My OperaVISITA IGLESIA 2009
Saturday, April 17, 2010 1:41:10 AM
VISITA IGLESIA 2009
On Maundy Thursday last year, we were invited by Lemuel & Happy and family
for the yearly traditional observance of Vista Iglesia (church visit) of parish churches in central and southeastern towns of Cebu; namely, Carcar, Sibonga, Simala, Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy and Boljoon. For this blog, I compiled historical narrations of each church from dedicated websites and/or private blogs. Except for a few of my own notes and Lemuel’s and Gogo’s (Fair) photos, all the source materials have been copied from the aforementioned websites, with some editing for brevity, minor lapses of grammar and sentence construction.
Carcar%20Church%20by%20Lemuel.shs]Carcar Church by Lemuel.shs
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
CARCAR CHURCH – Patron Saint: St. Catherine of Alexandria
The church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Carcar, Cebu is already 124 years old and is among the great wonders and treasures of the town. It is not clear in the history records as to who built the church but it must be observed that the Augustinian friars were in charge of the parishes from San Nicolas up to Tañon and from there on.
Fr. Antonio Maglano became the parish priest of Carcar on October 16, 1858. He began the construction of the present day church a year later. The construction lasted for six years since it was left unfinished by the succeeding friars. At that time St. Catherine’s already had three naves. The style was patterned after the “mujedar” in Spain, comprising of two belfry with an onion-shaped tip. Nine years later, Fr. Manuel Rubio Fernandez from Asturias, Spain became the parish priest and continued the construction which was finished after two years.
St. Catherine’s Church holds unprecedented architectural history. Inspired by the Graeco-Roman style, with strong Muslim influence, the church is made of masonry with one main nave and two aisles. The nave measures 68 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 12 meters high. The main entrance has a double arch design inviting attention to the massive rectangular façade. The twin bell towers of solid geometric pylons, act as buttresses but are integrated as part of the façade. The twin bell towers end up at the third level in the minaret shape common to Muslim mosques.
The only embellishments that have been provided are the geometric flora on the spandrels, the blind rose window below the upper recessed arch and the carved Augustinian symbol above it. The simplicity of the design of the facade is countered by the complex pattern of the upper-story of the Muslim-like bell tower and the baroque pediment. It is noticeable that all the twelve apostles were carved in white except for Judas, which was done in black.
Photo from a website
Sibonga Church
Patron Saint: Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa
A visita of Carcar established in 1690, Sibonga was placed under Argao's jurisdiction where it remained for many years. The town became an independent parish to which was assigned a secular priest, Mariano de la Ascensión. The Augustinian, Fr. Próspero Puerto was appointed assistant parish priest from 1833-41, then parish priest from 1846-68. Fr. Puerto built the convento following plans by Bishop Santos Gómez Marañon. Fr. Juan Alonso was parish priest from 1868 to 81. Built of stone and brick, he saw the church completed up to the first story. In 1877, a typhoon damaged the bell tower. Finally, Fr. Enrique Magz completed the church in 1881. Fr. Emiliano Diez was working on improving the church when the Philippine Revolution began in 1898. Msgr. Jeremias Harty, archbishop of Manila, restored the church in 1907.
Heritage features: The church has touches of Gothic in the use of lancet arches for windows and the lone portal of the church. The arches are repeated in a shallow relief surrounding the arch. These terminate in acanthus leaves arranged in a crown. This motif is repeated on church doors. A small rose window, decorated with an iron grille, decorates the pediment.
Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Simala, Sibonga
Photo by Fair Quimbo
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
Photo from a website
Our notes:
Simala, Sibonga, Cebu Monastery of Marian Monks of the Eucharistic Adoration
Thousands and thousands of Marian devotees throughout the Visayas and Mindanao and other parts of the country come everyday to pay homage and seek favors from the Blessed Virgin Mary in this shrine. And very many claim that their petitions and prayers have often been answered.
