We present Saysay Bikol’s “Pamibian” (meaning a place for prayer and reflection), an exhibit on the Spanish colonial churches and invite our readers to a “Visita Iglesia” of sorts during this Lenten season. This series was written by Saysay Bikol historians based on various sources, first published on their FB page in 2024. 

Part 1 features: Holy Cross Parish, Nabua, Camarines Sur (est. in 1578); St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Milaor, Camarines Sur (est. in 1585); Naga Metropolitan Cathedral and Parish of St. John the Evangelist, Archdiocese of Caceres (est. in 1595); San Pedro Apostol Parish, Vinzons, Camarines Norte (est. in 1611); and, Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación Parish, Bacon District, Sorsogon City (est. in 1617).

Holy Cross Parish, Nabua, Camarines Sur (est. in 1578)

by Maxine Bethamae M. Montilla

Fray Felix de Huerta, a Franciscan missionary writing in the 1860s, traces the origins of the Holy Cross Parish to the work of two Augustinian missionaries Fray Alonso Jimenez and Juan Orta who arrived in what is now Nabua in 1571.

Seven years later, the Franciscan missionaries Fray Pablo de Jesus and Bartolomé Ruiz took over and inherited what the Augustinians had started. They built the first church in 1579 and dedicated it to the Holy Cross (Santa Cruz). According to Adolfo Puya Ruiz, in 1887 the church was made of stone and wood and had a galvanized iron roof. It also has a beautiful convent that is made of stone. But it was burned to the ground in 1610.

According to Huerta, the second church was built in 1611 under the direction of Fray Alonso Jadraque but it suffered the same fate as the first. The third church was erected between 1630 to 1656. In 1698, under the direction of Rev. Fr Juan Bautista Marsa, the church was built of stone until the direction of Rev. Fr. Gonzalo de S. Bernardino, concluding it to the direction of Rev. Fr. Acasio de la Concepcion. The stone church at present was completed in 1700.

Unlike the parishes in Sorsogon and Camarines Norte, Nabua remained in the hands of the Franciscans throughout the nineteenth century. In 1877, Francisco Moreno notes that the parish, which was home to 12,969 souls (almas) was administered by its cura, Fray Agapito Vaquero, with D. Mariano Flores and D. Felipe Orense as the coadjutors. Fray Saturnino Hernandez, who was a synodal examiner of Nueva Caceres, was also cura of Nabua in the early 1860s.

The town of Nabua celebrates its fiesta on the 3rd of May, which is the traditional feast of the finding (inventio) of the cross. It is also the home of the two Marian images, Our Lady of Angustia and Our Lady of Katipanan. In 2021, The parish declared St. Joseph as their second patron saint. The Holy Cross Parish was one of the chosen nine jubilee churches, across the Archdioceses of Caceres, in connection with the celebration of the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines.

References:

• Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines News. (Updated March 2021). List of Jubilee churches for the celebration of the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. CBCPNews.
• Huerta, Félix de, O.F.M. 1865. Estado geográfico, topográfico, estadístico, histórico religioso de la santa apostólica Provincia de S. Gregorio Magno. Binondo. Imprenta de M. Sanchez y Cia.
• Moreno, Francisco. 1877. Historia de la Santa Iglesia metropolitana de Filipinas: con las vidas de arzobispos y varones insignes, extensiva a hechos culminantes de la conquista y fundacion de varias instituciones en esta capital hasta 1650. Manila: Imp. de El Oriente.
• Puya Ruiz, Adolfo. 1887. Camarines Sur: Descripción general de esta provincia en Luzón, acompañada de un plano del territorio que la provincia ocupa. Manila: Establecimiento Tipografico de La Oceanía Española.

St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Milaor, Camarines Sur (est. in 1585)

by Paolo Gabriel D. Jamer

Milaor parish was founded in 1585 when Most Rev. Pedro Matias de Andrade, O.F.M, a Franciscan Friar and became an administrator of Milaor. It was dedicated to St. Joseph the Worker.

Fray Juan del Sacramento and Fray Jose dela Virgen built the original parish made of bricks and stones in 1725 but due to the rebellious attacks by the cimarrones of Isarog namely the prompted the transfer from the original site which is in Cabusao to the present location now in Milaor, Camarines Sur.

In 1730, Fray Santiago de San Pedro de Alcantara completed the construction of the church and the additional convent was also completed in 1735. However, a fire razed the church and the convent in 1740. Later on, reconstruction was initiated by Fray Francisco Delos Santos O.F.M in the same year. More so, the present belfry or the famous leaning tower of Milaor was finished in 1840.

