The Santa Isabel de Portugal Cathedral Parish (), also known as Santa Isabel Cathedral () or Isabela Cathedral (), is a 20th-century

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 ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

located at

Barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

Seaside Poblacion in the city of

Isabela Isabela may refer to: People with the given name * Isabela Boscov, Brazilian film critic * Isabela Corona (1913–1993), Mexican actress * Isabela Garcia (born 1967), Brazilian actress * Isabela Moraes (born 1980), Brazilian synchronized swimmer ...

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan (; ; ; ), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago ...

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 the seat of the

Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Isabela The Territorial Prelature of Isabela (de Basilan) () is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic territorial prelature located in the province of Basilan, and its component cities of Isabela, Basilan, Isabela City and Lamitan City, in the ecclesiastical ...

and is dedicated to Saint Elizabeth of Portugal.

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. They have also been known as the "D ...

are the pioneers in opening a mission in

. As part of their mission, they have been crossing the Basilan Strait from Zamboanga in mainland

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

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 in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

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

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. 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 Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, in relation to the naming of the nearby

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

in honor of

Queen Isabella II of Spain Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

. The earthquake of September 21, 1897 and its resulting destructions prompted to relocate the church site to its present location in

Seaside. Before the fire of March 30, 1962, the church of Isabela was made of wood for its lateral walls and

galvanized iron Galvanization ( also spelled galvanisation) 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 coated by submerging them in a bath of ...

for its roofing. The said fire resulted to the construction of the present cathedral. On October 12, 1963, the Territorial Prelature of Isabela was founded with its territories carved from that of

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

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

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

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

consecrated 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 ...

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

brise soleil Brise, Brisé or Briše may refer to: * Brisé (dance), a type of jump in ballet * "Brisé" (song), Maître Gims 2015 *Brisé (music), Style brisé (French: "broken style"), Baroque music Places * Briše, Kamnik, Slovenia * Briše pri Polhovem G ...

'' installations.

Stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

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 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 ...

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 (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

of Christ flanked by six

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

in each side which was imported from Italy. On April 13, 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 Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

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 ma ...

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

References

External links

* * {{Facebook, Staisabeldeportugalcathedralparish 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 Churches in the Roman Catholic Territorial Prelature of Isabela Jubilee churches in the Philippines