San Juan Bautista Church (Calumpit)

Calumpit Church
San Juan Bautista Parish Church
Facade of Calumpit Church
Calumpit Church Location in the Philippines
14°54′58″N 120°46′08″E / 14.916077°N 120.768793°ECoordinates: 14°54′58″N 120°46′08″E / 14.916077°N 120.768793°E
Location	Calumpit, Bulacan
Country	Philippines
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Architecture
Status	Parish Church, Diocesan Shrine
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church building
Style	Baroque, Insipient Baroque
Completed	Before 1779
Specifications
Materials	Sand, gravel, cement, mortar, steel and bricks
Administration
Archdiocese	Manila
Diocese	Malolos
District	Western District (Vicariate of St. James the Apostle)
Clergy
Archbishop	Luis Antonio Tagle
Bishop(s)	Jose Oliveros
Priest in charge	Proceso E. Espiritu
Assistant priest	Roberto Lunod

The San Juan Bautista Parish Church, locally referred to as the Calumpit Church, is a 17th-century, Roman Catholic, Baroque church located at Barangay Poblacion, Calumpit, Bulacan, Philippines. The parish church, under the patronage of Saint John the Baptist, belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos under the Vicariate of Saint James the Apostle.^[1]

Parish History

Calumpit is recognized as the first site of the evangelization of the Augustinian Friars in present-day Bulacan province (although it should be noted that some references attribute Calumpit as part of Pampanga or one of the Alcaldias of region La Pampanga during the early years of Spanish colonization in the Philippines) together with other Alcaldias such as Betis,Lubao,Bulakan. Calumpit was proclaimed a visita or sub-parish of Tondo in May 3, 1572. In March 3, 1575, the convent of Calumpit was established with the towns of Candaba and Macabebe annexed to it as its visitas. Its first titular patron is Saint Nicholas of Tolentine but on December 31, 1576, its convent was referred to as La Casa de San Juan Bautista. Its been recorded that Fray Diego Vivar Ordonez from Calumpit who first evangelized Bulakan, Malolos, Hagonoy. In June 11, 1580 Malolos where separated as convent and Hagonoy in January 1581. In 1619, Paombong detached from Malolos which annexed in Calumpit, but in 1664 it was returned to Malolos, its original matrix. Calumpit was an important mission center for the Religious wanting to spread the Catholic faith in its neighboring towns due to its proximity to river systems which aided transportation of missionaries. Despite its important role in the Christianization of Bulacan, reports show that its convent was once declared vacant due to lack of priests.^[2]

Architectural History

Some available references do not specify the priest responsible for constructing the present parochial structures although it is assumed that both buildings were completed in the middle of the 17th-century.^[2] Other references say that Father Diego Vivar-Ordonez erected the current church.^[3] Father Joaquin Martinez de Zuñiga, prior from years 1794 to 1797 noted that at his time, the small convent has been made with cut stone and tile roofs. The convent was damaged by the merging of two great rivers in the area: the Rio de Quingua (now Angat River) and the Rio Grande de Pampanga. Besides the convent, the bell tower of the church is reportedly “low and not well-shaped”. It was said that locals disliked the shape of church tower and urged numerous parish priests of the parish for a reconstruction. Finally, Fray Antonio Llanos reconstructed the tower in 1829. The entire church complex was razed by fire during the Philippine Revolution of 1899.^[2]

Architecture

The church façade is an example of how local artisans experimented with various ornamentation to come up with a lavish, seemingly Mannerist style.^[4] The façade is arranged simply, with four rounded columns with Corinthian capitals supporting the pediment and dividing the entire front into three segments. Floral motifs and scrolls abound on the façade and link the round columns before undulating back into the cornice. Reliefs can be found of the lowest level of the façade depicting lives of saints. The flamboyance of the trefoil arch main portal is matched by the swaying motion of the original pediment and the volutes framing a circular window. Besides the main doorway and the central oculus, the façade is pierced by a pair of rectangular windows framed by ornate reliefs. To the left of the church is the simple, four-tiered bell tower: a great contrast to the profusely ornamented façade.^[2][4] Much renovation has been done into the church, one of which concerns the extension of the façade, transforming the original swaying motion of the pediment into the simple triangular one seen today. In recent years, a new, heavily-carved wooden door was installed in the main portal.

Image Gallery

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  Details of pediment with saint's niche

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  Ornate side portal

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  Transept

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  Church nave

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  Church dome

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  Ceiling

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  Tableau located beneath the choir loft

See also

• Calumpit, Bulacan

References

1. "Calumpit, 3003". bulacanchurches.weebly.com. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
2. Galende, OSA, Pedro (1996). Angels in Stone: Architecture of Augustinian Churches in the Philippines (Second ed.). Manila, Philippines: San Agustin Museum. pp. 124–125. ISBN 9719157100.
3. "Churches". www.visitmyphilippine.com. Department of Tourism. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
4. Galende, OSA, Pedro (2007). Philippine Church Facades (First ed.). Manila, Philippines: San Agustin Museum; Vibal Publishing House. ISBN 9789710724338.