Old Manila Churches

2012 April 5, Thursday morning, i know my family is already prepared dahil gabi palang nang Wednesday sinabihan na nila akong agahan 'kong daanan sila, ngunit nakaupo pa ako sa harap ng computer at nagsi-search ng mga simbahan na maaaring puwede naming puntahan. Kinansel ko kasi ang route sa Cavite  because i'm not sure with the condition of the car, matindi ang init ng araw baka puro overheat lang ang abutin namin sa daan. Then I try to search the route of old manila churches in the internet as substitute. Around 8:00 a.m. hindi pa ako tapos but I received a text message from my sister and she asked kung nakaalis naba ako ng bahay. Last year kasi sa Bulacan kami nag-Visita Iglesia, halos kalahati ng mga simbahan na aming pinuntahan ay hindi na namin naabutang bukas, but we still continue the visiting to complete the Station of the Cross dahil ito na ang naging way namin para sa taunang pasasalamat sa Diyos. Metro manila lang naman ang route namin ngayon kaya hindi ko kailangan magmadali, and Maundy Thursday naman na kaya sa tingin 'ko maluwag ang kalye at walang traffic. The City of Manila has a good number of intact heritage churches and it was the first time I visited several of the churches kaya kailangan ko ulit mag-print ng map para sa paghahanap. And here are some churches to visit.

The first stop is Our Lady of Abandoned Church, Santa Ana, Manila at around 3:00 p.m. The Church of Santa Ana stands on the site of the first Franciscan mission established outside Manila in 1578. Isa ito sa matatandang simbahan sa maynila so we visited na rin and pray, but in our route this is not the first station of our visiting. Before we leave the church I prepare my camera phone to capture the front of every churches in our destination.

From Santa Ana, we start the first and second station in Malate Church the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios or Our Lady of Remedies. Malate was formerly known as Maalat, derived from the salty waters near it which the Spaniards later corrupted to the current word form.

The church was built originally in the sixteenth century by the Augustinian friars and is one of the oldest churches in Manila outside of Intramuros. British soldiers took refuge in this church during their occupation of the Philippines and attack on Intramuros in 1762-63; repairs had to be made after they left. The church was destroyed by a typhoon in 1868 and then rebuilt. It was also badly damaged in World War II, and later restored again. At ayon sa trivia, the church's rooftop is in a form of a cross on aerial view.

And the third and fourth station is San Agustin Church in Intramuros

is the mother of all churches in the country. It was constructed in 1587 and finished in 1604. It is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines; no other surviving building in the Philippines has been claimed to pre-date San Agustin Church.

Fifth and Sixth station, Manila Cathedral, the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of manila is just one of two surviving churches that can still be found in intramuros.

The cathedral originally started as the Church of Manila and was officially established in 1571 by secular Juan de Vivero. De Vivero, the chaplain on the galleon of San Geronimo, was sent by the Archbishop of Mexico to establish spiritual and religious administraion in newly-colonized Philippines.

Seventh and Eighth station at around 5:00 p.m., Medyo naligaw kami sa paghahanap because my father he know the chucrh as Sto. Niño Parish Church not Tondo Church, Pero iisa lang pala 'yun. The first structures of this church built by the Spaniards in Luzon, was accepted by the Provincial Chapter on May 3, 1572. And it is under the protection of the Sto. Niño de Cebu.

The feast is celebrated every third week of January. Many people come to participate in the fluvial procession, because back then the terrain of Tondo was consisted of waterways and tributaries which were connected to Manila Bay,a possible reason why the current church was made up of stone. It was built on elevated ground to prevent sea waters from inundating the church.

Ninth and Tenth station, from Tondo napasok kami sa maliliit na road and there are lots of obstacles to get the Binondo Church, dahil bukod sa maliit ang daan napakaraming trike at halos mapuno ng mga naglalakad na tao ang mga kalye dito.

The Church was founded by the Dominicans for the spiritual administration of the Christian Chinese. also known as Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz was erected in 1596. It is one of the oldest places of Christian worship in the Philippines, but over the centuries the original edifice has sustained considerable damage from earthquakes and other natural disasters. During World War II, bombs were dropped in 1944 and left only a sheel of the Church. It was later rebuilt. Today the octagonal bell tower is all that remains of the 16th century construction. 

Eleventh and Twelfth station the Quiapo Church, is a prominent Roman Catholic church Latin-rite Basilica located in the District of Quiapo, Manila. The church is reputedly famous for enshrining the Black Nazarene, a dark statue of Jesus Christ which many faithful claim to have miraculous powers.

The Franciscan Missionaries built the first church of Quiapo with Bamboo and Nipa materials. The original church was burned in 1639 and was rebuilt with a stronger edifice. It was again partially destroyed by an earthquake of 1863.  The third church was completed in 1899. In October 30, 1928, the church was caught in a fire which almost destroyed the church. Dona Encarnacion Nakpil de Orense, head of the Parish Committee, raised funds for the reconstruction of the church. Filipino Artist and architect, Juan Nakpil also rebuilt the church. Now known as the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene, it is the center of the icon's devotion in the country.

And for the last two final station the San Sebastian Church, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Manila. It is the seat of the Parish of San Sebastian and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

Completed in 1891, San Sebastian Church is noted for its architectural features. An example of the revival of Gothic architecture in the Philippines, it is the only all-steel church or basilica in Asia. And claimed as the only prefabricated steel church in the world. And this is the last Church of our route we did the lenten sacrifice at 8:49 p.m. and arrived in home at around 9:00 p.m. to watch The Passion of the Christ on television. Then tomorrow we intend to go into the nearest resort.