| Baclayon Church | |
|---|---|
| Immaculate Conception Parish Church | |
Iglesia Parroquial de La Purísima Concepción de la Virgen María (Spanish) | |
.jpg) The church in January 2023 | |
.svg)  Baclayon Church Location in the Philippines Show map of Philippines | |
| 9°37′22″N123°54′44″E / 9.6227°N 123.9122°E /9.6227; 123.9122 | |
| Location | Baclayon, Bohol |
| Country | Philippines |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 1596 1717 (as Parish) |
| Founder(s) | Fr. Juan de Torres,SJ Fr. Gabriel Sanchez,SJ |
| Dedication | Immaculate Conception |
| Consecrated | 1727; 298 years ago (1727) |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | National Cultural Treasure |
| Architectural type | Church building |
| Style | Baroque |
| Years built | 1727, 2014–2018 |
| Groundbreaking | 2014; 11 years ago (2014) (restoration) |
| Completed | February 27, 2018; 7 years ago (2018-02-27) (restoration) |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Coralstones |
| Administration | |
| Province | Cebu |
| Diocese | Tagbilaran (since 1941) |
| Deanery | Assumption of Our Lady |
| Parish | Immaculate Concepcion |
| Clergy | |
| Priest(s) | Fr. Vicente Mathias M. Nunag, III |
| Assistant priest(s) | Fr. Felipe B. Digal |
National Historical Landmarks | |
| Designated | July 27, 1994 (1994-7-27) |
| Legal Basis | Resolution No. 3, s. 1994 |
| Designated | 2010 (2010) |
Immaculate Conception Parish Church, also known asLa Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria Parish Church andBaclayon Church, is aRoman Catholicchurch in the municipality ofBaclayon, Bohol, Philippines within the jurisdiction of theDiocese of Tagbilaran. Baclayon was founded by the Jesuit priest Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sánchez in 1596, and became the oldest Christian settlement in Bohol. It was elevated as a parish in 1717 and the present coral stone church was completed in 1727. TheAugustinian Recollects succeeded the Jesuits in 1768 and heavily renovated the church since then.
The church was declared aNational Cultural Treasure by theNational Museum of the Philippines and a National Historical Landmark by theNational Historical Commission of the Philippines. Together with the churches ofMaragondon,Loboc andGuiuan, the Baclayon Church was formerly included for theUNESCOWorld HeritageTentative List of the Philippines since 1993 under the collective group ofJesuit Churches of the Philippines. When a 7.2 magnitudeearthquake struck Bohol and other parts ofCentral Visayas in 2013, the church building sustained major damage. It was reconstructed by theNational Museum of the Philippines from 2014 to 2018.
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TheJesuits, the first evangelizers ofBaclayon, planted the first seed ofChristianity inBohol upon the request of Doña Catalina de Bolaños, mother of theencomendero ofBohol island, Pedro de Gamboa to Father Antonio Sedeno, mission superior of Leyte and Samar.[1][2] On November 17, 1596, the first Jesuits, Father Juan de Torres, SJ and Father Gabriel Sánchez, SJ , came to Baclayon.[1][3] At that time, a Catholic chapel is already existing inside the encomienda.[1]
In 1717, Baclayon was elevated as a parish. The present stone church constructed under the Jesuits was finished in 1727. When theJesuits were expelled in the country in 1768, theAugustinian Recollects immediately succeeded them in the late part of the same year in administering the spiritual needs of the people of Baclayon.[1][3] Renovations on the church was done during the administration of Father Pedro de la Encarnación,OAR (1839–1854), Father Antonio Úbeda,OAR (1856–1859, 1861–1868) and Father José María Cabañas,OAR (1870–1898).[1] The church was saved from destruction that might be brought by American soldiers in exchange for food and water in 1901.[4] During theSecond World War, the church suffered damages but was later restored.[5] From being part of Baclayon,Balilihan,Alburquerque,Corella andSikatuna became independent parishes in 1829, 1869, 1884 and 1914 respectively.[1] Although it survived damages and was eventually restored, the church of Baclayon was heavily damaged when anearthquake struck Bohol on October 15, 2013.[6]
Baclayon Church was declared aNational Cultural Treasure by theNational Museum of the Philippines in 2010.[7] The National Historical Institute, nowNational Historical Commission of the Philippines, also declared Baclayon Church a National Historical Landmark on July 27, 1994.[3][8] It is also being considered for addition to theUNESCOWorld Heritage Sites of thePhilippines under the collective group of theJesuit Churches of the Philippines with the churches ofMaragondon inCavite,Loboc inBohol andGuiuan inEastern Samar.[9] However, due to its total destruction, it was removed as a nominated site.[10]