A controversy was much publicized lately when one of the Marian Monks was suspected of illicit money-making schemes and innuendos of sex “escapades” and therefore kicked out of the monastery. He subsequently sued Cardinal Vidal for libel which was eventually
dismissed by the prosecutor’s office.
out
Photo from a website
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
ARGAO CHURCH – Patron Saint: St Michael Archangel (San Miguel Arcangel)
Description:
Of all the church facades, it is Argao church that is the most decorated, most rococo. It is also the second oldest church of the island and one of the oldest in the country. The semi-circular arched entrance is flanked by columns on rectangular pedestals decorated with spread eagles and Corinthian capitals. The panels are crowded with relief designs. The small rectangular relief on top of the main door represents the Augustinian symbol and a window with balustrades is crowned by a small statue of San Miguel the Archangel.
The original Argao Parish church was founded and constructed in May 17, 1734 by Fr. Ignacio de Olave, Argao’s first parish priest. The church has magnificent painted roof inside, has still its original pulpit and is full of antiques. Even the doors still have their original woodcarvings.
Construction of the Church:
The present church must be second, if not the third, constructed by Fr. Mateo Perez, who served this town for 33 uninterrupted years (1803-1836). The date 1783 engraved on the arch of the lateral door indicates that the church had already been re-constructed. Fr. Perez built the new convent of the church. Argao has benefited greatly from the zeal and dedication of this Augustinian priest who did much to uplift the spiritual and material well-being of his parishioners. He rebuilt the town, planned solid townhouses along straight streets, built schools, introduced the cultivation of salt, the fabrication of bricks and the weaving industry.
Bishop Santos Gomez Maranon constructed the slender, 5-storey belfry, considered as one of the best in the Philippines, in 1830. It has eight bells, five of which are still in good condition, and a clock.
Fr. Meliton Talegon, who is buried in the left wing of the presbytery, is the best remembered Augustinian priest.
The church has been considerably restored. Fr. Pablo Alcatraz did the interior painting. The original organ brought allegedly from Mexico, still remains, a witness to the past.
Style of the Church
The composition of this church, convent and bell tower has a striking similarity with that of Dalaguete. Argao church exemplifies the tendency to introduce rococo elements in blending with baroque, a step forward in the individualistic development of this style. A good number of religious artifacts have remained in the church. There are more than 20 angels on its brass-studded portals, it being dedicated to St. Michael.
The ceiling of the church is an interesting one. There is a notable difference in the painting on the ceiling. It was said that Raymundo Francia painted the upper half of the ceiling while Canuto Avila painted from the middle portion to the lower half. These painters are two of the best church muralists during that time (early this century). The first portion by the altar by Reynaldo Francia depicts the victory of St. Michael over Lucifer and his followers. The other portion, done by Canuto Avila, portrays biblical manifestations of angels This can be seen above the altar and is done in tinting color. The altar (retablo) of the church is still the original.
The facade is of a very simple rectangular form divided into three levels and three segments through the use of Corinthian columns and horizontal cornices. The bell tower is joined to the church through a low, multi-purpose structure that is, however, in artistic disagreement with the rest of the complex.
Photo from a website
DALAGUETE – Patron Saint: St. William of Aquitaine (San Guillermo Ermitano)
Historical Notes
The antiquity of Dalaguete can be gleaned from its parish church. Built in 1771, the year (the year the town and parish were founded), it was a masterpiece of Fr. Juan Chacel. J.T. Newman describes the church:
Dalaguete with San Guillermo as its patron saint is pseudo-baroque. The altar is shaped like a shell and it is one church with false galleries constructed at the upper sites of the altar. It is said that there used to be a small statue of San Guillermo with diamonds for eyes. But this has been stolen or lost…
The town of Dalaguete used to be only a barrio of Carcar. But it progressed rapidly. As a 16th century town, it had a large wharf and the strongest fort outside of Manila. There were bastions of stones protecting it. It had good roads that facilitated communications and the town already had possessed a telegraph system.
Its first parish priest was Rev. Fr. Manuel Cordero. The most beloved priest of Dalaguete was Padre Ruperto P. Sarmiento, more known as Padre Pentong. He is credited for the construction of the church in Mantalongon. The construction was considered an extraordinary feat as it was built with almost no funds, the labor supplied free by the inhabitants who worked with their bare hands. Fr. Sarmiento was the first Filipino parish priest who assumed official capacity on November 9, 1898, only a few months from the start of the Cebu Anti-Spanish Revolution. On Holy Wednesday of that historic year, the rebels overran the town hall and burned all official papers. But the following Monday, the Spaniards retook Dalaguete. Fresh troops from San Juan de la Austria landed in the town and with superior weapons outfought the rebels. Many were imprisoned while the others were executed. Angered, the townspeople led by Fr. Pentong formed into volunteer-guard groups to strike back at the Spaniards. However, with the Spanish-American treaty, the Spaniards withdrew in favor of the American forces. Many groups disbanded although some fought against the Americans.
Oral tradition has it that before Dalaguete became a town, there were two chieftains Cogo and Maniktok of barrios Tapon and Obong, respectively. They built a common church between their villages in a place called Unab. It was also shown by excavations of pre-historic burial grounds in Barrio Kawayan (Sitios Banhigan, Ilayana nd Dungu-an) that these old settlements has traded with China.
The name Dalaguete came from a tree which grew abundantly in the area - the balete tree or in Cebuano, the dalakit.
Photo from a website
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
ALCOY CHURCH – Patron Saint: Santa Rose de Lima
Historical Notes
Alcoy was once a part of Dalaguete. Its old name was Mambaje. It became a municipal corporate by a provincial decree on July 16, 1897. Roberto Medellin was appointed as its first capitan. The parish was established in 1890. Fathers Bartolome and P.L. Fernandez were responsible for the construction of the church and convent. Both priests also set about the excavation of three wells, to provide the town with potable water.
Juan Mosqueda who served from 1869 to 1872 was considered an outstanding capitan because he was responsible for setting local disputes among the people.
Padre Romanes was also another capitan whom the people loved because of his concern and courage. He suppressed the abuses of the friars during the Spanish times and because of him, forced labor was discontinued. On January 1, 1917, Mr. Sixto Niere was chosen as the first elected municipal president.
Its first parish priest, a Spaniard, noted the unusual resemblance of the town both in its provincial and pristine charm and its smallness to a place in Spain called Alcoy. He proposed that Mambaje be renamed after the province in southern Spain.
Photo from a website
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
BOLJOON – Patron Saint: Patrocinio de Maria
BRIEF HISTORICAL NOTES ON BOLJOON
The Town of Boljoon: It's Beginning. . .
Legend has it that a group of Spanish Augustinian missionaries led by a certain Fray Bartolome de Garcia, OSA, explored the southeastern tip of Cebu in order to put up outposts for evangelization in the South. They were met by natives who claimed to have settled in the area for many years. The expedition found them willing to convert to the faith and having found the settlement to be in abundant supply of fresh water, they decided to set up the first Christian settlement in the area and baptized the natives led by a certain Datu Baladian.
It is also believed that Boljoon began as a pre-Hispanic settlement of Malay migrants who have found a route from Panay into the area. Based on the archives of the Augustinian Province of the Philippines, Boljoon was once a barrio of the town of Carcar. It was made independent in both its civil and ecclesiastical administration. Apparently, the town was first constituted as a parish before it was made into a municipality.
Historical records reveal at least five renditions of the name of the town. It is referred as Bolhon, Bolhong, Bolhoon, Bolhoong, and the current name and spelling of "Boljoon". A sixth one is that of Bolojon which was attributed to an error in copying. The area was apparently on the mission areas in Cebu when the first parish was founded in Bantayan in 1580 and possibly was erected as a parish only in 1692, based on existing records. It is not, however, a remote possibility that a church may indeed have been built before the close of the 15th century.
Four years after the creation of the suffragan diocese of Cebu in 1595, Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, OSA, in his Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas listed Boljoon as one of the many parishes under the jurisdiction of the Augustinians in the Province of Cebu in the year 1599. The area was already known for the cultivation of cotton from which natives produced very good textiles. This may imply that cotton weaving and cultivation have already existed long before Fray Bermejo arrived in the town. Bermejo himself was said to have taught the local women cotton weaving and if Fray Gaspar's writings are to be considered, then Bermejo already found existing cotton cultivation and weaving industry in Boljoon.
