datable of its kind, theCamarín de la Virgen was declared aNational Cultural Treasure in November 2008 by theNational Museum of the Philippines.[11]
Located behind the Santa Ana Church is theCapillita de la Virgen del Pozo (Small Chapel of the Virgin of the Well). Better known as thePozo de la Virgen (Well of the Virgin), it housed aholy well of springwater believed to contain healing properties. The exact date of its construction is unknown, although it was generally assumed to have been built around the 18th century, around the same period as the church.[12] ThePozo de la Virgen also enshrines an 18th-century wood and ivoryrelief image of Our Lady of the Abandoned,[12] placed in a low niche in a position suggesting her guarding the holy well. A woodentrapdoor, which occupies most of the floorspace, opens to reveal the passage to the well. There are ten stone steps that lead to the actual water level,[5] which was contained within a small stone-and-concrete arched chamber.
During thetyphoid epidemic of 1920, the well was closed due to sanitary concerns. During the 1977–85 renovations, it was cemented over and decorated with broken tiles from theCamarín de la Virgen.[5][13] In 2011, thePozo de la Virgen was reopened after 92 years of being hidden from the public.[12]
Adjoining the Santa Ana church is theconvent, which was also built on the same period as the church under the direction of Vicente Inglés.[4] The ground floor is a stone and clay tilecloister surrounding the grassypatio. Above the cloister is a wooden corridor withcapiz and glass windows and high doors leading to the priest's quarters, thechoir loft and a room previously used as a library.[5] In 1966, archaeological excavations have been conducted by theNational Museum of the Philippines on the patio and thechurchyard, uncovering 71 human burials dating around late 11th to 14th centuries from the associated Chinese ceramics recovered with the graves.[14] The bulk of data gathered regarding thepre-Hispanic culture of Santa Ana (the ancientKingdom of Namayan[4]) led to the construction of a site museum in the patio, which was later declared as a National Cultural Treasure in August 1973 by the virtue of Presidential Decree No. 260.[15]
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The Santa Ana Church has been designated by theNational Historical Commission of the Philippines (thenPhilippine Historical Research and Markers Committee) as a Historic Building in 1936 with ahistorical marker for being the firstFranciscan mission established outside Manila.[16] The Santa Ana Site Museum located in the convent patio and theCamarín de la Virgen was declared as a National Cultural Treasure in August 1973.[15]
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