The Saint Elizabeth of Portugal Cathedral Parish ( fil, Parokyang Katedral ni Santa Isabel ng Portugal), also known as Santa Isabel Cathedral ( fil, Katedral ni Santa Isabel) or Isabela Cathedral ( fil, Katedral ng Isabela), is a 20th-century Roman Catholic cathedral located at Barangay Seaside Poblacion in the city of Isabela, Basilan, Philippines. It is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Isabela The Territorial Prelature of Isabela (de Basilan) ( la, Praelatura Territorialis Isabellapolitana) is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature located in the province of Basilan, and its component cities of Isabela City and Lamitan City, in the Ec ...

and is dedicated to

Saint Elizabeth of Portugal Elizabeth of Aragon, more commonly known as Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, T.O.S.F. (1271 – 4 July 1336; ''Elisabet'' in Catalan, ''Isabel'' in Aragonese, Portuguese and Spanish), was queen consort of Portugal, a tertiary of the Francisc ...

History

Before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the present-day city of Isabela was initially a Yakan community called ''Pasengen'', and ''Pagpasalan''. The

Augustinian Recollects The Order of Augustinian Recollects (OAR) is a mendicant Catholic religious order of friars and nuns. It is a reformist offshoot from the Augustinian hermit friars and follows the same Rule of St. Augustine. History The Order was founded in 1 ...

are the pioneers in opening a mission in

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan ( cbk, Provincia de Basilan; yka, Wilayah Basilanin; tsg, Wilaya' sin Basilan; fil, Lalawigan ng Basilan), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Re ...

. As part of their mission, they have been crossing the

Basilan Strait The Basilan Strait is a strait of water separating the islands of Mindanao and Basilan in the Philippines. It was above sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's c ...

from

Zamboanga Zamboanga may refer to: *Zamboanga (province), a former province of the Philippines *Zamboanga City, a highly urbanized city located on Mindanao, Philippines *Zamboanga Peninsula, an administrative region in the Philippines comprising these provinc ...

in mainland

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of t ...

and in 1850, the Christian mission in Isabela was formally begun through the Recollect

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...

Jose Riboste. After 12 years, in December 1862, the mission of Basilan was turned over to the members of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. The Jesuits took over the administration of Isabela when they were requested to return to the Philippines after their expulsion from the country in 1768. A wooden chapel was constructed in 1862 by Fr. Francisco Ceballos, SJ situated near the Aquada River. In 1881, the mission chapel of the Jesuits located between the Fort Isabela II and the shore saw growth in number of Christian adherents. It was dedicated to

, in relation to the naming of the nearby

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in honor of

Queen Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...

. The earthquake of 21 September 1897 and its resulting destructions prompted to relocate the church site to its present location in Barangay Seaside. Before the fire of 30 March 1962, the church of Isabela was made of wood for its lateral walls and

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 ...

for its roofing. The said fire resulted to the construction of the present cathedral. On 12 October 1963, the

Territorial Prelature of Isabela The Territorial Prelature of Isabela (de Basilan) ( la, Praelatura Territorialis Isabellapolitana) is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature located in the province of Basilan, and its component cities of Isabela City and Lamitan City, in the Ec ...

was founded with its territories carved from that of

Archdiocese of Zamboanga The Archdiocese of Zamboanga (Latin name: ''Archdiocesis Zamboangensis'') is a Catholic archdiocese in the Philippines. Its present jurisdiction includes Zamboanga City, with suffragans in Basilan ( Territorial Prelature of Isabela) and Zamboang ...

. Bishop José María Querejeta Mendizábal, C.M.F., the prelature's first bishop-

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

, was installed on 15 February 1964 and in the same year, he spearheaded the construction of the present cathedral. The finished cathedral church was

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

in June 1970 and occupies an area of . The façade of the church features ''

brise soleil ''Brise soleil'', sometimes ''brise-soleil'' (; ), is an architectural feature of a building that reduces heat gain within that building by deflecting sunlight. More recently, vertical Brise soleil have become popular. Both systems allow low- ...

'' installations. Stained glass windows are placed at the upper center of the church façade and along the cathedral's lateral walls. The

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...

is host to a large

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 ...

of Christ flanked by six

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

in each side which was imported from Italy. On 13 April 2010, three

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

explosions jolted Isabela that caused at least 11 casualties. One of those bombs exploded near the cathedral. The said explosion partly damaged the cathedral's façade and its stained glass

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mate ...

s. Parish offices were added to the edifice's second floor during the repair of the damages a year after.

References

External links

* Facebook pag

*{{commons category-inline, Isabela Cathedral (Basilan) Isabela, Basilan Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines