A Church Within a Church

Try to browse for historical and heritage places to visit in the Philippines, and the top results will be Calle Crisologo in Vigan, Intramuros, and Escolta in Manila. Old churches and other historical sites in certain Visayas provinces are rarely recognized, but exploring Iloilo city made me discover that this place is vastly underappreciated in terms of public historical awareness, but it has a lot to offer.

Iloilo is renowned as the "Most Loyal and Noble City," as it was engraved in the Coat of Arms from the Royal Decree of 1896 in acknowledgment of the people's commitment to the Spanish crown. In modern times, Iloilo is known as the "City of Love" in the Philippines, and for the locals, it is the place where the past meets the present. Aside from this, Iloilo is already known for its clean, biker-friendly, and home of hospitable people in the country, but some areas of the province are less well-known.

As I traveled to one of Iloilo’s well-known tourist attractions, the Bucari Pine Forest and Waterfalls renowned as the province's "little Baguio," I had the opportunity to pray for the safety of my brief journey way up to the mountains of Leon at the magnificent and historical St. Catherine of Alexandria Church.

The Leon church was previously known as the largest stone structure in Panay at the time. According to residents, it was intended to be one of Iloilo's largest and grandest churches, but it was abandoned for unknown reasons.

This Neo-classical church lies in front of a picturesque and well-kept plaza next to the municipal hall of Leon. It was constructed in the Doric and Byzantine architectural styles and stands 100 feet tall and 300 feet long, spanning nearly two streets in the town. The stones used were quarried from the hills and shaped into 1 x 2-foot parallelogram slabs.

As I looked around the church, I was struck by how modern but incomplete the interior design was. While the façade retained its historical charm, the interior renovations represented a modern adaptation, reflecting contemporary needs while honoring tradition. This blending of old and new encapsulated the Ilongos' belief in continuity and adaptation, ensuring that their sacred space remained a living testament to their enduring history and the resilience that defines their community. I learned that this church was founded in 1885 and that the chapel was burned down and transformed into a garrison for the Japanese Imperial Forces during World War II. It was rebuilt by the Mill Hill Fathers following the war.

After a lengthy period of being merely a tourist attraction, the city of Leon issued an order for the site's rehabilitation. Through the Government Appropriation Act (GAA) 2019, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) intends to apply the sum of Php 2,000,000.00 as the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Detailed Engineering Studies for the Restoration of Leon Church Complex, Leon, Iloilo.

With this effort, I now fully realize what Ilongos mean when they say that their home is a place where the past meets the present. They believed that restoring the vestiges of the past would ensure the prosperity of their future, so they took advantage of this chance to recall and memorialize their place's history and the part it played during the turbulent times. They see their home as an evolution in which lessons learned in the past guide present decisions and create a course for long-term prosperity. They develop a sense of resiliency and purpose that spans generations by cherishing their past and the stories it contains, making sure that their legacy will continue to serve as a beacon for future generations.