The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, also known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament or simply Santa Cruz Parish, 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 ...

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

in the district of Santa Cruz,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

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 under the jurisdiction of the

Archdiocese of Manila 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 associate ...

. The church was built when the ''arrabal'' (suburb) of Santa Cruz was established by the

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

in the early 17th century. The church had undergone many repairs and reconstruction, with the last reconstruction done in the 1950s. It is the first mission and motherhouse of Filipino Sacramentinos, making it as the center of the congregation’s activities and events. Every year, the shrine hosts the archdiocesan celebrations of the Feast of Corpus Christi in the

. A

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 ...

is said by the

Archbishop of Manila The Archdiocese of Manila (; ; ) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Catholic Church in the Philippines, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, ...

at 3:15 p.m., followed by a

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

of the

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

to the

Manila Cathedral The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known as the Manila Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic basilica and cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Manila. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary of ...

History

The Jesuits built the first Catholic church in the area where the present Santa Cruz Parish stands on June 20, 1619. The original church design was made of stone and wood. The Jesuits enshrined the image of Our Lady of the Pillar in 1643, and ministered to predominantly Chinese residents in the area. On June 3, 1863, an earthquake destroyed the church. Agustín de Mendoza began reconstruction on the church in 1868. In 1938, revolutionary, labour leader, and writer Isabelo de los Reyes was buried within the church. The original structure of the church was twice damaged by earthquakes, and then completely destroyed in the Battle of Manila 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 ...

. The present building, completed in 1957, is in the Spanish baroque and

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

styles.

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

and Romanesque design influences the interior decoration of the church. On August 15, 1957, the

Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (), commonly known as the Sacramentinos, is a Catholic Church, Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men, founded by Peter Julian Eymard. Its members use the postnominal lette ...

began administering the church. In 1984, then-

Cardinal Jaime Sin restored the official name of the church to ''Santa Cruz Parish.'' He kept Our Lady of the Pillar as its titular

patroness Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

, and named as secondary patron St.

Peter Julian Eymard Peter Julian Eymard ( ; 4 February 1811 – 1 August 1868) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of two religious institutes: the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for women. Life Eym ...

, founder of the Sacramentinos.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

granted the

canonical coronation A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...

of the enshrined image of

Our Lady of the Pillar Our Lady of the Pillar () is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in the context of the traditional belief that Mary, while living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appeared to the Apostle James the Greater in AD 40, AD 40 while he was pre ...

on December 7, 2017. On January 5, 2000, the parish's pastoral council petitioned its former

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

, Francisco Mendoza, to seek official recognition of the church as a shrine. On June 3, 2018, it was officially raised to the rank of archdiocesan shrine by then-Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal

Luis Antonio Tagle Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( , ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church, and has been the Dicastery for Evangelization, Pro-Prefect for the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery fo ...

. On March 25, 2025, Pope Francis conferred the title of

Minor Basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

to the church.

Architecture

The church

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 ...

is characteristically

with Ionic

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

s vertically dividing the first two levels in three parts. Three

semicircular arch In architecture, a semicircular arch is an arch with an intrados (inner surface) shaped like a semicircle. This type of arch was adopted and very widely used by the Romans, thus becoming permanently associated with Roman architecture. Termino ...

doorways form as main entrance to the church. A Celtic-like window flanked by small semicircular windows is found at the center of the second level. Forming as the

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

, the topmost level has its raking

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

in undulating liens emanating from the broken pediment found above the statued niche. The

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 ...

d belfry rises on the right in six levels. The church façade is topped with a statue of

, the patroness of the church, whose feast is held every 3rd Sunday of October. File:Santa Cruz Church Facade.jpg, The façade

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

surrounding the center window File:Santa Cruz Church Statued Pediment.jpg, The pediment of the church located on the topmost portion of the façade File:Santa Cruz Church Domed Belfry.jpg, Domed belfry of the church File:Santa Cruz Church Interior, Manila, Jun 2024.jpg,

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:Santa Cruz Church Altar.jpg,

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 ...

File:The Santa Cruz Church (Manila) 05.jpg, The canonically crowned image of

List of shrine rectors

*Rudsend P. Paragas (2018–2025) *Marc Bryan Adona (2025–present)

Notable priests

* Ezequiél Moreno, parish priest when the Augustinian Recollects administered the parish. * Julian Moreno, brother of Ezequiel Moreno

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* * {{Authority control Roman Catholic churches in Manila Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz, Manila Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila Baroque church buildings in the Philippines Roman Catholic shrines in the Philippines Basilica churches in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Buildings and structures of the Philippines destroyed during World War II