Boljoon is 103 kilometers from Cebu City to the southeastern part of Cebu Province. It is bounded in the north by the town of Alcoy, on the east by the sea, on the south by Nueva Caceres (Oslob) and on the west by high mountains. It is famous for its crooked roads because of its elevated hill, which the town's people call "ILI". A small river irrigates its lands. The name of the town is derived for the local word "Bolho" which means springs of water.
The town is centuries old. Progress and modernity has altered the landscape although much of its natural features remain. The once verdant hills are now laid bald with the inroads of human civilization. Traces of its early-recorded history, like the cemetery can still be seen. A few old houses built according to the design of the colonial period can still be found along side modern houses.
Outside its boundary, Boljoon is known more a pilgrimage town in southern Cebu than anything else, during the colonial period. According to oral tradition, pilgrims from as far as the town of Dalaguete visit the Virgin of Boljoon during her annual feast to attend mass in the town's Catholic Church. The image of the Virgin, the center of devotion, is enshrined in the high altar of the church. It is several centuries old and is said to possess miraculous powers.
The Church of Patrocinio de Maria in Boljoon is the country’s last few remaining fortress-churches and one of the oldest Augustinian churches in Cebu next to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño (from which the Boljoon church design was copied). It has retained its Spanish churchyard.
The National Historical Institute declared Boljoon’s church a national historical landmark in 1999 because of its distinct Filipino baroque style "reflective of the aesthetic sense of its friar builders and the artistry and ingenuity of Filipinos.’’ In July 2001, the National Museum declared it as a national cultural treasure, together with 25 other Philippine churches.
Our notes: During our “visita”, students and professors of the Anthropology Dept of the University of San Carlos with staffers from the National Musem made excavations in the right front of the church where we viewed some human remains and artifacts inside the excavation.
On Maundy Thursday last year, we were invited by Lemuel & Happy and family
for the yearly traditional observance of Vista Iglesia (church visit) of parish churches in central and southeastern towns of Cebu; namely, Carcar, Sibonga, Simala, Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy and Boljoon. For this blog, I compiled historical narrations of each church from dedicated websites and/or private blogs. Except for a few of my own notes and Lemuel’s and Gogo’s (Fair) photos, all the source materials have been copied from the aforementioned websites, with some editing for brevity, minor lapses of grammar and sentence construction.
Carcar%20Church%20by%20Lemuel.shs]Carcar Church by Lemuel.shs
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
CARCAR CHURCH – Patron Saint: St. Catherine of Alexandria
The church of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Carcar, Cebu is already 124 years old and is among the great wonders and treasures of the town. It is not clear in the history records as to who built the church but it must be observed that the Augustinian friars were in charge of the parishes from San Nicolas up to Tañon and from there on.
Fr. Antonio Maglano became the parish priest of Carcar on October 16, 1858. He began the construction of the present day church a year later. The construction lasted for six years since it was left unfinished by the succeeding friars. At that time St. Catherine’s already had three naves. The style was patterned after the “mujedar” in Spain, comprising of two belfry with an onion-shaped tip. Nine years later, Fr. Manuel Rubio Fernandez from Asturias, Spain became the parish priest and continued the construction which was finished after two years.
St. Catherine’s Church holds unprecedented architectural history. Inspired by the Graeco-Roman style, with strong Muslim influence, the church is made of masonry with one main nave and two aisles. The nave measures 68 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 12 meters high. The main entrance has a double arch design inviting attention to the massive rectangular façade. The twin bell towers of solid geometric pylons, act as buttresses but are integrated as part of the façade. The twin bell towers end up at the third level in the minaret shape common to Muslim mosques.
