The Minor Basilica and Parish of Saint John the Baptist, also known as the Diocesan Shrine of La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc—Mary, Cause of Our Joy and Badoc Basilica, is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in

Badoc Badoc, officially the Municipality of Badoc (; ), is a municipality in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 32,530 people. It is the birthplace of Filipino painter, Juan Luna. The touris ...

, in the province of

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte (), officially the Province of Ilocos Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. It is located in the northwest corner of Luzon island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to t ...

, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Laoag. The basilica houses the Virgin Milagrosa statue of the Virgin Mary. It is dedicated to

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

and has the title of a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

since 2018. It was built in the 17th century in the

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

History

The architect of the Badoc Basilica is Brother Antonio Estavillo, OSA, who also built the Church of St. Augustine in Paoay, which is recognized as a world heritage site. The basilica is one of the eleven Baroque Filipino-Hispanic churches in Ilocos Norte. The side walls of the single-

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

church are reinforced with massive

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

walls to protect against earthquakes. To the left of the entrance to the church is a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

. The church was converted into a parish church in 1714 when it was separated from the parish of St. Nicholas of Tolentino (now also a basilica) in

Sinait Sinait, officially the Municipality of Sinait (; ), is a municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,998 people. History Before Magellan and his expedition reached the Philip ...

. The parish church was elevated by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

to a

on December 16, 2018.

Virgen Milagrosa

As a

Marian shrine A shrine to the Virgin Mary, or Marian shrine, is a shrine marking an Marian apparitions, apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian devotion ...

, the church houses the statue of the miraculous Virgin Mary, the Virgen Milagrosa. The story traces the life-size statue back to

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is said to have been sent floating the sea in a wooden box by Christians in Japan who were operating in secret because of the persecution during the

Tokugawa Bakufu The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

, along with a miraculous statue of Christ of the

Black Nazarene ''Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno'' (), officially and liturgically known as Jesús Nazareno, and popularly known as the Black Nazarene (; ), is a life-sized dark statue of Jesus Christ carrying the True Cross. The venerated image is enshrined in ...

. It escaped the destruction of churches in Nagasaki in 1614 on the Bakufu's orders, making it one of three religious statues that survived the destruction. The statues came ashore in 1620 at Paguetpet on the border between Sinait and Badoc.. The statue of Mary came to Badoc, the statue of Christ to Sinait. The statue of the Virgin Mary was canonically crowned in May 31, 2018. Fr. Sonny Umali de Armas of

Santo Stefano al Monte Celio The Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round on the Caelian Hill (, ) is an ancient basilica and titular church in Rome, Italy. Commonly named Santo Stefano Rotondo, the church is Hungary's "national church" in Rome, dedicated to both Saint Stephen, ...

received from Laoag Bishop Renato Pine Mayugba and Fr. Freddie Astudillo, rector of the Minor Basilica of Badoc, a three-foot

replica A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...

of the 400-year-old image of La Virgen Milagrosa de Badoc. Apo Badoc was also brought to

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and finally to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

on February 11, 2024. The Apo Badoc devotion is also observed in

Santa Pudenziana The Basilica of Santa Pudenziana (Spanish—Filipino: ''Santa Potenciana'') is the eldest Roman Catholic basilica built in the fourth century. The original shrine building dates back from the second century and is dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, ...

and San Gabriele Arcangelo all'Acqua Traversa, Rome (2019) and in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart The Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, '' B ...

Gallery

File:Badoc Church 003.JPG, Church interior in 2013 File:Badoc Church 004.JPG,

Church sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be ...

File:Badoc Church 008.JPG, Side walls featuring

References

External links

* * * {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Laoag Roman Catholic churches in Ilocos Norte Baroque church buildings in the Philippines 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Basilica churches in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Laoag