The Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando, formerly known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, is a neo-classical

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 in the City of San Fernando, in

Pampanga province Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

of the

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

Archdiocese of San Fernando In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

History

In 1755 the first structure of wood and thatch was built on this site by the Augustinian friars under the patronage of San Fernando III, King of Castile. Fray Sebastian Moreno, O.S.A. was its first . On October 17, 1757, townsfolk petitioned the governor-general for exemptions from tribute to enable them to build the church and convent. It was transferred to the care of secular priests in 1788. The construction of the present style church started during the same year under the supervision Fr. Manuel Canlas, its first secular , and a committee composed of the of the town. They were led by Bernabe Pamintuan. Construction was completed in 1808. The church was rededicated to the

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

of Our Lady. The church measures . long, . wide and high. The round majestic

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 ...

rising from the rotunda of the

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 ...

is reminiscent of the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style with some

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

elements. President

Emilio F. Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first president of an Asian constitutional repu ...

and his cabinet viewed the

Philippine Revolutionary Army The Philippine Revolutionary Army ( Spanish: ; ), later renamed Philippine Republican Army, was the army of the First Philippine Republic from its formation in March 1897 to its dissolution in November of 1899 in favor of guerrilla operation ...

from the windows of the convento on October 9, 1898. On orders of Gen.

Antonio Luna Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipinos, Filipino army general and a pharmacist who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination on June 5, 1899, at the age ...

, the Philippine Revolutionary Army burned the church and convento on May 4, 1899.

20th century

Katedral ng San Fernando NHCP HIstorical Marker

The church was destroyed by fire again in 1939, and restored by Pampango Architect Fernando H. Ocampo in 1948. In 1948 the church was elevated to Cathedral when it became the seat of the Diocese of San Fernando, canonically created by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

. In 1975, the diocese was elevated by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

, to Archdiocese of San Fernando. Its first bishop was Monsignor Cesar Ma. Guerrero, D.D. He was followed by the Most Reverend Emilio A. Cinense, D.D., who became its first archbishop. He was succeeded by the Most Reverend Oscar V. Cruz, D.D. in 1978. The third archbishop of San Fernando is the Most Reverend Paciano B. Aniceto, D.D. Pamp, and the current is Most Rev.

Florentino Lavarias Florentino "Dong" Galang Lavarias is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic church. He is the fourth and current archbishop of San Fernando. He succeeded Paciano Aniceto as the Archbishop of San Fernando. Prior to his installation, he previously ...

, D.D.Henares, Ivan Anthony S. ''San Fernando: a city rich in architectural heritage''
/ref>

Rectors

*Very Rev. Msgr. Prudencio David, VG: 1918–1952 *Very Rev. Msgr. Bartolome Zabala: 1952–1958 *Very Rev. Msgr. Pedro Puno, VG: 1958–1969 *Very Rev. Msgr. Diosdado Victorio, VG: 1969–1974 *Very Rev. Msgr. Serafin Ocampo: 1974–1981 *Very Rev. Msgr. Jesus Galang: 1981–1992 *Most Rev. Paciano Aniceto, D.D.: 1992–1995 *Very Rev. Msgr. Eugenio Mercado, VF: 1995–2002 *Very Rev. Msgr. Cenovio Lumanog, VG: 2002–2007 *Very Rev. Msgr. Ricardo Jesus Serrano, SLD: 2007–2013 *Very Rev. Msgr. Eugenio Reyes, JCD, PA: 2013–2018 *Rev. Fr. Ricarthy D. Macalino: 2018–2019 *Rev. Fr. Marius Roque: 2019–2021 *Rev. Fr. Manuel C. Sta Maria: 2021–present

Gallery

File:Cathedral of San Fernando, Pampanga (interior) 1 - 10-11-2024.jpg, Cathedral

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 ...

in 2024 File:Stfernando33jf.JPG, Belfry (

Bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

) File:Sanfernandojf26.JPG, Right side of the Cathedral File:JfLavarias0380CathedraSFlfvf 08.JPG, Dome interior File:JfSanFernando346LavariasCathedralfvf.JPG, The image of the

in the main altar File:Bbsfernandojf2.JPG, Altar of the

Black Nazarene ''Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno'' (), officially and liturgically known as Jesús Nazareno, and popularly known as the Black Nazarene (; ), is a life-sized dark statue of Jesus Christ carrying the True Cross. The venerated image is enshrined in ...

Quiapo Quiapo may refer to: * Quiapo, Chile, a location in Arauco Province *Quiapo, Manila, a district in the Philippines ** Quiapo Church The Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno (), commonly known as Quiapo Church and canonically ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

Roman Catholic churches in Pampanga Buildings and structures in San Fernando, Pampanga National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Neoclassical church buildings in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando Jubilee churches in the Philippines