The only embellishments that have been provided are the geometric flora on the spandrels, the blind rose window below the upper recessed arch and the carved Augustinian symbol above it. The simplicity of the design of the facade is countered by the complex pattern of the upper-story of the Muslim-like bell tower and the baroque pediment. It is noticeable that all the twelve apostles were carved in white except for Judas, which was done in black.
Photo from a website
Sibonga Church
Patron Saint: Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa
A visita of Carcar established in 1690, Sibonga was placed under Argao's jurisdiction where it remained for many years. The town became an independent parish to which was assigned a secular priest, Mariano de la Ascensión. The Augustinian, Fr. Próspero Puerto was appointed assistant parish priest from 1833-41, then parish priest from 1846-68. Fr. Puerto built the convento following plans by Bishop Santos Gómez Marañon. Fr. Juan Alonso was parish priest from 1868 to 81. Built of stone and brick, he saw the church completed up to the first story. In 1877, a typhoon damaged the bell tower. Finally, Fr. Enrique Magz completed the church in 1881. Fr. Emiliano Diez was working on improving the church when the Philippine Revolution began in 1898. Msgr. Jeremias Harty, archbishop of Manila, restored the church in 1907.
Heritage features: The church has touches of Gothic in the use of lancet arches for windows and the lone portal of the church. The arches are repeated in a shallow relief surrounding the arch. These terminate in acanthus leaves arranged in a crown. This motif is repeated on church doors. A small rose window, decorated with an iron grille, decorates the pediment.
Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Simala, Sibonga
Photo by Fair Quimbo
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
Photo from a website
Our notes:
Simala, Sibonga, Cebu Monastery of Marian Monks of the Eucharistic Adoration
Thousands and thousands of Marian devotees throughout the Visayas and Mindanao and other parts of the country come everyday to pay homage and seek favors from the Blessed Virgin Mary in this shrine. And very many claim that their petitions and prayers have often been answered.
A controversy was much publicized lately when one of the Marian Monks was suspected of illicit money-making schemes and innuendos of sex “escapades” and therefore kicked out of the monastery. He subsequently sued Cardinal Vidal for libel which was eventually
dismissed by the prosecutor’s office.
out
Photo from a website
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
ARGAO CHURCH – Patron Saint: St Michael Archangel (San Miguel Arcangel)
Description:
Of all the church facades, it is Argao church that is the most decorated, most rococo. It is also the second oldest church of the island and one of the oldest in the country. The semi-circular arched entrance is flanked by columns on rectangular pedestals decorated with spread eagles and Corinthian capitals. The panels are crowded with relief designs. The small rectangular relief on top of the main door represents the Augustinian symbol and a window with balustrades is crowned by a small statue of San Miguel the Archangel.
The original Argao Parish church was founded and constructed in May 17, 1734 by Fr. Ignacio de Olave, Argao’s first parish priest. The church has magnificent painted roof inside, has still its original pulpit and is full of antiques. Even the doors still have their original woodcarvings.
Construction of the Church:
The present church must be second, if not the third, constructed by Fr. Mateo Perez, who served this town for 33 uninterrupted years (1803-1836). The date 1783 engraved on the arch of the lateral door indicates that the church had already been re-constructed. Fr. Perez built the new convent of the church. Argao has benefited greatly from the zeal and dedication of this Augustinian priest who did much to uplift the spiritual and material well-being of his parishioners. He rebuilt the town, planned solid townhouses along straight streets, built schools, introduced the cultivation of salt, the fabrication of bricks and the weaving industry.
Bishop Santos Gomez Maranon constructed the slender, 5-storey belfry, considered as one of the best in the Philippines, in 1830. It has eight bells, five of which are still in good condition, and a clock.
Fr. Meliton Talegon, who is buried in the left wing of the presbytery, is the best remembered Augustinian priest.
The church has been considerably restored. Fr. Pablo Alcatraz did the interior painting. The original organ brought allegedly from Mexico, still remains, a witness to the past.
Style of the Church
The composition of this church, convent and bell tower has a striking similarity with that of Dalaguete. Argao church exemplifies the tendency to introduce rococo elements in blending with baroque, a step forward in the individualistic development of this style. A good number of religious artifacts have remained in the church. There are more than 20 angels on its brass-studded portals, it being dedicated to St. Michael.
