CHURCHES DESTROYED LOCATION Church of San Pedro Apostol Loboc Church of Our Lady of Light Loon Santa Cruz Parish Church Maribojoc Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

Baclayon

Church of San Pedro

The Church of San

Pedro in Loboc, Bohol is the

second oldest church in Bohol. It

was originally built in 1602, but

soon reduced to ashes. In 1638, a

stronger one was built. Located

near the river, it has survived a

number of floods. Inside the church, there are some

remarkable naive paintings on the ceiling. A Spanish coat of

arms can be found in the stone wall near the entrance of the

convent. The bell tower of Loboc is about 100 meters from

the church. Attached to the building is a three storey

convent, which today houses theMuseo de Loboc on the

third floor. This museum houses a few old statues of saints,

and some other antique religious artifacts. In Loboc, you can

also admire a shameful witness of wasteful planning. Exactly

next to the church is a partly finished bridge across the river.

Hopefully, this bridge will never be completed, as, to do that,

the Church will have to be destroyed.

In 1596, the Jesuit Gabriel Sanchez gathered together 12 separate settlements to form one town in the interior of Bohol at a site where villagers from the mountains met to trade with those from the coast. Sanchez convinced the villagers to build a church of wood and thatch and to win their goodwill gave them trinkets, needles, beads and other small gifts he had brought. In 1602, Loboc was apparently constituted as a pueblo. During the early 17th century, Loboc became well known as a pilgrimage site, because the saintly priest Alonso de Humanes was buried in the church. A stone church was built ca. 1632 but was damaged by fire. A newer and bigger church was completed in 1734. It was apparently in the process of being decorated with carvings when the Jesuits were expelled from the Philippines. Loboc became the residentia or center of the Jesuit missions because it was deemed safer from slave raids than the coastal towns of Baclayon and Dauis where at one time the residentia was located.

The Recollects succeeded Jesuits in their ministry to Loboc in 1768. Fr. Aquilino Bon built a hexagonal bell tower located at a distance from the church. He added a portico and in effect covered the Baroque faade of the Jesuit church. The Recollects installed a pipe organ in the church in the 1820s. Parts of the L-shaped convento behind the church may trace to the Jesuits, although an 1886 document credits them with building the convento which is described as "de mucho solidez y capacidad." The convento is unusual for being three stories rather than two as is more common.

The Loboc church is decorated with carvings of cherubs, the Papal tiara and emblems of the Jesuit. It has two facades: the Jesuit-built Baroque faade decorated with unfinished medallions depicting saints and the Neoclassical portico added by the Recollects. Although main altar is Neoclassical, two side altars are Baroque and two at the transept ends are put together from several parts, creating a syncretic style. Many of the saints of Jesuit devotion have been replaced by saints of Recollect devotion except for the image of San Francisco Xavier found at the side altar to the right of the main altar. Hidden by the main altar, is a bas relief of San Ignacio and San Francisco Xavier done in stucco (reminders that this was once a Jesuit church).

The sacristy behind the main altar is also decorated with relief. A greatly deteriorated bas relief over the door show a scene with a number of persons: probably Jesus and the apostles or Jesus with Jesuit saints. Part of a retablo whose pediment is embellished with Veronica's veil and a crucifix decorate the interior. Stone stairs lead to upper story, which the Jesuits probably used as a residence.

The rear wall of the church, just outside the sacristy entrance displays a relief of San Ignacio flanked by women with feather headdress, a motif found in Latin American colonial art. Loboc is known for music.

The convent built behind the church, though needing much conservation, has a number of pleasing features, namely, a

large sala with decorated walls and a stamped tin ceiling, a dining hall with large armoire and a connecting hall whose covered balcony is decorated with colored glass panes and a gilded ceiling. Loboc has a small museum on the third floor. On the way to the museum are gargoyle heads one painted a deep blue.

Loboc church was severely damaged during the earthquake of October 15, 2013. Loboc is 21 km (13 mi) east of Tagbilaran.

Church of Our Lady of Light

The Church of Our Lady of Light (Nuestra Seora de la Luz Parish) is the parish church of Loon, Bohol. The last church building built between 1855-1864 was the biggest church in Bohol before it was destroyed by the earthquake of October 15,

2013.

