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San Agustin Church ( fil, Simbahan ng San Agustin, es, Iglesia de San Agustín), also known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture ( es, link=no, Santuario Arquidiocesano de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación y Correa) or the Immaculate Conception Parish ( fil, link=no, Parokya ng Imakulada Conception, es, link=no, Parroquia de la Inmaculada Concepción), is a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
church under the auspices of the
Order of St. Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were f ...
(Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines) located inside the historic walled city of
Intramuros Intramuros ( Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Present-da ...
in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...
. Completed in 1607, it is the oldest stone church in the country. In 1993, San Agustin Church was one of four Philippine churches constructed during the Spanish colonial period to be designated as a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, under the collective title ''
Baroque Churches of the Philippines The Baroque Churches of the Philippines are a collection of four Spanish Colonial-era baroque churches in the Philippines, which were included in UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1993. The churches are also considered as national cultural treas ...
''. It was named a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1976.


History

San Agustin Church is located in General Luna St, Manila, Metro Manila. The present structure is actually the third Augustinian church erected on the site.Layug, p. 83 The first San Agustin Church was the first religious structure constructed by the
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...
on the island of
Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, a ...
. Made of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, b ...
and nipa, it was completed in 1571, but destroyed by fire in December 1574 during the attempted invasion of Manila by the forces of
Limahong Limahong, Lim Hong, or Lin Feng (; March 7, 1499 – ?), well known as Ah Hong () or Lim-A-Hong or Limahon (), was a Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Philippine Islands in 1574. He built up a reputation for his constant raid ...
.Torres, p. 62Aluit, p. 40 A second wooden structure built on the same site was destroyed in February 1583 by a fire that started when a candle ignited drapery on the funeral bier during services for Spanish Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa. The Augustinians decided to rebuild the church using stone, and to construct an adjacent
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
. Construction began in 1586, based on a design by Juan Macías. The structure was built using hewn
adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...
stones quarried from
Meycauayan Meycauayan, officially the City of Meycauayan ( fil, Lungsod ng Meycauayan), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 225,673 people. It is one of the oldest t ...
,
Binangonan Binangonan, officially the Municipality of Binangonan ( tgl, Bayan ng Binangonan) is a 1st class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 313,631 people. A thriving fish port and ...
and
San Mateo, Rizal San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo ( tgl, Bayan ng San Mateo), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 273,306. It is bordered by Quezon City to ...
. The work proceeded slowly due to the lack of funds and materials, as well as the relative scarcity of stone artisans. The monastery was operational by 1604, and the church was formally declared complete on 19 January 1607 and named Church of St. Paul of Manila. Macías, who had died before the completion of the church, was officially acknowledged by the Augustinians as the builder of the edifice.Aluit, p. 41 San Agustin Church was sacked during the Battle of Manila, which occurred as part of the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...
.Torres, p. 63 In 1854, the church was renovated under the supervision of Spanish architect Luciano Oliver. On 3 June 1863, the strongest earthquake at that time hit Manila leaving widespread destruction to the city, with San Agustin Church the only public building left undamaged. A series of strong earthquakes struck Manila again on 18–20 July 1880. This time, the tremors left a large crack in the east bell tower. The crack was eventually repaired, but the left tower was permanently removed with only the base remaining today. The church withstood the other major earthquakes that struck Manila before in 1645, 1699, 1754, 1796, 1825, 1852, 1863 and 1880 and served as a hospital for several of those injured during the earthquake in 1863. On 18 August 1898, the church was the site where Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes prepared the terms for the surrender of Manila to the United States of America following the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clo ...
. On the night of 13 August 1932, a major fire inside Intramuros destroyed a portion of the adjacent San Agustin Monastery. The blaze also totally destroyed the Augustinian Provincial House across the road in Calle Real, as well as the ornate pedestrian bridge that once linked the Provincial House with the monastery. During the Japanese occupation during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, San Agustin Church became a concentration camp. The Japanese troops removed the lower portion of the right front door of the church and placed sandbags on the resulting opening, turning the entrance into a makeshift machine gun post. In the final days of the Battle of Manila, hundreds of Intramuros residents and clergy were held hostage in the church by Japanese soldiers with many hostages killed during the three-week-long battle. It was the only one among seven churches of Intramuros to survive a leveling by combined American and Filipino ground forces in May 1945. While the church sustained damage to its roof, the adjacent monastery was completely destroyed. In the 1970s the monastery was rebuilt as a museum under the design of architect Angel Nakpil.Layug, p. 84 The church was renovated in 2013, with its colorful facade replaced by a sedate stone-colored one. San Agustin Church and its adjacent convent, Convento de San Agustin, served as the provincial house and headquarters of the Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines of Spain ever since the province's founding in 1575 until 1901, when it transferred to Madrid. It once again became the headquarters of the Province in 1927, during the tenure of Fr. Gaudencio Castrillo, O.S.A. until just after the Second World War. San Agustin Church is currently administered by the Augustinian friars of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines.


Architecture

The San Agustin Church is patterned after some of the magnificent temples built by the Augustinians in Mexico. The present edifice was built in 1587, and completed, together with the monastery, in 1604. The atmosphere is medieval since "both church and monastery symbolize the majesty and equilibrium of a Spanish golden era." The massive structure of the church is highlighted by the symmetry and splendor of the interiors (painted by two Italians who succeeded in producing trompe l'oeil) – the profile of the mouldings, rosettes and sunken panels which appear as three-dimensional carvings, a baroque pulpit with the native pineapple as a motif, the grand pipe organ, the antechoir with a 16th-century crucifix, the choir seats carved in molave with ivory inlays of the 17th century and the set of 16 huge and beautiful chandeliers from Paris. A 2022 online study conducted by home services website Angi found out that the church is the "most beautiful building in the Philippines".


Famous burials

The church, as in its custom in its heyday, contained niches for burials of bones and remains. The following are notable burials within the premises of the church. *
Miguel López de Legazpi Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as '' El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spaniard who, from the age of 26, lived and built a career in Mexico (then the Viceroyalty of New Spain) and, ...
*
Juan de Salcedo Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – March 11, 1576) was a Spanish- Novohispanic conquistador. He was born in Mexico in 1549 and he was the grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi and brother of Felipe de Salcedo. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompa ...
* Guido de Lavezaris *
Juan Luna Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (, ; October 23, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recogni ...
*Blessed Pedro Zuñiga * Francisco Alonso Liongson * Benito Natividad *
Teodoro Agoncillo Teodoro Andal Agoncillo (November 9, 1912 – January 14, 1985) was a prominent 20th-century Filipino historian. He and his contemporary Renato Constantino were among the first Filipino historians renowned for promoting a distinctly nationalis ...


See also

*
Architecture of the Philippines The architecture of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Arkitekturang Pilipino'') reflects the historical and cultural traditions in the country. Most prominent historic structures in the archipelago are influenced by Austronesian, Chinese, Spanish ...
*
Spanish Baroque architecture Spanish Baroque is a strand of Baroque architecture that evolved in Spain, its List of provinces of Spain, provinces, and former Spanish Empire, colonies. History As Italian Baroque influences penetrated across the Pyrenees, they gradually supe ...


References


Citations


Cited sources

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External links


World Heritage profile
* * {{authority control Roman Catholic churches completed in 1607 Roman Catholic churches in Manila Buildings and structures in Intramuros Augustinian monasteries in the Philippines World Heritage Sites in the Philippines Baroque architecture in the Philippines Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Tourist attractions in Manila Augustinian churches in the Philippines 1571 establishments in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila