Alburquerque Church

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Coordinates: 9°37′22″N 123°54′44″E / 9.6227°N 123.9121°E / 9.6227; 123.9121
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Santa Monica Parish
Jose S. Palma
Bishop(s)Leonardo Y. Medroso
Priest(s)Msgr. Oscar D. Pajo
Assistant priest(s)Fr. Severo D. Pajo, Jr.

The Santa Monica Parish Church, commonly known as the Alburquerque Church, is a

church in the municipality of Alburquerque, Bohol, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran
. The church was declared as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2013.

The church was partially damaged when a

National Historical Institute in 2014.[1]

Church history

Church NHCP historical marker

Visita of Baclayon

The parish traces its beginnings as a

Badajoz, Spain.[2]

Inauguration as parish

The parish was formally inaugurated in 1869, eight years after the settlement became a town.

Augustinian Recollects
until 1898, after which the secular clergy took over.

Until the 1880s, the parish church appeared like a huge shed with three aisles and wells made of tabique. The construction of the convent was begun under Fr. Tomas Fernandez (1869-1875). The present church structure was built under Fr. Manuel Muro in 1885, utilizing the same three-aisled plan. Construction was commenced in 1896 by his successor. The upper portions of the walls and the tower over the facade were completed only in the 1920s-1930s.

Historical and cultural declarations

In 2013, the National Museum of the Philippines declared the church an Important Cultural Property.[4] A historical marker was unveiled by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines on August 27, 2014.[5]

Architecture

Church interior in 2023

The Alburquerque Church is in the shape of a cruciform. Remains of a low stone wall mark the boundaries of the church complex. A low hill and a ravine is located behind the whole complex. This may have a defensive purpose.

Facade

The church has a

choir loft
on the second floor. This choirloft/portico feature is typical of many Bohol churches. A series of arches in the frontage bestows a unique grace and rhythm to the ensemble.

Altar

The original

sacristies
or storage-areas.

Ceiling

Ray Francia painted the ceiling of the church from April 12 to August 3, 1932.[6] His signature is on one side of the choirloft.

Other interior details

Pillars made of large tree trunks masked by metal sheets march down the aisle
of the church. It is being argued that these pillars date back to the original 1880 structure.

Choirloft

The choirloft can be reached from the second floor of the convent by crossing the arcade. A stairway from the choirloft leads down to the nave of the church. Another staircase in the center leads up to the bell tower.

Bell tower

The bell tower is quadrangular and was constructed in the early decades of the 20th century. Three patron saints of the parish are inscribed among the bells: Santa Monica, San Agustin and "Calipay" (Joy).

Exterior

An arcade links the church to the convento. A wide field in front of the church enables the structure to dominate over its surroundings. The grotto at the back of the courtyard hides a ruin, presumably another unfinished arcade. To the left of the church are the original twin buildings for the escuela de ninos built in the 1880s.

Convento

The parish

rectory has a coralstone ground floor and an upper floor made of wooden boards, tabique and bricks. Over the main entrance appears the year of the inauguration which is 1876. The convento has a grand twin stairway, made under Fr. Manuel Muro (1882-1896). There is a proto-museum in one corner of the upper floor, containing some of the church's antiquities. The back of the convento has a veranda offering a view of the church. The eastern end of the convento has a massive open-air terrace
or azotea built by Fray Manuel simultaneously with the stairway.

2013 Bohol earthquake

The Alburquerque church sustained minimal damage from the 2013 Bohol earthquake. Three years prior to the quake, restoration work was already being done in the parish. It is notably one of the few intact churches after the earthquake in the tourist trail of Bohol.[7]

Historical marker

On August 27, 2014, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines installed and unveiled a historical marker at the facade of the church. The marker reads as follows:

SIMBAHAN NG ALBURQUERQUE
NAGSIMULA BILANG BISITA NG BACLAYON SA ILALIM NG PATRONATO NI SANTA MONICA. UNANG IPINATAYO YARI SA KAHOY AT KAWAYAN SA KANLURANG BAHAGI NG LIWASAN, 1842. ISANG MATIBAY AT MALAWAK NA SIMBAHAN ANG IPINATAYO SA SILANGANG BAHAGI, 1856. HUMIWALAY ANG KINATATAYUAN SA BAYAN NG BACLAYON AT TINAWAG NA ALBURQUERQUE, 1861. PORMAL NA PINASINAYAAN BILANG PAROKYA, 1869. AT SUMAILALIM SA PAMAMAHALA NG MGA REKOLETO HANGGANG 1898. SINIMULAN NI PADRE MANUEL MURO ANG PAGPAPATAYO NG SIMBAHANG BATO, 1885. IPINAGAWA ANG ITAAS NA BAHAGI NG PADER AT TORE, DEKADA, 1920. IPININTA NI RAY FRANCIA ANG MGA LARAWAN SA KISAME NG SIMBAHAN, 1932. ANG LAGUSANG MAY NAKAHANAY NA MGA ARKO ANG NAGDURUGTONG SA SIMBAHAN AT KUMBENTO NA BUKOD-TANGI SA BOHOL.[8]

References

  1. ^ "National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  2. ^ "Sta. Monica Church". Official Website of the Local Government of Alburquerque, Bohol, Philippines. Municipality of Alburquerque, Bohol, Philippines. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  3. ^ "Tourism". Official Website of the Local Government Unit of Alburquerque, Bohol, Philippines. Municipality of Alburquerque, Bohol, Philippines. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  4. ^ Flores, Racquel DC (2013). "2013 Heritage Pride: NM declarations of National Cultural Treasures (NCT's) and Important Cultural Properties (ICP's)". National Museum of the Philippines. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  5. ^ "NHCP unveils the Alburquerque Church historical marker". National Historical Commission of the Philippines. August 20, 2014. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  6. ^ "Alburquerque". Bohol, Philippines: God's Little Paradise. Jeroen Hellingman. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  7. ^ Arquiza, Yasmin. "Bohol to preserve ruins, promote little-known heritage churches after quake". GMA News Online. GMA Network. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  8. ^ "NHCP UNVEILS THE ALBURQUERQUE CHURCH HISTORICAL MARKER". nhcp.gov.ph. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014.

Bibliography

External links
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