Saint William Parish Church (Laoag City, Ilocos Norte)

Saint William Parish Church:

Saint William Parish Church

Other Pictures of the Church:

Saint William Parish Church

Saint William Cathedral/ Katedral ng Laoag/ The Cathedral of Laoag (Laoag City, Ilocos Norte)

The Cathedral of Laoag:

The Cathedral of Laoag

About the Cathedral:

Laoag Cathedral, canonically known as St. William Cathedral is a church in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. It was built in 1612 by Augustinian friars to replace a wooden chapel. It is known for its Italian Renaissance design and its Sinking Bell Tower, which sinks into the ground at a rate of an inch a year.

St. William Cathedral serves as the seat or central church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Laoag. Since Most Rev. Sergio Utleg’s transfer to the Archdiocese of Tuguerarao, the diocese at present is vacant. The diocesan administrator is Very Rev. Fr. Noel Ian Rabago and the cathedral rector is Very Rev. Fr. Policarpio M. Albano.

The church has an unusual two-storey façade, supported by two pairs of columns on each side of the arched entrance. The top of the façade holds a recessed niche that showcases the image of the city’s patron saint, San Guillermo (Saint William). It has windows made from capiz with wrought iron screens.

The cathedral was built to support a growing Christian population in Laoag, which was known as Ylaua at the time. The settlement was a mission detachment of Vigan during the Spanish era. The church was originally built using lime mixed with molasses for strength, with big stones, gravel and sand. Wood was used for trusses to support the roof, which originally was made of cogon grass and was later replaced with nipa. Much later the roofing was again changed to taleb, a corrugated galvanised iron sheet made with whole bamboo.

The church was damaged by hurricane in 1640, by earthquake in 1706, by fire in 1843. The church was restored in 1880. (Source: Wikipedia)

Other Pictures of the Cathedral:

The Cathedral of Laoag

Image of Saint William

 

 

Saint William Cathedral/ Katedral ng San Fernando/ The Cathedral of San Fernando (San Fernando City, La Union)

The Cathedral of San Fernando City:

Saint William Cathedral

About the Cathedral of San Fernando: The Chapel was first made of Stone and Thatch in 1764 at Barrio San Vicente. It was then moved to Tanque then to Kabaroan. In its present site a Church made of Stone and Brick was built in 1773-1786 by Fr Juan Sorolla, Simon Guillermo and Pedro Fernando. The present Church was built in 1817 by Fr. Simon Torrado. The Church was damaged in 1860 by an Earthquake and rebuilt in 1873 by Father Luis Perez. The Church was Severely damaged by the Earthquake of March 16, 1892. The Church was occupied by the Revolutionists in 1898. The Church was destroyed during the Liberation (1945) of the Country and rebuilt in 1947-1949. 

My Thoughts About the Cathedral: The Cathedral of San Fernando is smaller compared to other Churches and Cathedrals but it stands proudly in the Center of the City. An Imposing structure of the City which is hard to miss. Its graceful lines and beautiful baroque facade gives the City a charm Unique to her.

Other Pictures of the Cathedral:

Saint William Cathedral

Saint William Parish Church/ Parokya ni San Guillermo/ Church of Catmon (Catmon, Cebu)

About the Church: The Church of Catmon or the Church of Saint William or San Guillermo was built in November 2,1835 by the Augustinian Recollects. The first church of Catmon was built in Catmondaan (Old Catmon), the second one in Barangay Macaas and the third and final one on its present site.

The Church of Catmon:

Church of Catmon (San Guillermo/Saint William)

How to Get to the Church: From Cebu you can take a Bus to Catmon. Go to the Cebu North Bus Terminal and board a Bus going to Catmon. You can board any bus going to Bogo  and just tell the conductor to drop you off at Catmon. The Church is on top of a hill.

Map Showing the Location of the Church:

Map of the Church

Other Pictures of the Church:

Church of Catmon (San Guillermo/Saint William)

Map of the Church

Saint William Parish Church (San Marcelino, Zambales)

Saint William the Hermit Church/ Simbahan ng Magsingal/ The Church of Magsingal (Magsingal, Ilocos Sur)

The Church of Magsingal:

The Church of Magsingal

Other Pictures of the Church of Magsingal:

The Church of Magsingal