The ceiling of the church is an interesting one. There is a notable difference in the painting on the ceiling. It was said that Raymundo Francia painted the upper half of the ceiling while Canuto Avila painted from the middle portion to the lower half. These painters are two of the best church muralists during that time (early this century). The first portion by the altar by Reynaldo Francia depicts the victory of St. Michael over Lucifer and his followers. The other portion, done by Canuto Avila, portrays biblical manifestations of angels This can be seen above the altar and is done in tinting color. The altar (retablo) of the church is still the original.
The facade is of a very simple rectangular form divided into three levels and three segments through the use of Corinthian columns and horizontal cornices. The bell tower is joined to the church through a low, multi-purpose structure that is, however, in artistic disagreement with the rest of the complex.
Photo from a website
DALAGUETE – Patron Saint: St. William of Aquitaine (San Guillermo Ermitano)
Historical Notes
The antiquity of Dalaguete can be gleaned from its parish church. Built in 1771, the year (the year the town and parish were founded), it was a masterpiece of Fr. Juan Chacel. J.T. Newman describes the church:
Dalaguete with San Guillermo as its patron saint is pseudo-baroque. The altar is shaped like a shell and it is one church with false galleries constructed at the upper sites of the altar. It is said that there used to be a small statue of San Guillermo with diamonds for eyes. But this has been stolen or lost…
The town of Dalaguete used to be only a barrio of Carcar. But it progressed rapidly. As a 16th century town, it had a large wharf and the strongest fort outside of Manila. There were bastions of stones protecting it. It had good roads that facilitated communications and the town already had possessed a telegraph system.
Its first parish priest was Rev. Fr. Manuel Cordero. The most beloved priest of Dalaguete was Padre Ruperto P. Sarmiento, more known as Padre Pentong. He is credited for the construction of the church in Mantalongon. The construction was considered an extraordinary feat as it was built with almost no funds, the labor supplied free by the inhabitants who worked with their bare hands. Fr. Sarmiento was the first Filipino parish priest who assumed official capacity on November 9, 1898, only a few months from the start of the Cebu Anti-Spanish Revolution. On Holy Wednesday of that historic year, the rebels overran the town hall and burned all official papers. But the following Monday, the Spaniards retook Dalaguete. Fresh troops from San Juan de la Austria landed in the town and with superior weapons outfought the rebels. Many were imprisoned while the others were executed. Angered, the townspeople led by Fr. Pentong formed into volunteer-guard groups to strike back at the Spaniards. However, with the Spanish-American treaty, the Spaniards withdrew in favor of the American forces. Many groups disbanded although some fought against the Americans.
Oral tradition has it that before Dalaguete became a town, there were two chieftains Cogo and Maniktok of barrios Tapon and Obong, respectively. They built a common church between their villages in a place called Unab. It was also shown by excavations of pre-historic burial grounds in Barrio Kawayan (Sitios Banhigan, Ilayana nd Dungu-an) that these old settlements has traded with China.
The name Dalaguete came from a tree which grew abundantly in the area - the balete tree or in Cebuano, the dalakit.
Photo from a website
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
ALCOY CHURCH – Patron Saint: Santa Rose de Lima
Historical Notes
Alcoy was once a part of Dalaguete. Its old name was Mambaje. It became a municipal corporate by a provincial decree on July 16, 1897. Roberto Medellin was appointed as its first capitan. The parish was established in 1890. Fathers Bartolome and P.L. Fernandez were responsible for the construction of the church and convent. Both priests also set about the excavation of three wells, to provide the town with potable water.
Juan Mosqueda who served from 1869 to 1872 was considered an outstanding capitan because he was responsible for setting local disputes among the people.
Padre Romanes was also another capitan whom the people loved because of his concern and courage. He suppressed the abuses of the friars during the Spanish times and because of him, forced labor was discontinued. On January 1, 1917, Mr. Sixto Niere was chosen as the first elected municipal president.
