Santa Monica Parish Church/ Simbahan ng Sarrat/ The Church of Sarrat (Sarrat, Ilocos Norte)

The Church of Sarrat:

Church of Sarrat

About the Church:

Sta. Monica Parish Church, commonly known as the Sarrat Church, is a Catholic parish church in the poblacion (Brgy. San Leandro) of the town of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines, about 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) east of Laoag City, the capital of the province. It was built in 1779 and was originally known as San Miguel Church. The Sta. Monica Church complex includes the convent connected to the church by an elevated three-level brick stairway.

The parish church of Sta. Monica is renowned as the largest church in the whole Ilocos Norte province, most especially the length of the nave. In June 1983, the church was the setting for the grand wedding of Gregorio Araneta and Irene Marcos, the daughter of then President Marcos.

Construction of the Santa Monica Church was began in 1779 and took 10 years to construct the whole complex. Within the church complex is the convent that was built prior to the church in 1769. Known as Casa del Palacio Real, the convent was originally used as a chapel prior to the completion of the church and the bell tower. It was later used as the Presidencia Municipal.

A devastating earthquake hit the province of Ilocos Norte on August 17, 1983, which recorded a magnitude of 5.3 (MI) on the Richter scale and an intensity 7 on the Rossi-Forel scale. The tremor sustained a major structural damage on the church’s facade as well as toppling down the bell tower.

The church is made from red bricks built in Earthquake Baroque and Neoclassical architecture. Inside the sanctuary, the ceiling is a magnificent framework of wooden roof trusses, which number to around 480 logs of hardwood molave, 75% of which dates back to the 18th century.

With its rich heritage and intricate details of architecture, coupled with the other sets of criteria mandated by the National Museum Act of 1998, the Sta. Monica Church Complex was added to the list of Important Cultural Property of the Philippines. The members of the deciding panel included Architect Augusto F. Villalon, Fr. Milan Ted D. Torralba, Ms. Anna Maria L. Harper, Fr. Rene B. Javellana and Mr. Cecilio G. Salcedo. Unveiling of the Important Cultural Property marker was held on September 27, 2009 by the National Museum director and was witnessed by the local government officials.

Other Pictures of the Church:

Church of Sarrat

 

Saint John the Baptist Parish Church/ Simbahan ng Badoc / The Church of Badoc (Badoc, Ilocos Norte)

The Church of Badoc:

The Church of Badoc

The Church of Badoc Photo Credits to BlauEarth

La Virgen Milagrosa:

La Virgen Milagrosa

About the Church and the Virgen Milagrosa:

Estimated to be 400 years old, the revered image of La Virgen Milagros de Badoc is enshrined and venerated in the more than 200 year old imposing brick-and-stone baroque Catholic Church of the Parish of Saint John the Baptist in Badoc, Ilocos Norte. Inside the church one will find the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus wrapped in her arms.

Countless miracles have been ascribed to the beloved image of La Virgin Milagrosa de Badoc which have kindled and heightened the veneration and devotion of the people from the Ilocos region for which the image was really meant. Realizing the intense and widespread devotion, the Diocese of Laoag proclaimed the wooden image of La VirgenMilagrosa de Badoc as the Patrones of Ilocos Norte on May 2, 1980. This church in Badoc was the pilgrimate site for the Great Jubilee Year 2000.

Badoc is the southernmost town of the province of Ilocos Norte and lies 40 kilometers south of Laoag City. Being the gateway to the province from the south, it serves as the show window of historic Ilocos Norte. The establishment of the town as a parish in 1714 was also the approximate start of the construction of the Spanish built Catholic church, known as the Saint John the Baptist Church. It is said that the place of the Isneg settlement, wherein the first Spanish missionary team also established camp, was the seat of the Christianization of the town. It was also in the place where the church was established and where the first mass was said by Padre de Alvarado, an Augustinian priest who was the spiritual adviser of the expedition led by the youthful Spanish conquistador, Juan de Salcedo. The first mass, which was celebrated on June 24, 1572, or more than two centuries before the construction of the Catholic church, was said in thanks-giving for the peace treaty between Salcedo and the native leaders and was also dedicated to those who were slain in battle. It coincided with the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, who was made Badoc’s patron saint.

Folks recounted that the huge and imposing house of worship, made of bricks and stones and roofed with Spanish-style corrugated clay tiles, was constructed under the Spanish forced labor decree. It was also said that not a single drop of water was used in the whole construction process. The concreting materials were made purely of sugarcane juice, which the natives contributed under the “family quota system.” Now, the church, already weather-beaten but unweakened by time and age is the sanctuary and shrine of La VirgenMilagrosa de Badoc, because it was found in the year 1620 by Badoc and Sinait fishermen along the shore of Lugo village. The image, encased in a wooden box, together with a life-sized picture of Santo Cristo Milagroso, the statue of angels and one violin, were given to the Sinait fishermen as their share from the mysterious discovery, Sincethen, the Sinait Catholic church has become the shrine of the Santo Cristo Milagroso.(Source: http://www.philippinesmyphilippines.wordpress.com )

Other Pictures of the Church:

The Church of Badoc

La Virgen Milagrosa

The Church of Badoc

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

Sinking Bell Tower of Laoag (Laoag City, Ilocos Norte)

The Sinking Bell Tower:

The Sinking Bell Tower

Other Pictures of the Bell Tower:

The Sinking Bell Tower

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 Andrew Parish Church/ Simbahan ng Bacarra/ The Church of Bacarra (Bacarra, Ilocos Norte)

The Church of Bacarra:

The Church of Bacarra

About the Church:

The town of Bacarra was founded by Augustinians on 18 September 1590, headed by Fr. Benito Mena who was a native of Vigan. The church dates back to the 16th century. Construction was supervised by Fray Felipe Fernandez of the Order of Saint Augustine. When the first building was destroyed, it was rebuilt in 1700 and was finished by 1706 headed by Fray Diego de Mendrosqueta, Fray Miguel Abiol and Fray Antonio de Villanueva. The church was damaged by an earthquake the following year and later by yet another one. The present church was rebuilt by Fray Juan Martin that was dated around the middle of the 19th century.
Indigenous materials were used for the construction. Coral bricks made of sticky clay and molasses mixed with leaves and tree trunks of a tree soaked in water or “sablot” were used instead of cement, granite or adobe stones. The mixture resulted in a sticky fluid which was then combined with lime from ashes of burnt shells. The bricks were pieced together with stucco, the mixture beaten to paste. All the labor was manual.

Architecture of the bell tower – Its bell tower, more popularly known as “Torre Ti Bacarra” or “torre”, was the town’s most prized heritage. It was constructed by Fr. Bergier, OSA in 1828. It stood 50 meters high with three storeys. It has a 16 x 16 meter base that gradually narrows at the top. Topping it is a heavy bronze bell.
On 19 March 1931, the feast of Saint Joseph, the bell tower suffered its first major destruction. An earthquake caused the tower to have a leaning posture from the earthquake for more than half a century. The locals called it the “Bowing Belltower of Bacarra” while the tourists referred to it as the “Leaning Tower of the North.” In 1971, another earthquake further deformed the tower, yet the ruins attracted even more tourists. After the earthquake, the tower was preserved by placing support on the walls of the remaining structure. In 1981 and on 17 August 1983, another earthquake occurred and the tower finally gave way and was left with its present flattened top. In 1973, the tower became a national cultural treasure according to Presidential Decree 260.

Convent – The parish convent’s exterior was made of bricks held together by stucco. The interior was made with fine hardwood. The floor area extends to 900 square meters in two levels. Before being ruined, the convent had an azotea with a staircase. The convent was formerly occupied by the clergy and church staff. It also served as the school building of the St. Andrew Grade School. In the 1980s, the convent was declared as unsafe for habitatation. The present ground floor of the convent was turned into a parish hall and a smaller part of it was used as a place for religious artifacts.

Parish – The parish lot used to be an encomienda which was under Captain Castillo and Andres Hermosa. It was established on 26 June 1591 but was formally accepted by the Augustinians on 29 December 1598. When the ministry of Bacarra was accepted, it was dedicated to San Andres de Apostol. The community’s first Filipino pastor was Fr. Atanacio A. Albano. (Source: Wikipilipinas)

Other Pictures of the Church:

The Church of Bacarra

Image of Saint Andrew

The Church Main Entrance

Interior of the Church

The Retablo Mayor

The Bacarra Church Bell Tower

Immaculate Conception Church @ Batac, Ilocos Norte

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Saint Augustine Church @ Paoay, Ilocos Norte

This Church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

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