Now, St. Joseph the Worker Parish is one of the visited churches in Camarines Sur and its annual fiesta is every May 19th. An additional edifice can now be seen that is the Porta Fidei or the “door of faith.”

References:

• Abella, Domingo. 1951. Manila. Bikol Annals Volume 1. The See of Nueva Caceres.
• Huerta, Félix de, O.F.M. 1865. Estado geográfico, topográfico, estadístico, histórico religioso de la santa apostólica Provincia de S. Gregorio Magno. Binondo. Imprenta de M. Sanchez y Cia.

Naga Metropolitan Cathedral and Parish of St. John the Evangelist, Archdiocese of Caceres (est. in 1595)

by Ruben Jeffrey A. Asuncion

The Naga Metropolitan Cathedral traces its roots to the initial edifice built in the Padian section of Nueva Caceres. However, the structure was razed by a fire in 1768. Nueva Caceres became the seat of the diocese of Caceres, which was one of the sees created in 1595 through a papal bull released by Clement VIII. Throughout the Spanish colonial period, the diocese of Caceres covered virtually the entire Bicol region as well as parts of Tayabas and Nueva Ecija provinces.

In 1808, Bishop Bernardo de La Concepcion spearheaded the establishment of an edifice designed in the Spanish Romanesque style. However, it had to be repaired on two different occasions: after being damaged by a storm (1856) and then by an earthquake (1887). The repair works after the 1887 temblor were completed by the Obras Publicas (a Spanish colonial office that focused on public works and structures). It had been described in 1887 by Puya Ruiz as a “sturdy and solid” structure built from stone tiles and also had “two beautiful towers” (dos hermosas torres). Fronting the Cathedral was one of the many plazas located in late 19th century Nueva Caceres.

The Cathedral in Naga stood the test of time amidst the changes in the colonial orders affecting the Philippines and Bicol region and modifications in the scope of ecclesiastical administration of Caceres. Caceres’ jurisdiction was reduced to initially the Bicol region. In 1951, Caceres was raised into an archdiocese. However, by the 1990s, the archdiocese’ covered only parts of Camarines Sur.

The city of Naga was heavily damaged in the aerial bombing of 1945 by American planes. A marker was installed in 1939 by the Philippine Historical Committee.

References:

• Huerta, Felix de. Estado Geografico, Topografico, Estadistico, Historico-Religioso, de la Santa y Apostolica de S. Gregorio Magno. Binondo: Imprenta de M. Sanchez y Cia. 1865.
• Puya Ruiz, Alfredo. Camarines Sur: Descripcion General de Esta Provincia en Luzon. Manila: Est.  La Oceania de Español. 1887.National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines: Church of Magarao.
• Union of Catholic Asian News. Caceres Archdiocese. Caceres Archdiocese | Archdiocese of Caceres | Ucanews

San Pedro Apostol Parish, Vinzons, Camarines Norte (est. in 1611)

by Ruben Jeffrey A. Asuncion

San Pedro Apostol Parish, which is located along Francisco Balce and Anacleto Guinto streets in Vinzons, was established by the Franciscans in 1611 with Fray Juan de Losar as its first parish priest. In the same year, the church was dedicated to St. Peter the Apostle. However, as Felix de Huerta notes, the town, then called Tacboan, was founded much earlier in 1581. (Tacboan would subsequently be called Indan in 1624 and Vinzons in 1946, in honor of the youthful politician and wartime resistance leader Wenceslao Vinzons).

In 1624, the parish transferred to another site, to its present location under the supervision of Fray Miguel de San Lucas. About four decades later, in 1661, the Franciscans then ceded the administration of the parish to the secular clergy and has been in the hands the latter until today.

The church was destroyed in a fire on December 26, 2012 that started in the convent library. The blaze was said to have been caused by electrical overload. Also destroyed in the fire were the parish church’s historical artifacts. Documentation and restoration work lasted from June 2013 until June 2015, when the parish was rededicated. Various parishioners, architects, the parish priest and even the National Historical Commission of the Philippines were involved in restoring the church.

Among the restored portions of the church were the church doors. Imprinted on the doors were outlines of hamindang leaves. According to local historical narratives, an old name of the town (Indan) was derived from the name of the said tree. Also featured in the doors are “markers which depicts (sic) the major periods in the history of Vinzons as a town and as a parish.” The church also has wall paintings that reenact the life of St. Peter the Apostle.

