Immaculate Conception Cathedral Parish, commonly known as Puerto Princesa Cathedral, 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 ...

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 ...

in the city of

Puerto Princesa Puerto Princesa (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially the City of Puerto Princesa (Cuyonon language, Cuyonon: ''Siyudad i'ang Puerto Princesa''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in th ...

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

in western

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 in the

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 ...

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

tradition and is the mother church of the

Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa The Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa is a Latin Church missionary jurisdiction or apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church located in the Province of Palawan, Philippines. Its cathedra is within Immaculate Conception Cathedral in the ep ...

which covers the municipalities of Palawan west of Puerto Princesa City. It is located at the border of

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 ...

Matiyaga

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

and Liwanag Poblacion, near the Port of Puerto Princesa. At 118° east

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

, it is the westernmost cathedral in the country.

History

The first

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in Puerto Princesa, initially a

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

, was held at the site of the present cathedral on March 10, 1872, by the Augustinian Recollect Fray Ezequiél Moreno (now a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

), six days after the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

expedition arrived in the area. Subsequently, Moreno established the town and its parish mission under the patronage 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 ...

of 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 ...

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, on December 14, 1944, the parish witnessed the Palawan massacre at the adjacent Plaza Cuartel where more or less 150

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

soldiers were burned by the

Imperial Japanese The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to 19 ...

forces. The church has been rebuilt several times since its establishment, wherein the present structure took almost a century before it was completed in 1961 to serve as a cathedral of the then Palawan Apostolic Vicariate under the helm of Most Rev. Gregorio I. Espiga. The facade and interior are reminiscent of the architecture of churches in

Medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

. On

December 8 Events Pre-1600 * 395 – Later Yan is defeated by its former vassal Northern Wei at the Battle of Canhe Slope. * 757 – The poet Du Fu returns to Chang'an as a member of Emperor Xuanzong's court, after having escaped the city duri ...

, 2014, on the cathedral's patronal feast day, the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...

unveiled a historical marker of Saint Ezequiél Moreno, underlining his contribution to the founding of the city. At present, the cathedral and the Rizal Park at its front, is usually included in the itinerary of city tour packages around Puerto Princesa, including, but not limited to Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm, Palawan Heritage Center, Palawan Butterfly Ecological Garden and Tribal Village, and Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (Crocodile Farm).

Gallery

File:Palawan Catholic Church.JPG, The cathedral and the Rizal Park as seen from a distance File:Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral PPC inside (Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa, Palawan; 08-03-2023).jpg, The Neo-Gothic cathedral interior in 2023 File:The Immaculate Conception Cathedral - panoramio.jpg, The cathedral's left

belfry The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...

File:Immaculate Conception Cathedral (Puerto Princesa, Palawan) right belfry 2018-02-16.jpg, The cathedral's right belfry

References

External links

* * {{Facebook, tppcathedral Buildings and structures in Puerto Princesa Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines Gothic Revival church buildings in the Philippines 1872 establishments in the Spanish Empire 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa Jubilee churches in the Philippines