Skip to main content

21/365: When In Iloilo: The Molo Church

“Oh wow!  We have this in the Philippines?” 

That was my first reaction when I see this magnificent Gothic structure of the Molo Church – one of the most familiar landmark and tourist attractions in Iloilo City.

Image00029

I was so in awe with the front façade of the church that it took me a while to enter the  church to find a seat so I can celebrate the mass.  I have a mixed feeling of regret and blessed at the same time for the decision to go there on a Sunday morning to attend the mass or I should have visited on another day so I could have explored the wholeness of the church and took more photos from the inner structure.

Since the mass is not starting yet when we arrived, what I did is to stay longer by the (old) plaza fronting the church and feed my eyes with the beauty of this magnificent structure.

Image00028

Image00032

Image00035

TRANSLATION
(I had a “nose bleeding” while doing this translation)

The Church of Molo
The structure was first built using tabique pampango - a popular construction technique in the Philippins during that time. The roof is made of chalk material (tisa) . Father Jose Maria Sichon temporarily replaced the church using palm (nipa) materials (1863). In 1866 a new church plan was proposed using rock materials and was approved by Bishop Mariano Cuartero (first bishop of Jaro Iloilo City). The result is this magnificent structure with Gothic-Rennaissance architecture. The church is dedicated to St. Anne and became known as the "Feminist Church because of the 16 female saints images . In 1896 Dr. Jose Rizal passed by the church to view its collection of biblical paintings. It served as an evacuation center during the World War II. It was slightly damaged during the Liberation period. After Liberartion Rep. P. Manuel Alba initiated the reconstruction with the help of the church supporters.

Here are the other information that I gathered when I researched about this church.  (Credits to all sources from the web).

The church is also known as St. Anne Parish.  It is dedicated to St. Anne the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  It has larger than life images of female saints lined in two rows (eight on each side) inside the church, each standing on a pedestal attached to a massive stone pillar and under the Gothic style canopy.

Image00038

Thus it is also known as the “Women’s Church” or “The Feminist Church”.  The female saints are: Sta. Apolonia, Sta. Cecila, Sta. Clara, Sta. Felicia, Sta. Genoveva, Sta. Ines, Sta. Isabel, Sta. Juliana, Sta. Lucia, Sta. Marcela, Sta. Margarita, Sta. Maria Magdalena, Sta. Marta, Sta. Monica, Sta. Rosa de Lima, and Sta. Teresa.

Image00039

After  the mass we had a quick roaming around the church vicinity before hurrying back home.  We could not stay longer because there’s still a planned day-out on that Sunday with relatives and friends.

Image00021

Image00034

Image00024

Image00026

I remember that the magnificent plaza was still under construction during our visit thus I haven’t seen the grandeur of it yet.  This makes another reason for me to go back to Molo Church, plus exploring more the inner structure, plus the bibingka of course :)

So expect a second post about the Church of Molo in the future!

Comments

  1. yan ung trip ni kuya church hopping ee, and for sure isa yan sa list nya

    ReplyDelete
  2. I do visit churches whenever possible as well as public markets wherever I go. If there are art galleries and art markets, I will be there as well. Churches are landmarks and speaks of religious values in the lives of people.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ganda ng church, wow nga!

    24 na, a few more minutes at 25 na, may utang ka nang 4 posts. hehe... ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha ha may isa pa palang nagbabantay dito sa utang ko ha ha ha THANKS!

      May nakahandang posts don't worry - nag-iinarte lang ako sa pagpo-post ha ha. Thanks sa dalaw :)

      Delete
  4. ang taray ng church... sa ganda, feeling ko, pag ako nag-mass jan, mas madaling mapapatawad ang mga sins ko... hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  5. I do "Visita Eglesia" in Pinas, so pag nandiyan ako sa Ilo-ilo tiyak na di lang siyam na churches ang mabibisita ko hahaha. Gandang puntahan lang ang mga churches na naitayo nung panahon ng pananakop ng mga Spaniards.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comment moderation is temporarily enabled by author due to detected threats. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you.

Popular posts from this blog

Missionaries of Charity Home of Joy for the Sick Children

“this place will break your heart, will make you cry, will make you want to reach out, and will make you feel grateful & thankful, all at the same time…”   They are located at: 1030 Tayuman Street, Tondo, Manila. Their telephone number is (+632) 255-0832 and the contact person is Sister Anselm. I wrote that caption in this same season last year, my first time to visit a place called “Missionaries of Charity Home of Joy for the Sick Children”.  I was with a  group of friends along with our respective families.  I could never be thankful enough to our friend Rupert and his family for leading us to this place.  It was not my first time to do a charity visit to an orphanage and I sort of wonder why we were “brief” that this is for special children.  I only realized what that briefing is about when I see for myself how “special” these children are.  I apologize if this may not sound good to some, but the sight of the sick children is heartbreaking.  I tried to look tough and not to

Go Kart at SM Mall of Asia Amusement Complex

I’m doing my usual morning run at the SM Mall of Asia bay side when I spotted this area.  It kind of caught me by surprise seeing this area as colorful and lively because I remember during my last run, this area is used to be surrounded with iron sheets coverings, the same thing when there’s something being constructed inside the coverings.  And then I remembered that I had a short break from my morning run.  It seems like this activity is launched while I was on short break from my morning run.   As usual, every time I see something new that looks exciting, I am excited to share the info to you all.  So for those who are into cars and driving, this one’s for you! “Go Kart” ! It is located along the breakwaters of Manila Bay at the SM Mall of Asia Amusement Complex just right after the The Giant Ferris Wheel/The MOA Eye .  Locational Photo The fee and basic rules Fun and Safety Rules are properly posted in the area but to give you some advance info on what to wear

10 Sunglasses from Firmoo Optical Store for Giveaway

We all enjoyed my previous guessing game fun here even without prices at stake and I really thank you all for that!  You are all truly awesome.  Now it's time to move to another level of fun and this time there will be prices at stake!  Welcome to my first ever giveaway hosting, please join the fun and excitement! Summer or not we definitely need that daily eye protection.  I’m sure everyone is continuously looking for that comfortable, fashionable but affordable pair of sunglasses.  You need not look further because right here is your chance to win one perfect pair of sunglasses that you are looking for! The world’s most popular online eyeglass store, Firmoo.com together with my two blogs, Balut Manila and Run! and Keep on Running is giving away TEN (10) eyeglasses! Yep you read it right TEN it is! Before we go to the mechanic details let me give you a gist as to where your prices will be coming from.  My awesome sponsor, Firmoo.com is the emerging global online optic