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On October 15, 2013, astrong earthquake heavily damaged the church and several other churches designated asNational Cultural Treasures.[6] The church sustained major damage with its collapsed portico and bell tower.[11][12]
TheDiocese of Tagbilaran restored the Church of Baclayon and all other churches destroyed by the earthquake.[13] Together with government agencies, pre-restoration works were made.[14] The church was reopened to the public on February 27, 2018.[15]
The church, built out ofcoral stones, is a cross-shaped (cruciform) church with its juncture orcrossing surmounted by a pyramidal wall. The original tiled roof was replaced bygalvanized iron in 1893.[5] The church complex is strategically located facing the sea. It originally has defensive stone walls around but was removed in the 1870s.[1] It also has a school building built out of coral stones in the middle of the 19th century. A wood and stone market was built in 1881.[16]
Prior to its restoration, the original façade, oriented southwest and located behind the portico, was built together with the stone church built by the Jesuits in 1727. It is simply designed with its upper half hidden by an extendedchoir loft which houses an 1824 pipe organ.[5][17] A way of glazed blue tiles connects the façade and the portico. Theportico was added as an extension to the façade in 1875 by the Augustinian Recollects.[1] An inscription on the portico's pediment based on the year of construction of the façade (1875) was invisible due to church renovations.[5] Two religious images, both dated 1885, is found on the portico's niches:St. Joseph and the childJesus on the uppermostniche and theImmaculate Conception, patroness, on the central niche.
Just like the façade, the walls of the church were simply decorated with icons of an angels' head and wings.[5]
The church entrance is flanked by anarcade leading to thenarthex. The entrance to the choir loft and thecarosa for the images of saints is found on the right and left side of the narthex respectively.[5] Since the floor inside is lower than the ground outside, a new floor made of wood (particularlymolave) was installed in 1852 which was later replaced by brick tiles from 1874 to 1875.[18]
Reddish paintings on wooden panels commissioned by Father Antonio Ubeda from 1856 to 1859 can be found inside the church. These are theAscension of Our Lord andPentecost on the doorway; and two portraits of the Doctors of the Church. A third portrait belonging to the set of Doctors of the Church is on the church museum while the fourth portrait is lost. The paintingsAgony in the Garden andCrowning of Thorns, also commissioned by Father Úbeda, is currently housed at theSan Agustin Museum inIntramuros,Manila. The works of art are done by Liberato Gachalian.[19]
Murals, mostly replaced by monochromatic tin sheets, were also present on the church's ceilings. Though most ceiling paintings were unpreserved, an original work of Max Aya-ay in 1957 can still be seen on portions of the crossing. The walls were originally adorned with wooden images ofStations of the Cross commissioned by Father Ubeda in 1859 which were later replaced by European-made images.[19]
A Baroque and Neoclassicalpulpit made in the 1870s is located on the right side (epistle) of the church, facing the altar. Connected to the convent is thetribuna, a private area for guests and visiting priests on the epistle side. A silver sanctuary lamp, dated 1835 and additional details such assconce added in 1874, is hanged on the crossing.[19]
The church has threeretablos, oneretablo mayor (central or major retablo) and two otherside altars.[19] Theretablo mayor has inscription of the Jesuit motto,Ad maiorem Dei gloriamwhich gave the idea that the Jesuits left Baclayon with this church altar. On the altar's center, a medallion with theanagram of the Blessed Virgin Mary can be seen which may be originally the Jesuitlogo. It contains 18th and 19th century images ofSt. Joseph on the uppermost level;Holy Trinity (center),Saint Michael andSaint Gabriel on the middle level; and theImmaculate Conception (center),Saint Anne andSaint Joachim on the lowest level. In 1810, a silvertabernacle was added to the altar.[3]
Above the altar is a ceiling painting depicting theLast Supper and aSpanish inscription dedicated to the Virgin Mary.[20]
The side altar located on the left hand side facing the altar is consecrated to theSanto Niño. Joining the statue of the Holy Child are 19th century images ofSaint Anthony of Padua andSaint Blaise; andSaint Lucy on the topmost level.[21] Another smaller neoclassical retablo housing a 19th-century image ofSaint Mary Magdalene is located on the left side of the gospel retablo.
