Immaculate Conception Parish Church, commonly known as Santa Cruz 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 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 ...

along Pedro Guevarra Street, Poblacion, Santa Cruz, Laguna,

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

Diocese of San Pablo The Diocese of San Pablo (Latin language, Latin: ''Dioecesis Sancti Pauli in Insulis Philippinis'', Filipino language, Filipino: ''Diyosesis ng San Pablo'', Spanish language, Spanish: ''Diócesis de San Pablo'') is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholi ...

History

Santa Cruz was formerly annexed (or was a ''

visita Visitas or asistencias were smaller Mission (station), sub-missions of Catholicism, Catholic missions established during the 16th-19th centuries of the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the History of the Philippines (1565–1898), Philipp ...

'') of

Lumban Lumban, officially the Municipality of Lumban (), is a municipality in Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 Census, its population numbered 32,330. Lumban, one of the oldest towns in Laguna, lies approximately from Santa Cruz, southea ...

and became an independent parish under the advocacy of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

in 1602 with Gabriel de Castro as priest. Due to sanitary problems in the original location, the church was transferred in 1608 in its present location and built the present church under the direction of Antonio de la Llave. Miguel Perciva added a

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 ...

under his direction in 1672. The church was later renovated by building a

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 ...

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 ...

and remodeling of the five

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s by Juan Marzon in 1850. The church was destroyed by fire on January 28, 1945, during the

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

. It was reconstructed in 1948 under Mariano Limjuco. Besides the devotion to the

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 ...

, an image of the

Holy Guardian Angel Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

, whose devotion started in 1678 by Fernando de la Concepcion, was venerated in Santa Cruz. After being housed at Pila, the

infirmary Infirmary may refer to: *Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital *A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution *A dispensary (an office that dispenses medications) *A clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambul ...

of the Franciscan religious was transferred to Pila on July 13, 1674. File:Santa Cruz Church of Laguna historical marker.jpg, Church PHC historical marker installed in 1956 File:Immaculate Conception Church Santa Cruz inside (P. Guevara Avenue, Santa Cruz, Laguna; 06-28-2023).jpg, Church interior in 2023

Notes

Bibliography

* *

External links

* * {{Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo , state=autocollapse

Santa Cruz, Laguna Santa Cruz, officially the Municipality of Santa Cruz (), is a municipality and capital of the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 123,574 people. Santa Cruz is situated on the banks of the ...

Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo