San Francisco Church was 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 ...

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 ...

along San Francisco and Solana Streets in the walled city of

Intramuros, Manila Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old his ...

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 ...

. The church, which used to be the center of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

missions in the Philippines, was destroyed during the

Second World War 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 ...

. The site has been occupied by

Mapúa University Mapúa University (), also known simply as Mapúa or MU, is a Private university, private Research university, research-oriented Nonsectarian, non-sectarian university located in Metro Manila, Philippines. The university was founded in 1925 by ...

since the war.

History

When the Franciscans arrived in the Philippines in 1578, they built a church made of nipa,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

and wood, which was inaugurated on August 2 and was dedicated to the Our Lady of Angels. On November 5, 1739, the cornerstone of a new stone church was laid. It was destroyed in the Allied bombardment of Manila during the

. The statue of

Saint Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. Anthony was born and raised by a wealth ...

in the courtyard of Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park,

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

, was the lone survivor of the ravages of the war. After World War II, the site was sold to, and has been occupied by the

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Intramuros Roman Catholic churches in Manila Buildings and structures in Intramuros Former buildings and structures in Manila Destroyed churches Francisco Manila Buildings and structures of the Philippines destroyed during World War II

History

See also

Notes

Bibliography