The opposite side altar on the right side houses another early 19th century image of theNuestra Señora de la Consolación(Our Lady of Consolation) in the central niche.[17] Joining the Marian image areAugustinian Saints:Saint Augustine,Saint Monica andSaint Nicolas de Tolentino.[17] Another smaller neoclassical retablo built in 1875 on the right side houses the image ofSaint Joseph in the main niche andSaint Isidore.
An octagonalbaptistry connected to the near the altar of Saint Mary Magdalene in the gospeltransept was constructed in 1853.[1][3][21] Inside the baptistry is an earlier image of San Juan Bautista, abaptismal font and an unusual retablo built in 1852 housing theSanto Entierro in a glass coffin and theNuestra Señora de los Dolores in the central niche.[17]
Located near the retablo is a large room called the ante-sacristy, a storage room for church utensils and decorations. This room is connected to either the convent or the mainsacristy which stores the church's liturgicalvestments. Several wooden chests inside the sacristy carries the flaming heart, a symbol of the Augustinian order andokir motifs.[22] The doors leading to both the ante-sacristy and sacristy is similar to the doors of another Jesuit church, theMaragondon Church.[17][22] The sacristy was also built at that same time with the baptistry in 1852.[3]
The Jesuits left an extension of theepistletransept used as living quarters.[1] In 1872, it was expanded to become a properconvento under Father Cabañas.[1][22] Theconvento is a typicalbahay-na-bato with its first floor made out of coral stones and egg white mixed with plaster as binder and the second floor made out of light materials likebamboo. The convent which serves as the priest's house, it is much used as the church's ecclesiastical museum.[22][23]
Other structures around the convent are the Jesuit-built bastion, remnants of an old fortification and a bakery behind the convent which processes egg yolk (unused from using egg as binder in construction of building) intobroas (ladyfingers/sponge-fingers).[22]
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The quadrangular watchtower, which was also the church'sbell tower, was left unfinished by the Jesuits when they were expelled out of the country.[16] The Augustinian Recollects, who succeeded the Jesuits, completed the watchtower.[1][16] It is used to be a detached structure from the church and was connected after the addition of the portico. Made of coral stones, it also has abas relief ofSaint Andrew with an inscription of the date the tower was finished during Father San Andrés de la Santísima Trinidad's administration, May 20, 1777. It still has the original six out of the nine bells from 1880 to 1894 during Father Cabañas' terms.[16] The seventh bell (1886) is in the church museum while the eight bell (1872) was given to the then newly founded parish ofCorella.
Near the baptistery is a separate rectangular mortuary chapel (ermita de difuntos) built in 1859.[1][16] A road from the mortuary chapel leads to the cemetery with stone fences.[16] At the middle of the cemetery is a stone chapel and anossuary at its back.
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