San Agustin Church (Manila)

San Agustin Church
Immaculate Conception Parish Church of San Agustin
Shrine of Our Lady of Consolacion y Correa
Parroquia de la Inmaculada Concepción de María de San Agustín
Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación y Correa
San Agustin Church
Location in Metro Manila
14°35′20.1″N 120°58′31.2″E / 14.588917°N 120.975333°E / 14.588917; 120.975333Coordinates: 14°35′20.1″N 120°58′31.2″E / 14.588917°N 120.975333°E / 14.588917; 120.975333
Location Intramuros, Manila
Country Philippines
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website San Agustin Church
History
Former name(s) Iglesia de San Pablo de Manila
Founded 1720
Dedication St. Augustine
Consecrated 1607
Architecture
Functional status Active
Heritage designation World Heritage Site
Designated 1993
Architect(s) Juan Macías
Style Baroque
Groundbreaking 1586
Completed 1607
Specifications
Length 67.15 m (220.3 ft)
Width 24.93 m (81.8 ft)
Materials Adobe stones
Administration
Archdiocese Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila
Province Manila
Clergy
Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Baroque Churches of the Philippines
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
San Agustin Church
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iv
Reference 677
UNESCO region Asia-Pacific
Inscription history
Inscription 1993 (17th Session)

San Agustin Church (Spanish: Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción de María de San Agustín) is a Roman Catholic church under the auspices of The Order of St. Augustine, located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila.

In 1993, San Agustin Church was one of four Philippine churches constructed during the Spanish colonial period to be designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, under the collective title Baroque Churches of the Philippines.[1] It was named a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1976.[2]

History

The present structure is actually the third Augustinian church erected on the site.[3] The first San Agustin Church was the first religious structure constructed by the Spaniards on the island of Luzon.[4] Made of bamboo and nipa, it was completed in 1571, but destroyed by fire in December, 1574 during the attempted invasion of Manila by the forces of Limahong.[5][6] A second church made of wood was constructed on the site.[6] This was destroyed in February 1583, in a fire that started when a candle set ablaze the drapes of the funeral bier during the interment of the Spanish Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa.[5]

The Augustinians decided to rebuild the church using stone, and to construct an adjacent monastery. Construction began in 1586, based on a design by Juan Macías.[4][6] The structure was built using hewn adobe stones quarried from Meycauayan, Binangonan and San Mateo, Rizal.[2] The work proceeded slowly due to the lack of funds and materials, as well as the relative scarcity of stone artisans.[6] The monastery was operational by 1604, and the church was formally declared complete on January 19, 1607, and named St. Paul of Manila.[6] Macías, who had died before the completion of the church, was officially acknowledged by the Augustinians as the builder of the edifice.[7]

San Agustin Church was looted by the British forces which occupied Manila in 1762 during the Seven Years' War.[8] In 1854, the church was renovated under the supervision of architect Luciano Oliver.[4] Nine years later, on June 3, 1863, the strongest earthquake at that time, hit Manila leaving widespread destruction to the city with San Agustin Church, the only public building left undamaged in the city.[9] A series of strong earthquakes struck Manila again on 18–20 July 1880. This time, the tremors left a huge crack on the left bell tower of the church[10] The crack was eventually repaired, but the left tower was permanently removed as it appears today.[11] The church withstood the other major earthquakes that struck Manila before in 1645, 1699, 1754, 1796, 1825, 1852, 1863 and 1880. It was also doubling as a hospital for several injured persons brought about by the earthquake in 1863.[12]

On August 18, 1898, the church was the site where Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes prepared the terms for the surrender of Manila to the United States of America following the Spanish–American War.[3][8]

During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II, San Agustin Church was turned into a concentration camp for prisoners.[3] In the final days of the Battle of Manila, hundreds of Intramuros residents and clergy were held hostage in the church by Japanese soldiers; many of the hostages would be killed during the three-week-long battle.[3] The church itself survived the flattening of Intramuros by combined American and Filipino ground forces in May, 1945 with only its roof damaged, the only one of the seven churches in the walled city to remain standing.[3] The adjacent monastery however was totally destroyed, and was later rebuilt in the 1970s as a museum under the design of architect Angel Nakpil.[2][8] The church was renovated in 2013, replacing its colorful facade with a mature stone-colored one.

Architecture

Panoramic of the interior of San Agustin Church.

The San Agustin Church is patterned after some of the magnificent temples built by the Augustinians in Mexico, its present edifice was built in 1587, and completed, together with the monastery, in 1604.The atmosphere is medieval since "both church and monastery symbolize the majesty and equilibrium of a Spanish golden era."

The massive structure of the church, the symmetry and splendor of the interiors (painted by two Italians who succeeded in producing trompe l'oeil), the profile of the mouldings, rosettes and sunken panels which appear as three-dimensional carvings, a baroque pulpit with the native pineapple as a motif, the grand pipe organ, the antechoir with a 16th-century crucifix, the choir seats carved in molave with ivory inlays of the 17th century and the set of 16 huge and beautiful chandeliers from Paris.[13]

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Baroque Churches of the Philippines". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved on 2012-01-20.
  2. 1 2 3 Layug, p. 84
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Layug, p. 83
  4. 1 2 3 Heritage Conservation Society. "San Agustin Church (Intramuros, Manila)". Retrieved 2008-03-24.
  5. 1 2 Torres, p. 62
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Aluit, p. 40
  7. ↑ Aluit, p. 41
  8. 1 2 3 Torres, p. 63
  9. ↑ Fernandez, p. 216
  10. ↑ Hannaford, p. 21
  11. ↑ Laya and Gatbonton, p.102.
  12. ↑ Olbés, p.11.
  13. ↑ de la Torre, Visitacion (1981). Landmarks of Manila: 1571–1930. Makati: Filipinas Foundation, Inc. pp. 63–64.
Bibliography
  • Layug, Benjamin Locsin (2007). A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches. Pasig City, Philippines: New Day Publishers. pp. 39–41. ISBN 971-8521-10-0. 
  • Aluit, Alfonso (1994). By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II 3 February – 3 March 1945. Philippines: National Commission for Culture and the Arts. pp. 83–85. ISBN 971-8521-10-0. 
  • Torres, Jose Victor Z. (2005). Ciudad Murada: A Walk Through Historic Intramuros. Manila: Intramuros Administration & Vibal Publishing House, Inc. pp. 62–63. ISBN 971-07-2276-X. 
  • Olbés, Rene (2000). The Philippines:A Century Hence. Makati City, Philippines: Rene Olbés and Associates. pp. 10–11. ISBN 971-92288-0-6. 
  • Hannaford, Adjutant E. (1899). History and of our Philippine Wonderland. Springfield, Ohio: The Crowell & Kirkpatrick Co. p. 21.
  • Fernandez, Leandro H. (1919). A Brief History of the Philippines. Boston, Massachusetts: Ginn and Company. p. 216.
  • Laya, Jaime and Gatbonton, Esperanza (1983). Intramuros of Memory. Manila: Ministry of Human Settlements, Intramuros Administration. p. 102.

External links

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