Our Lady of Caysasay-Taal, Batangas

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The Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay is a coral-hewn chapel in Barrio Caysasay in Taal, Batangas belonging to the Archdiocese of Lipa in the Philippines. It was built in 1639 by Fr. Alonso Rodriguez to replace a temporary structure built in 1611. The church is home to Our Lady of Caysasay whose feast day is celebrated every December 8.

The church was first built around 1611 by the Chinese and was made of light materials. This shrine was located near the river where image was usually found, An arch made of coral stone with a bass relief of the Virgin of Caysasay was built later on. On February 24, 1620, Augustinians issued an order to construct a church in the in Caysasay, as a visita of Taal. It has been verified through serious investigation that the Most Holy Virgin has appeared there and that it be given with the title Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia.

In 1639, a new church made out of coral stone was built under the direction of Fr. Alonso Rodriguez, minister of Taal. The church was to serve as the perpetual shrine of the Virgin and to replace the temporary structure set up in 1611. The Sanctuary measures 50 metres (160 ft) long and 10 metres (33 ft) wide. Behind the main altar lies the sacristy and a stairwell that leads to the room of the Virgin where devotees could venerate. Adjacent to the church is a convent made of hew stone said to have been built also by Chinese workers. The roof of the church was partly destroyed in 1754 by the boulders and ashes from the Taal Volcano was quickly repaired and serve as the temporary church of Taal, while the latter was under repair.

During the earthquake of December 24, 1852, the walls of the church cracked and the towers fell. Fr. Celestino Mayordomo improvised a large makeshift shelter at the town plaza where the image of the Virgin of Caysasay was enshrined temporarily. Fr, Mayordomo also started the reconstruction work which was completed in 1856. The twin towers rose again, the interior was newly painted and the stone fence was completed. The image was again solemnly enthroned in her home Sanctuary.

The sanctuary was damage again by tremors in 1867. Fr. Marcos Anton repaired the minor damages, installed a new altar and a presbytery floor and constructed an iron balustrade around it. The interior was decorated under the direction of Italian decorator Cesar Alberoni. In 1880, Fr. Agapito Aparicio installed an organ bought from the famous organist Don Doroteo Otorelin of Palencia, Spain. Fortunately, the earthquake of 1880 did not cause serious damage to the sanctuary.

The church has been renovated ever since, A coat of stucco cement was applied to the front wall and o the towers. The stone and brick wall was scrape clean to reveal it original color. The former convent was converted on May 20, 1962 into an orphanage called Children's Home managed by the Sister Oblates of the Holy Spirit upon the request of Cardinal Rufino Santos.

Sta. Lucia Wells
The spring-fed well was where two women saw the reflection of the Virgin of Caysasay, is now known as the Miraculous Well of Sta. Lucia. Since its discovery, many have attested that the spring water has miraculous healing and therapeutic powers. The spot where the well which reflected the image of Our Lady is marked by a coral stone arch with a bas relief image of the Virgin on its façade. It was built in early 1600. The site of the wells is known as `Banal na Pook' (sacred site) and vestiges of the spring running close to the wells is known as `Banal na Tubig' (sacred water). The well is accessed from the San Lorenzo Luis Steps. An inconspicuous narrow walkway from the steps takes visitors to the well.

1. Old Churches in the Philippines

Tayabas Basilica - Quezon

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The Minor Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel , (Tagalog: Basilika Menor ni San Miguel Arkangel; Spanish: Basílica Menor de San Miguel Arcángel) commonly known as the Tayabas Basilica, is a Roman Catholic basilica located in Tayabas, Quezon, Philippines under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lucena. Its titular is Saint Michael the Archangel, whose feast is celebrated annually on September 29.

The church is the largest in the province of Quezon; and is built in the shape of a key. Locals often refer to the church as Susi ng Tayabas ("The Key of Tayabas"). The church's 103-metre (338-foot) aisle also has the longest nave among Spanish colonial era churches in the Philippines.

The Catholic community of Tayabas was established in 1578 by Franciscan priests Fray Juán Portocarrero de Plasencia and Fray Diego de Oropesa de San José, known as the Apostles of Laguna and Tayabas. In 1580, the town of Tayabas was established as a parish with St. Michael the Archangel as its designated patron saint in 1580. Like most churches in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era, the first church of Tayabas was a camarin-type church built using bamboo, nipa and anahaw between 1580 and 1585 under the supervision of Franciscan friars.

The church was repaired under the supervision of Saint Pedro Bautista in 1590. In the same year, the Catholic church obtained permission from the Superior Government to build the church using stone. Upon the order of Saint Pedro Bautista, leader of the Franciscans, the church was rebuilt in 1600 using bricks; this building was later destroyed by the 1743 earthquake but the walls were left standing. Due to the growing number of Catholics in Tayabas, the church was again rebuilt and extended. It was further expanded under the term of Father Benito de la Pila between 1856 and 1866 with the addition of the transept in the shape of a routunda and copula. The brick tile roof was replaced with galvanized iron sheets in 1894.

Father Manuel Gonzáles bought the administration building (casa administración) used by the provincial head of the Franciscans for 962 pesos in 1855. He donated it to the town to be used as classrooms to replace the old, ruined rooms. Gonzales ordered the school's construction in 1878; it was built using stone, lime and a tiled roof. Together with Father Samuel Mena, Gonzáles rebuilt the old Tribunal built by Governor La O, which had been unused since it was burned down in 1877. From 1896 to 1899, Father Isabelo Martinez became the first Filipino priest assigned to Tayabas Basilica, followed by Father Amando Alandy, a native of Tayabs, from 1899 to 1900.

The church's patio played a significant role during the struggle of the Filipino revolutionaries against the Spanish forces. General Vicente Lukban and his troops surrendered to the Spanish army on the patio on August 13, 1898, while the Philippine flag was waved from the church's belfry. During the Second World War, the church's convent was used as a garrison by the Japanese Imperial Army.

The church was dedicated on March 14, 1987, by the Lucena bishop Rubén T. Profugo, DD.  On October 18, 1988, the title Minor Basilica was conferred upon the church by Pope John Paul II and the Congregation for Divine Cult, and was proclaimed during a eucharistic celebration on January 21, 1989.

Tayabas Basilica is considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in the Philippines.Through Presidential Decree no. 374, the National Museum of the Philippines declared Tayabas Basilica as a National Cultural Treasure on July 31, 2001, along with 25 other churches in the Philippines.

Nave from the altar

Nave from entrance

San Miguel Minor Basilica Altar

A famous church in Quezon Province with its long aisle, arched ceiling, a beautiful altar and a storied past.

1. Old Churches in the Philippines

Santo Niño de Cebú Basilica

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The Minor Basilica of the Holy Child (Spanish: Basílica Minore del Santo Niño), commonly known as Santo Niño Church, is a minor basilica in Cebu City in the Philippines that was founded in the 1565. It is the oldest Roman Catholic church established in the country on the spot where the image of the Santo Niño de Cebú, a statue depicting the Child Jesus was found in 1565 by Spanish explorers led by Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. The Holy See calls the temple the "Mother and Head of all Churches in the Philippines" (mater et caput... omnium ecclesiarum Insularum Philippinarum). The image is the same statue given by Ferdinand Magellan to the wife of Rajah Humabon as a gift over forty years after Humabon's baptism to Christianity on April 14, 1521. It was found by a soldier preserved in a burnt wooden box after Legazpi razed the village of hostile natives. When Pope Paul VI made the church a basilica in 1965, he said it was "the symbol of the birth and growth of Christianity in the Philippines.

The present building, which was completed from 1739-1740, has housed the oldest religious image in the country ever since.

Previous churches
The church of the Holy Child was founded by an Augustinian priest, Andrés de Urdaneta, on April 28, 1565. The first church and convent were built out of earth, hard wood and nipa. Both structures burned down on November 1, 1566. In 1605, Rev. Pedro Torres started the construction of its replacement. The second church was completed in 1626, but was also destroyed by fire, in March 1628. It was rebuilt immediately under the administration of Rev. Juan de Medina with stone and bricks, but construction was stopped because of problems with the integrity of the bricks being used.

Present church
Fernando Valdés y Tamon, the Spanish governor of the Philippines, ordered the church in 1735 to be constructed of hard stone. Father Provincial Bergaño, Governor-General Fernando Valdes, Bishop Manuel Antonio Decio y Ocampo of Cebu and Rev. Juan de Albarran, Prior of the Santo Niño, started the foundations of the church on 29 February 1735.[1] Construction was designed and led by Rev. Juan de Albarran, and it was completed in 1739 or 1740. The convent and library were later added and completed in 1764.

In 1965, during the fourth centenary of the Christianization of the Philippines, Pope Paul VI elevated the church to the rank of minor basilica; it remains under the care of the Order of St. Augustine.

History of the Santo Niño de Cebu

On April 28, 1565, Juan Camus, a sailor in the fleet of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, found in a modest house of the then village of Cebu the image of the Santo Niño, which at the time all agreed had been brought from Europe. Deeply impressed by this finding and aware of its significance, Legaspi ordered an official inquiry conducted; the document drawn on May 16 of the same year and still extant in the archives of the Santo Nino Convent of Cebu, tells us from the testimony of eyewitnesses that the Image was found inside a small pine box, preserved in almost perfect condition; it had on a little shirt and cap; two of its right hand's fingers were raised in a gesture of blessing, while the left hand held a globe symbolizing the world.

In a solemn procession the image was carried to the provisional Church the Agustinian Fathers were using at the time; later, another Church was built on the exact location where the image has been found; this is the site of the Santo Niño Church where the Agustinians have cared for the image and the Filipino people have venerated it through the centuries.

An earlier authenticated entry in the journal of Pigafetta, clerk in the Magellan expedition, explains the original of Santo Niño; on the day Queen Juana was baptized by Father Pedro Valderrama, chaplain on that expedition, Pigafetta himself presented her with the Image.

During the last World War, a bomb fell inside the church, but the image was found unscathed. It was one of the numberless miracles and powers attributed to the Holy Image.

In 1965 the interior of the historic church was renovated for the observance of the Fourth Centennial of the Christianization of the Philippines held in Cebu City. It was during this centennial celebration that the church, on April 1, 1965, was elevated to the rank of Basilica Minore by the Sacred Congregation of Rites with all the rights and privileges accruing to such title.

With the full cooperation and support of the Filipino people and sanctioned by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Agustinian Fathers have built a marble chapel inside the Basilica. Construction of the chapel started in August 1975. This fitting shrine of Santo Nino now serves as the center of devotion of Catholic Philippines. Here the miraculous image of the Comforter of the first missionaries and now the Patron of the Philippines is being honored and venerated.

To preserve our religious and cultural heritage, President Ferdinand E. Marcos, since August 1, 1973, declared the Basilica and Convent of Santo Niño as National Shrine together with other historical places in the Philippines.

The Nave Santo Niño de Cebú Basilica

Historical Marker

The frescoes on the ceiling of the Basilica

Basílica Menor del Santo Niño.

1. Old Churches in the Philippines