The parish of Loon was established by the Jesuits in 1753 under the curacy of Fray Manuel de Elizalde. The Jesuits built the first church along the shore in Barangay Napo. TheAugustinian Recollects took charge of the town in 1768 following the expulsion of the Jesuits. The first Recollects in Loon described the Jesuit-built church as a shed of wooden posts with a roof of nipa, in bad condition; the convent was

not much better.[21]

They transferred the town center and church to its present location on a plateau about fifty meters or more above the shore level. A four-flight stairway of 174 stone steps built by the Recollects connects it to Napo, the former seat of the town; a watchtower near the topmost landing serves as lookout tower for pirates. The Recollects built a church c. 1812 that burned down in 1850s leaving just the front of the church.

[22] They began rebuilding the church

in 1855.[22]

Wood to build the church was carried from the forest of Maitum by forced laborers, who had to beat their way through uncharted trails and across rivers.

[12]

What was one of the most beautiful of the 19th-century churches in Bohol was designed by Domingo Escondrillas, a government engineer. The church, made of finely cut coral, was completed in 1864. The structure was a basilica-style of one central nave with two aisles on the side, separated from the central nave by stout pillars of cut coral.

The building had two octagonal bell towers, and was fully symmetric. The central portion of the church facade surges forward giving it a dynamism more akin to Baroque than the Neoclassical style prevalent during this period. Delicately though inaccurately carved acanthus decorate the capitals of the twined columns of the facade. Between the twined columns are plaques incised with Biblical texts and dedicatory phrases. The facade's balanced composition is completed by twin towers that flank it.

Interior of Loon Church, Bohol

The church's main altar filled the whole breadth of the sanctuary. Relief roundels portraying the life of the Virgin Mary flanked the main niche where an image of the patroness was displayed. Devotion to the Virgin under the title Our Lady of Light or

Kasilak in Visayan traces to 18th century Palermo where the Virgin Mary appeared before a devout visionary.

[23]The

church of Cainta in Rizal province serves as its counterpart on the north when it was founded in 1760. The convent, built at the same time as the church, was converted into a school.

Loon is some 27.5 km (17.1 mi) north-west of Tagbilaran City, along the route to Tubigon. Visitors can catch a bus to Tubigon from the Integrated Bus Terminal and ask the driver to let them out in Loon.

Santa Cruz Parish Church

The parish of Maribojoc, Bohol was founded in 1768, and construction of a church started 1798 and lasted 18 years. The Santa Cruz Parish Church (Church of the Holy Cross) is located in

the poblacion of Maribojoc 14 km (8.7 mi) from the Tagbilaran. The place can be reached by bus of jeepney.

Maribojoc began as a Jesuit mission in the 18th century. The Jesuits built a temporary church, which the Recollects replaced with the present structure by 1886.

Unlike other churches, the convent of Maribojoc is located behind the church rather than at its side. This gives the convent an unobstructed view of the sea, especially from the balcony that runs the length of the structure. It is approached through the sacristy and is a continuation of the convent. Above the sacristy is a room which has been converted to the Maribojoc museum.

The church had a cruciform ground plan. Its faade was plain, decorated by thin pilasters and niches with images of saints. The interior had three Neogothic altars. The traceriesand finials of gilded hardwood are delicately carved. The main altar has an image of the Blessed Trinity and bas-reliefs of the life of Mary Magdalene. The church ceiling is made of metal and painted with catechetical and liturgical motifs

The 1886 Maribojoc Church crumbled to the ground entirely during the 2013 Bohol earthquake.

Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception'

The Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate

Conception' in Baclayon is one of the oldest churches in the Philippines founded in 1596. It is one of the best preserved Jesuit-built churches in the region, although in the 19th

century, the Augustinian Recollects added a modern facade and a number of stone buildings that now surround the church.

The mission of Baclayon was established by two Jesuit missionaries or doctrineros, Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sanchez, who came from Cebu and arrived in Bohol on November 17, 1596. Torres reported that he could not find a decent place to celebrate Mass, there wasn't even a serviceable table in the dwelling they stayed in. The Jesuit convinced the inhabitants to build a visita (chapel-of-ease), which they accomplished in no time. This was most likely a bamboo and thatch church.