References:

• GMA News Online. “Fire destroys 400 year-old church in Bicol.” Fire destroys 400-year-old church in Bicol (December 26, 2012).
• Huerta, Felix de. 1865. Estado Geografico, Topografico, Estadistico, Historico-Religioso, de la Santa y Apostolica de S. Gregorio Magno. Binondo: Imprenta de M. Sanchez y Cia.
• “Historical Data of the Municipality of Vinzons and barrios.” National Library of the Philippines. Vinzons, Camarines Norte.
• Parroquia de San Pedro Apostol (Vinzons, Camarines Norte). “The Restored Church”

Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación Parish, Bacon District, Sorsogon City (est. in 1617)

by Sem. Kurt Alison Diaz

After the successful evangelization and conversion of the natives in Casiguran, the Spanish Franciscan missionaries moved north, to the shores of the Pacific and established a mission site, a visita, in what is now Bacon in 1609.

In 1617, Visita de Bacon separated from its mother town. A separate parish and pueblo was founded by Padre Antonio de San Francisco, OFM, under the name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and its patroness under the title: Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación. The parish remained in the hands of the Franciscans until its temporal and spiritual administration was transferred to the secular clergy in 1696.

By the nineteenth century, Bacon’s territory had expanded significantly and included the towns of Prieto Diaz and Rapu-Rapu. In 1876, the town’s population significantly increased with 10,420 people, the second largest population in Partido de Sorsogon, Albay Province. In the same year, Don Santiago Ojeda, whom Bishop Francisco Gaínza commissioned to translate his work on the History of the Peñafrancia Shrine, was appointed cura. He was assisted by Don Gregorio Sañez and Don Dalmacio Ubalde.

Bacon parish is one of the biggest and grandest churches in Sorsogon, featuring a structure supported by great and beautiful columns with a majestic facade with huge statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, angels, and apostles inside and out. This church is built with its size and design in order to accommodate a large number of faithful in liturgical celebrations and other religious activities. The church’s belfry was later added, it was constructed in 1885.

Local lore has it that in the 1800s a storm surge hit the town. A woman wearing an Augustinian habit was seen by the locals standing on the shore while facing the sea, extending her arms as if she were stopping the catastrophe. Locals who witnessed it said that at that moment, the sea subsided and the town was freed from that natural disaster. The locals saw it as a miraculous event attributed to Santa Rita de Casia. Although without the Church’s approval and confirmation of the said event, popular devotion to Santa Rita spread in the town. Because of that, the parishioners, with the consent of the parish priest, replaced its titular saint from Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación to Santa Rita de Casia. Santa Rita became its patroness from 1836 to 1850. In 1853, the image of Nuestra Señora de la Anunciación was returned to its original place as the principal patroness of Bacon, while Santa Rita became its secondary patroness, again at the request of the locals. In fact, the feasts of these two saints are celebrated consecutively. Because of the Lenten season, the Feast of the Annunciation, which is liturgically celebrated on March 25, is always celebrated with so many restrictions or sometimes transferred to other dates, especially when it falls during Holy Week. So to celebrate it with a fixed date and without restrictions, the feast of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Bacon is transferred to May 21, a day before the feast of its secondary patroness, Santa Rita de Casia.

The Our Lady of the Annunciation Parish is in its 407th year. Like the great columns of its parish church, the faithful of its town remain strong in its Catholic faith while striving to preserve its beautiful traditions and heritage by passing it down to the next generation. So that the life of Christ may be known by its generation yesterday, today, and forever: Heri, Hodie et in Saecula.

References:

• Huerta, Felix de. 1865. Estado Geografico, Topografico, Estadistico, Historico-Religioso, de la Santa y Apostolica de S. Gregorio Magno. Binondo: Imprenta de M. Sanchez y Cia.
• Moreno, Francisco. 1877. Historia de la Santa Iglesia metropolitana de Filipinas: con las vidas de arzobispos y varones insignes, extensiva a hechos culminantes de la conquista y fundacion de varias instituciones en esta capital hasta 1650. Manila: Imp. de El Oriente.

The header features a photo of the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral (credit: Arnel Manlises on flickr). The church photos are all courtesy of Saysay Bikol.

About Saysay Bikol

Officially launched on March 13, 2021, during their first Zoom assembly, Saysay Bikol is a civic organization based in Naga City that has grown in terms of its influence, reach, and members, which include historians, educators, and cultural heritage advocates. The promotion of Bikol history and heritage is at the heart of its mission and purpose. Saysay Bikol is affiliated with notable institutions, including the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), the NHCP Museo ni Jesse Robredo, and Local Historical Committees Network (LHCN).

Shown in the inset photo are Saysay Bikol’s co-founders: (L-R) Javier Leonardo V. Rugeria , Fr. Francis A. Tordilla, and Victor Dennis T. Nierva at the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary, Naga City, November 10, 2022 (credit: Marvi Torres). The word “saysay” means to narrate or chronicle, to tell a story, or to tell of an experience.