Its first parish priest, a Spaniard, noted the unusual resemblance of the town both in its provincial and pristine charm and its smallness to a place in Spain called Alcoy. He proposed that Mambaje be renamed after the province in southern Spain.
Photo from a website
Photo by Lemuel Arrogante
BOLJOON – Patron Saint: Patrocinio de Maria
BRIEF HISTORICAL NOTES ON BOLJOON
The Town of Boljoon: It's Beginning. . .
Legend has it that a group of Spanish Augustinian missionaries led by a certain Fray Bartolome de Garcia, OSA, explored the southeastern tip of Cebu in order to put up outposts for evangelization in the South. They were met by natives who claimed to have settled in the area for many years. The expedition found them willing to convert to the faith and having found the settlement to be in abundant supply of fresh water, they decided to set up the first Christian settlement in the area and baptized the natives led by a certain Datu Baladian.
It is also believed that Boljoon began as a pre-Hispanic settlement of Malay migrants who have found a route from Panay into the area. Based on the archives of the Augustinian Province of the Philippines, Boljoon was once a barrio of the town of Carcar. It was made independent in both its civil and ecclesiastical administration. Apparently, the town was first constituted as a parish before it was made into a municipality.
Historical records reveal at least five renditions of the name of the town. It is referred as Bolhon, Bolhong, Bolhoon, Bolhoong, and the current name and spelling of "Boljoon". A sixth one is that of Bolojon which was attributed to an error in copying. The area was apparently on the mission areas in Cebu when the first parish was founded in Bantayan in 1580 and possibly was erected as a parish only in 1692, based on existing records. It is not, however, a remote possibility that a church may indeed have been built before the close of the 15th century.
Four years after the creation of the suffragan diocese of Cebu in 1595, Fray Gaspar de San Agustin, OSA, in his Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas listed Boljoon as one of the many parishes under the jurisdiction of the Augustinians in the Province of Cebu in the year 1599. The area was already known for the cultivation of cotton from which natives produced very good textiles. This may imply that cotton weaving and cultivation have already existed long before Fray Bermejo arrived in the town. Bermejo himself was said to have taught the local women cotton weaving and if Fray Gaspar's writings are to be considered, then Bermejo already found existing cotton cultivation and weaving industry in Boljoon.
Boljoon is 103 kilometers from Cebu City to the southeastern part of Cebu Province. It is bounded in the north by the town of Alcoy, on the east by the sea, on the south by Nueva Caceres (Oslob) and on the west by high mountains. It is famous for its crooked roads because of its elevated hill, which the town's people call "ILI". A small river irrigates its lands. The name of the town is derived for the local word "Bolho" which means springs of water.
The town is centuries old. Progress and modernity has altered the landscape although much of its natural features remain. The once verdant hills are now laid bald with the inroads of human civilization. Traces of its early-recorded history, like the cemetery can still be seen. A few old houses built according to the design of the colonial period can still be found along side modern houses.
Outside its boundary, Boljoon is known more a pilgrimage town in southern Cebu than anything else, during the colonial period. According to oral tradition, pilgrims from as far as the town of Dalaguete visit the Virgin of Boljoon during her annual feast to attend mass in the town's Catholic Church. The image of the Virgin, the center of devotion, is enshrined in the high altar of the church. It is several centuries old and is said to possess miraculous powers.
The Church of Patrocinio de Maria in Boljoon is the country’s last few remaining fortress-churches and one of the oldest Augustinian churches in Cebu next to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño (from which the Boljoon church design was copied). It has retained its Spanish churchyard.
The National Historical Institute declared Boljoon’s church a national historical landmark in 1999 because of its distinct Filipino baroque style "reflective of the aesthetic sense of its friar builders and the artistry and ingenuity of Filipinos.’’ In July 2001, the National Museum declared it as a national cultural treasure, together with 25 other Philippine churches.
Our notes: During our “visita”, students and professors of the Anthropology Dept of the University of San Carlos with staffers from the National Musem made excavations in the right front of the church where we viewed some human remains and artifacts inside the excavation.
