The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul ( war, Katedral nira San Pedro ngan Pablo) and Parish of Our Lady's Nativity, commonly known as Calbayog Cathedral, 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 letter ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

located in the city of

Calbayog Calbayog, officially the City of Calbayog ( war, Siyudad han Calbayog; fil, Lungsod ng Calbayog), is a 1st class component city in the province of Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 186,960 people. It lies ...

Samar province Samar, officially the Province of Samar ( war, Probinsya han Samar; tl, Lalawigan ng Samar), formerly named as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Catbalogan. It is ...

, Philippines. It is the seat of the

Diocese of Calbayog The Roman Catholic Diocese of Calbayog is an ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church named after its episcopal see, Calbayog, a city on the western side of the province of Samar in the Philippines. History Samar and Leyte, two civil pr ...

, a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of the Palo Archdiocese. Being the first cathedral designated in

Eastern Visayas Eastern Visayas ( war, Sinirangan Kabisay-an; ceb, Sidlakang Kabisay-an; tl, Silangang Kabisayaan or ''Silangang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region VIII. It consists of three main islands, Samar, ...

in 1913, it is considered as the

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metr ...

of the region.

History

The

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

established the would-be Calbayog parish in a settlement named "Jibatan" which became a ''visita'' of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Capul Capul, officially the Municipality of Capul ( war, Bungto han Capul; tl, Bayan ng Capul), is a 5th class island municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 12,323 people. A li ...

in 1599. It was consequently transferred to the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

administration in 1768. In 1785, the ''visita'' became a parish of its own under the patronage of the

Nativity of Our Lady The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, the Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus. The modern canon of scripture does not record Mary's bi ...

. The

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Calbayog in 1835, Fr. Jose Gomez of Huerce, Spain, when he was only 26 years old, commenced the construction of the present-day cathedral in 1840. The foundation of the church was laid by him, putting up solid 2.40 meters-thick

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

and brick walls and roofed the building with nipa. Executed in the Baroque- Romanesque style, the ground plan of the church exhibits a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

shape and has a circular

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a ...

above the center of the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building with ...

. In 1855, Fr. Francisco Juan Moreno de Montalbanejo expanded the height, length, and width of the church. Fr. Carra continued the reconstruction of the structure. The church was added with exterior

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 buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...

es and a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

was built in the 1870 by Fr. Salustiano Bus. The façade and the campanario were built in 1871 by Fr. Juan Ferreras. Under the parish priest from 1890 to 1894, Fr. Damian Peña, the ceiling was built and the

galvanized iron Galvanization or galvanizing ( also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerg ...

roof was installed. Fr. Antonio Sanchez, parish priest from 1894 to 1898, beautified the church's interior and sanctuary was paved with

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorpho ...

, and the

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 ...

was built. He also built another convent that later will house the ''Colegio Seminario de San Vicente de Paul''. In 1900, upon the arrival of the American forces in Calbayog, the seculars occupied the church and Calbayog's two convents from January 26, 1900, to January 3, 1903. Fr. Jose Diasnes returned to Calbayog as its parish priest after the Philippine-American War ended in 1902. Pablo Singzon, the appointed bishop of the newly created Diocese of

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

and

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, and Fr. Diasnes, completed the beautification of the church. A

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, access ...

made of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

in Europe was used by Bishop Singzon.

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

and geometrical designs accented the walls while the dome and the ceiling were adorned with the images of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Evangelists and the Apostles, in the style of the Roman

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

s. Señor Cirilo Buenaventura, a local artist, and Señor Respall, a famous Iloilo painter, executed the said paintings and art works. Four large

chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent ...

s brought from Europe were hung in the ceiling by Bishop Singzon. A pipe and a large clock were also imported from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

with the façade of the church hosting the clock. In 1913, three years after the establishment of the diocese, Bishop Singzon consecrated the church as the cathedral of the diocese. Reputed to be one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, i ...

, it was the largest church in Samar and Leyte. In 1960, Msgr. Basilio Rosales totally renovated the church. The Cathedral still stands today and had undergone restoration. In 2018, the

NHCP The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural herita ...

installed a historical marker of the cathedral.

Gallery

File:Calbayog Cathedral NHCP Marker.jpg,

historical marker File:Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral (Calbayog City in the Philippines) Bell Tower.jpg, The cathedral's belfry bearing the cathedral's official name File:Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral (Calbayog City in the Philippines) Altar.jpg, The altar of the cathedral File:Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral - Calbayog City in the Philippines (Wall).jpg, The cathedral's buttresses at its left side

References

External links

* Facebook page (Calbayog Diocese

*{{commons category-inline, Calbayog Cathedral Buildings and structures in Samar (province) Baroque architecture in the Philippines Romanesque Revival church buildings in the Philippines Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines