Saint John of Sahagun Parish Church, commonly known as Candon 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 ...

church in the city of

Candon Candon, officially the City of Candon (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 61, ...

Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur (), officially the Province of Ilocos Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital of Vigan, while Candon is ...

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 ...

. It is under the jurisdiction of the

Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia The Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. It covers the province of Ilocos Sur, on the island of Luzon. The see of the archdiocese is the city of Vigan. The archdiocese was erected in 1595 in ...

. Constructed with an

Earthquake Baroque Earthquake Baroque, or Seismic Baroque, is a style of Baroque architecture found in the Philippines and in Guatemala, which were Spanish-ruled territories that suffered destructive earthquakes during the 17th and the 18th centuries. Large public b ...

design, the church's four-storey octagonal

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 ...

has an alternating open and blind

aperture In optics, the aperture of an optical system (including a system consisting of a single lens) is the hole or opening that primarily limits light propagated through the system. More specifically, the entrance pupil as the front side image o ...

s, a

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

and is topped by a (bell tower).

History

In 1591, the Augustinians accepted Candon as a house while Father Pedro Bravo, OSA initiated building one of the early churches in 1695. It was severely damaged in the 1707

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

that struck the country, but was rebuilt under the supervision of Father Jose Carbonel, OSA until 1710, and Father Diego del Castillo, OSA until 1713.

Features

One of the highlights of this church are the two painting on canvas almost long, representing the 20 Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. It is said to be the longest religious painting in the Philippines. Father Vincente Avila, his cousin Mel Andino (an arts teacher), and Andino's student Redentor Castillo initiated the painting project; the painting was unveiled in December 2007. File:Candon church interior.JPG, Church interior in 2009 File:FvfCandonIlocosSur9397 26.JPG, Church

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 ...

from 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 ...

showing the ceiling paintings

References

External links

* * Roman Catholic churches in Ilocos Sur Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia Jubilee churches in the Philippines {{Philippines-RC-church-stub