Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish Cathedral, commonly known as Cabanatuan Cathedral, is the ecclesiastical seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cabanatuan The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cabanatuan (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cabanatuanensis'') is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese comprises 16 towns of Nueva Ecija including the cities of Cabanatuan, Palayan, and Gapan ...

in the Philippines. It is located at Del Pilar Street,

Barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

General Luna, in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan (; ; kapampangan language, Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Cabanatuan''), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Acco ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. The cathedral and the

Plaza Lucero A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

at its front, is nationally and historically known as the death place of Filipino general

Antonio Luna Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipinos, Filipino army general and a pharmacist who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination on June 5, 1899, at the age ...

History

After the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es of

Gapan Gapan , officially the City of Gapan (, Ilocano: ''Siudad ti Gapan'', Kapampangan: ''Ciudad/Lakanbalen ning Gapan''), is a component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1 ...

in 1595 and Santor in 1636, the Augustinian priests founded the Cabanatuan church in 1700 as a ''visita'' of Gapan. By 1732, it only had 700 parishioners. The parish administration was transferred to

secular priest In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geographi ...

s in 1866, and in the same year, the first stone

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

and convent buildings were constructed under the leadership of Jose de la Fuente. The said buildings were destroyed by the earthquake of July 18, 1880 and were reconstructed under the helm of Mariano Rivas in 1891. During the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

, the cathedral's

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

, shortly served as the seat of the

capital of the Philippines This is an overview of current and former national capital cities in the Philippines, spanning from the Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish colonial period to the current History of the Philippines (1986–present), Fifth Philippine R ...

where

and his aide-de-camp,

Francisco Román Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

, were killed by the members of the Kawit Battalion on June 5, 1899. In 1934, the church was razed by fire wherein only its lateral

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

s were spared. Nine years after the canonical foundation of the

Diocese of Cabanatuan The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cabanatuan (Latin: ''Dioecesis Cabanatuanensis'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese comprises 16 towns of Nueva Ecija including the cities of ...

, the cathedral, and its adjacent former College of the Immaculate Conception building, was charred again on September 28, 1972. Three years later, on November 22, 1975, the church reconstruction was finished under Pacifico Araullo. It was dedicated by then Cabanatuan Bishop Vicente Reyes and then Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines,

Bruno Torpigliani Bruno Torpigliani (15 April 1915 – 2 May 1995) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See. He was made an archbishop in 1964 and served as Apostolic Nuncio to several countries, including th ...

. A new cathedral, locally called as ''crypta'', is being constructed since 1999 in Sumacab Este, Cabanatuan that can accommodate 3,000 people.

Gallery

File:The Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Cathedral (Cabanatuan City) 03.jpg, Close-up of the cathedral's facade File:259jfSaint Nicholas Tolentino Catholic Diocese Cabanatuanfvf 03.JPG, The bishop's

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

File:0307jfSaint Nicholas of Tolentino Cathedral Cityfvf 15.JPG,

Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

at the cathedral facade featuring

Nicholas of Tolentino Nicholas of Tolentino, OSA (, c. 1246September 10, 1305) known as the "Patron of Holy Souls", was an Italian Catholic Christian mysticism, mystic who is invoked as an advocate for the souls in Purgatory, especially during Lent and the month of ...

File:9821jfSaint Nicholas Tolentino Cathedral Cabanatuan Cityfvf 11.JPG, Stained glass depicting the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

on the ceiling above the altar File:9762jfSaint Nicholas Tolentino Cathedral Cabanatuanfvf 40.JPG, Cathedral sanctuary in 2015 File:Saint Nicholas of Tolentino Cathedral (Cabanatuan City) Interior 02.jpg, Cathedral

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 ...

in 2023 File:9762jfSaint Nicholas Tolentino Cathedral Cabanatuanfvf 08.JPG, Image of the Santo Niño of Cabanatuan File:Cabanatuan Cathedral sanctuary.jpg, Cathedral sanctuary in 2012 File:0360jfSaint Nicolas Cathedralfvf 15.jpg, Cathedral

patio A patio (, ; ) is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In Australia, the term is expanded to include roofed structures such as a veranda, which provides protection from sun ...

File:259jfSaint Nicholas Tolentino Catholic Diocese Cabanatuanfvf 12.JPG, Parish office

References

External links

* * * () {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Cabanatuan Buildings and structures in Cabanatuan Roman Catholic churches in Nueva Ecija Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines Roman Catholic churches completed in 1866 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1975 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 19th-century religious buildings and structures in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cabanatuan Jubilee churches in the Philippines