Santa Ana Parish Church, commonly known as Molo Church, is a Spanish

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th 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 ...

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 ...

located in the district of Molo in

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

, in the Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the

Archdiocese of Jaro The Archdiocese of Jaro (; ; ; ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church headquartered in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines. Its episcopal see is at the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also the National Shrine of ...

. The church is recognized as "the women's church" or "the feminist church" because it only features images of female saints inside, including Saint Anne, the patron saint of Molo. The

National Historical Institute The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of history of the Philippines, Philippine history and culture of the Philippines, cultural heritage through ...

declared it a national landmark in 1992.

History

Molo Church was constructed in 1831 under Fray Pablo Montaño. Originally made of ''tabique pampango'' with a chalk roof. Plans for a concrete structure were drawn up in 1866, approved by Bishop Mariano Cuartero in 1869, and completed in 1888 by Fray Agapito Buenaflor under Don Jose Manuel Locsin's supervision. In honor of Saint Anne, the church is known as a feminist church because of its two rows of sixteen female saints on both sides of the altar. Molo Church was visited by Dr. Jose Rizal on August 4, 1886, because of its biblical paintings, which can no longer be seen in the church. It served as an evacuation center for civilians during World War II. The church was damaged and one tower was destroyed on March 18, 1945, during the liberation of the Philippines from Japan. The church was later repaired by Rev. Manuel Alba with the help of the congregation. The church was declared a national landmark by the

in 1992 through the representation of Sir Knight Rex S. Salvilla. It is the only Gothic church in the country outside of

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

Architecture

The

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

of the church is made of rough stone that highlights the Gothic-

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

elements seen in the structure, with its two towers that have numerous

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

s and pointed arches. The church has three

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 ...

s with sixteen statues of female saints inside. These saints are

Saint Marcella Marcella (325–410) is a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church. She was a Christian ascetic in the Byzantine era. ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church'' reports, "She suffered bodily ill-treatment at the hands of ...

Saint Apollonia Saint Apollonia (; , ) was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius. According to church tradition, her torture included having all of her tee ...

Saint Genevieve Genevieve (; ; also called ''Genovefa'' and ''Genofeva''; 419/422 AD – 502/512 AD) was a consecrated virgin, and is one of the two patron saints of Paris in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. Her feast day is on 3 January. Reco ...

, Saint Isabelle, Saint Felicity,

Saint Agnes Agnes of Rome (21 January 304) is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheranism, Lutheran Chu ...

Saint Monica Monica ( – 387) was an early North African Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, partic ...

, Saint Magdalene, Saint Juliana,

Saint Lucy Lucia of Syracuse ( – 304 AD), also called Saint Lucia () and better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman people, Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in Catholic Church, Catholic, Angl ...

, Saint Rose, Saint Teresa, Saint Clare,

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia (), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman Christian virgin martyr, who is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the ...

, Saint Margaret, and Saint Martha. The church has four wooden

side altar A side-altar or bye-altar is an altar that is subordinate to the central or high altar in a church. The term is generally applied to altars situated in bays of the nave, transepts, etc. Side-altars may be recessed in a side-chapel, or simply bu ...

s and a single

high 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 ...

. It also features two decorated wooden

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, accesse ...

s. The church's patroness,

Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

, is housed in the

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a Church (building), church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular a ...

at the high altar, along with statues of the

Blessed Virgin 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 ...

and the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Gallery

File:Allan Jay Quesada - Molo Church 002.jpg, View of the church from the

Molo Plaza Molo Plaza is an urban park and town square located in the district of Molo in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is one of the six district plazas in Iloilo City. The plaza features statues of Greek goddesses and the monument of Maria Clara. A fountai ...

File:Convent of Molo.jpg, Convent of Molo beside the church File:Molo Church dome interior 2022-07-06.jpg,

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 m ...

interior File:The Ten Commandments in Hiligaynon at Molo Church, Iloilo.jpg, The

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

Hiligaynon language Hiligaynon, also often referred to as Ilonggo or Binisayâ/Bisayâ nga Hiniligaynon/Inilonggo, is an Austronesian language family, Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, predominantly in Panay, Pan ...

File:Side view of Molo Church, Iloilo City, the Philippines.jpg, Side view of the church File:MOLO CHURCH 005.jpg, A sculpture of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, one of the sixteen female saints inside the church File:Molo church (2).jpg, Northwest façade File:Molo Church interior 2022-07-06.jpg, Interior facing northwest File:MOLO CHURCH 011.jpg, Another historical marker File:Molo Church altar reredos 2022-07-06.jpg,

High 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 ...

and

References

External links

* * {{Iloilo City Roman Catholic churches in Iloilo City Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Molo, Iloilo City Tourist attractions in Iloilo City Gothic Revival church buildings in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links