[11]

Although Baclayon was the first seat of the Spanish Jesuit missionaries, fear of Moro marauders soon forced them to move their headquarters more inland to Loboc. Baclayon served at one time as the residentia or center of the Bohol missions, where the superior resided.

Baclayon was one of two towns that did not join the Diwata revolt (1621), remaining steadfast in the Christian faith.

[12]

Baclayon did not become an independent parish until 1717, and the construction of a new church commenced. Some 200 native forced laborers constructed the church from coral stones, which they took from the sea, cut into square blocks, and piled on to each other. They used bamboo to move and lift the stones in position, and used the white of a million eggs as mortar to bind them together. The current building was completed in 1727. The church has a dungeon, which was used to punish natives who violated the rules of the Roman Catholic Church. The church complex was fortified with a wall built by the Jesuits.

[11]

When the Jesuits left in 1768 and administration transferred to the Recollects, they inherited a cruciform church, with an extension at the epistle transept that served as living quarters, a base for a belltower, which may have served as a forward fortification, a fort and a smaller bastion by the sea. The first act of the Recollects was to complete the bell tower, which was completed on May 20, 1777 and dedicated to Saint Andrew, the patronal namesake of Father Andres de Santissima Trinidad OAR, who was parish priest from 1775 to 1787.

[13] The church obtained a large bell in 1835.

[12] A

stone inscription on the tower indicated the year "1777" but it was recently defaced.

[12]

Old convent-school, Baclayon Church

Next to the church is the old convent. When the Recollects built a new wing for the convent in 1872, they dismantled and used the wall's coral stones as material. The convent is now transformed into the Baclayon Museum with centuries-old religious relics, artifacts and other antiquities dating back to the 16th century. Included in the collection are an ivory statue of the crucified Christ looking towards heaven; a statue of the Blessed Virgin, said to be presented by Queen Catherine of Aragon; relics of St. Ignatius of Loyola, old gold embroidered ecclesiastical vestments, books with carabao skin covers, and librettos of church music written in Latin on sheep skins. Here you can also find the cuadro paintings made by the Filipino painter Liberato Gatchalian in 1859.

[12]

The museum has an impressive amount of liturgical material preserved. The church inventory books have helped in dating some pieces. Among the Baclayon cantorals (large handwritten music books) was found the Misa Baclayana, a musical setting for the Mass which has been revived and is part of the repertoire of the Loboc Children's choir.

Permission from the parish is needed to see the museum, which is generally locked for security reasons.

Baclayon Church Interiors

The church has two facades - an inner one that is classical in inspiration, and an outer one built in the 19th century by the Recollects as a portico decorated by three arches. The addition of porticoes to the faade seems to have been a style prevalent in Bohol and Cebu during the 19th century. Porticoes are found in Loay, Loboc and Cortes churches in Bohol.

[11]

The green and gilded altars are the focal point of the interior. They are exuberant versions of Baroque popular during the 18th century. Although the main retablo displays saints of Recollect devotion, the retablo itself traces to the Jesuits whose emblem and motto "Ad majorem Dei gloriam" (To the greater glory of God) surmounts the main altar. In the nave are found two benches carved in low relief. One features genre scenes - a goat tied to a tree, a coconut, nipa grove, and a man in stocks. A painting of the Ascension of Jesus, Church Fathers and Saint Vincent Ferrer are found in the nave. These date to the 19th century.

[11]

The church has a pipe organ installed in 1824 that was in disrepair and unplayable for a long time. It was restored in 2008.

[14][15] The choir and organ loft are decorated with cut

out designs. The painting on the stucco finish of the church is of recent vintage (1996) and does not conform to the style and period of the interior.

[11]

Behind the church and convent are remnants of a fortification. Oral lore identifies some structures as horse stables, a kitchen, and a jail.

[11]

The belltower was damaged and the front facade of the church collapsed during the earthquake of October 15,2013. Baclayon is about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of Tagbilaran City.