The Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Light, commonly known as Cainta Church, 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 ...

parish church located along Andres Bonifacio Avenue in Barangay San Andres,

Cainta Cainta, officially the Municipality of Cainta (, ), is a municipality in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 376,933 people. It is one of the ...

Rizal Rizal most commonly refers to: * Rizal (province), a province of the Philippines * José Rizal, Filipino national hero whom the province is named after Rizal may also refer to: People * Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, Malaysian footballer * Atep Ri ...

, in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The church also operates a neighboring school, Cainta Catholic College. From its time of erection as a parish in 1760 until 1983, it belonged to the

Archdiocese of Manila In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. It was placed under the newly created

Diocese of Antipolo The Diocese of Antipolo (Latin: ''Dioecesis Antipolensis'', Filipino: ''Diyosesis ng Antipolo'', Spanish: ''Diócesis de Antipolo'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that compri ...

in 1983, which is now headed by Ruperto C. Santos. It belongs to the Vicariate of Our Lady of Light. On December 6, 2017,

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 ...

granted the

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

canonical coronation A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...

towards its enshrined Marian image and it was crowned on December 1, 2018. The venerated image is a destroyed Sicilian painting from 1727, recreated by Philippine national artist

Fernando Amorsolo Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto (May 30, 1892 – April 24, 1972) was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. Nicknamed the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Art," he was the first-ever to be recognized as a National Artist of the Philip ...

due to the burning of the original relic during the

Filipino-American war Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

in 1899. It is the first Marian image in Philippine history to be pontifically crowned as an artistic painting. On the same day as its canonical coronation, the parish church was consecrated and elevated into a Diocesan Shrine.

History

The original church of Cainta was first constructed in stone by Father Gaspar Marco, a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest, in 1707. The shrine at the time was under the patronage of

Saint Andrew the Apostle Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

. The construction of the stone church was designed by Juan de Salazar, and was completed during the time of Joaquin Sanchez in 1716 while he was still the parish priest. In 1727, a painting of Our Lady of Light was brought in from the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...

and was chosen as the new patroness of the church. By 1760, the church was officially declared a separate parish. On February 23, 1853, an earthquake damaged the church building. Both its roof and one wall collapsed while the walls of the parish

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

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 ...

sustained cracks. By 1884 the parish had been named Our Lady of Light (''Virgen ng Caliuanagan'' or ''Madre Santissima del Lumen'' in

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

languages), as attested in the August 5, 1884, letter by the pastor of Cainta Don Mariano de San Juan to the

Archbishop of Manila The Archdiocese of Manila (; ; ) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Catholic Church in the Philippines, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, ...

, Pedro Payo.

Filipino-American War

During the

Filipino-American War Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

in March 1899, the church and parish rectory of

were burned down including the venerated Marian image within. Stones from the church walls were later used to build roads. The only mark left of its Jesuit beginning was attached at the top portion of the church's façade – the monogram of the

Holy Name of Jesus In Catholicism, the veneration of the Holy Name of Jesus (also ''Most Holy Name of Jesus'', ) developed as a separate type of devotion in the early modern period, in parallel to that of the ''Sacred Heart''. The ''Litany of the Holy Name'' is ...

"IHS" (Latin: ''Iesus Hominum Salvator''). The church was left in ruins for 67 years without any significant restoration.

Reconstruction

By the mid-1960s,

, Cardinal

Rufino Santos Rufino Jiao Santos (August 26, 1908 – September 3, 1973) was the 29th Archbishop of Manila from February 10, 1953, until his death on September 3, 1973, and was the first Filipino elevated to the rank of cardinal. Early life and education Bo ...

, instructed the director of the

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines () is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines, including Ethnography, ethnographic, Anthropology, anthropological, Archaeology, archaeological, an ...

Galo Ocampo Galo B. Ocampo (October 16, 1913 – September 12, 1985) was a Filipino artist. He was also the first Filipino to study heraldry and was a member of the International Institute of Genealogy and Heraldry in Madrid. Background Ocampo was born in ...

, to study the possibility of reconstructing the church on its original site. On February 15, 1965, Santos gave permission for the church's reconstruction, which began on June 10, 1966."Cainta Church 01.jpg (historical marker)
Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved on October 26, 2014. The facade was kept untouched. The reconstruction was halted when one of the beams collapsed. Further study was conducted to determine if it could withstand earthquakes. The reconstruction resumed on June 15, 1967, and completed after one year. Filipino

National Artist National Artist is an honorary title issued by some states as the highest recognition of artists for their significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the nation. An equivalent title, People's Artist, has been known in countries of the ...

was commissioned to create a replica of the icon of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Devotees today consider Amorsolo's replica the Philippine version of the original painting of Our Lady of Light in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The restoration and reconstruction of the parish was completed and was blessed by Cardinal Santos on February 25, 1968. In 1975, the administration of the parish was turned over by the

CICM Missionaries The CICM Missionaries, officially known as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary () and often abbreviated as C.I.C.M, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men established in 1862 by th ...

to the

, with Alfredo Santa Ana as its first diocesan parish priest. The church was the sole parish in the entire municipality of Cainta until 1998, when the community of Brookside Subdivision was granted a parish, Sacred Heart of Jesus. In 2002, three new independent parishes were erected in villages along Imelda Avenue. Parts of Barangay San Andres were later given to newly established parishes, namely San Andres Apostol in Greenwoods Executive Village (2009) and Saint Francis of Assisi in Cambridge, Floodway (2011). More parishes were canonically established: the Parish of St. Joseph the Worker (2015) in Greenland, and recently St. Oscar Romero Quasi-Parish (2019) in Marick Subdivision. In 2007, the Cainta Church was declared a historical site by the National Historical Institute (NHI) – now the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...

(NHCP) – for its significant role during the Philippines-American War. On December 1 that year, the newly renovated altar and the new historical marker of the church were blessed. An episcopal coronation was held on December 1, 2012, coinciding with the parish fiesta, and performed by the local bishop with the assistance of former ambassador to the Vatican, Henrietta De Villa.

Architectural features

The original church, including the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...

and

, was made of stone and limestone (''calycanto'') while the roof was tiled. It measured approximately long, wide and high. It had a dome (''media naranja''),

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

s (''crucero''), and five

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 ...

es (''contrafuertos''). The

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 ...

's spacious presbytery had windows and skylight (''claraboya''). The

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

had four bells, two of which were small bells rung by rotation (''esquitas''). The

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

with an arched ceiling was situated at the bottom of the belfry. Flooring was made of wood. It also had a

choir loft A choir, also sometimes called quire, is the area of a church (building), church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. It is in the western part of the chancel, between the nave and the Sanctuary#Sanctuary as area a ...

communion rail The altar rail (also known as a communion rail or chancel rail) is a low barrier, sometimes ornate and usually made of stone, wood or metal in some combination, delimiting the chancel or the sanctuary and altar in a church, from the nave and ot ...

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

and three doors. Five

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

s were found inside the church. The original picture of the Our Lady of Light was enshrined at the central

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development and growth *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ec ...

. The sacristy measured approximately long, wide and high. On the other hand, the parish rectory measured approximately long, wide and high. The rectory had a kitchen, two brick chimneys, four rooms and offices. The larger reconstructed church measures long, with transept width wide, and with walls high. It has a main door and four lateral doors. There are separate chapels for the Blessed Sacrament and for Our Lady of Light and

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

, both enshrined at the sides of the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, 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 seconda ...

. The

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 ...

, which is attached to the church building, has arched windows.

Marian image

The devotion to Our Lady of Light was introduced in Cainta in 1727. The original picture brought by the Jesuits had a gilded frame and crest and was enshrined in one of the side altars (''colacerales''). It was transferred to the main altar () before 1853. Two faithful copies of the original picture exist. The first was an 1801 print given to those who gave donations to the Virgin Mary with bottom inscription: The second faithful copy is a charcoal painting by Mariano Javier of Cainta, painted in 1857. Presently, it is under the care of the family of Flora Javier-Buenviaje. The present painting of the Our Lady of Light was painted using oil on canvas by the renowned

. Over time, the painting had developed some discolorations and acquired dirt and insect excrement. Specialists were consulted who recommended conservation. Conservation procedures were done in four months by Carmina Silverio, a conservator and restorer of painting and sculptures. The feast day of the venerated image is celebrated annually on December 1, after the feast of Saint Andrew. Her secondary feast is observed on Thursday after Pentecost Sunday.

Clergy

Gallery

File:Cainta Church 10.jpg, Side wall File:Cainta Church 05.jpg, Church transept File:Cainta Church 03.jpg, Apex of the transept

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

File:Cainta Church 07.jpg, Inside the church, showing the

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

s (right portion)

References

Other sources

The Official Website of the Municipality of CaintaThe Roman Catholic Diocese of AntipoloCainta Catholic College"Our Lady of Light"
The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute,

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

External links

* * {{Marian Images in the Philippines Roman Catholic churches in Rizal (province) Buildings and structures in Cainta Roman Catholic shrines in the Philippines Shrines to the Virgin Mary Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo Jubilee churches in the Philippines