San Agustin Church (Manila)

{{Short description|Roman Catholic church in Manila, Philippines}}

{{Infobox church

| name = San Agustin Church

| fullname = Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture

| other name = Immaculate Conception Parish

| native_name = {{unbulleted list|{{native name|fil|Simbahan ng San Agustin, Pang-Arkidiyosesis na Dambana ng Mahal na Birhen ng La Consolación y Correa}}|{{native name|es|Iglesia de San Agustín, Santuario Arquidiocesano de Nuestra Señora de la Consolación y Correa}}}}

| image = San Agustin Church 2024-05-19.jpg

| imagesize =

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| imagealt =

| caption = Church façade in May 2024

| pushpin map =

| pushpin label position = left

| pushpin map alt =

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| coordinates = {{coord|14|35|20|N|120|58|31|E|display=inline,title|region:PH-00_type:landmark_source:dewiki|format=dms}}

| location = Intramuros, Manila

| country = Philippines

| denomination = Catholic Church

| sui iuris church = Latin Church

| religious order = Order of St. Augustine

| previous denomination =

| churchmanship =

| membership =

| attendance =

| former name = {{native name|es|Iglesia de San Pablo de Manila}}

| bull date =

| founded date = {{start date and age|1571}}

| founder = Augustinians

| dedication = Paul the Apostle

| consecrated date = {{start date and age|1607}}

| cult = Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture

| relics =

| events =

| past bishop =

| people =

| status =

| functional status = Active

| heritage designation = World Heritage Site

| designated date = 1993

| architect = Juan Macías

| architectural type = Church and convent

| style = Baroque

| years built = {{ubl|{{abbr|c.|circa}} 1571 ({{abbr|dst.|destroyed}} 1574)|{{abbr|c.|circa}} 1575{{Cite web|title=The History of the San Agustin Church |url=https://artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives.php?page_id=119 |website=Artes De Las Filipinas |access-date=May 24, 2023}} ({{abbr|dst.|destroyed}} 1583)|1586–1607}}

| groundbreaking = {{start date and age|1586}}

| completed date = {{start date and age|1607|1|19}}

| construction cost =

| closed date =

| demolished date =

| capacity =

| length = {{convert|67.15|m|ft|abbr=on}}

| width = {{convert|24.93|m|ft|abbr=on}}

| width nave =

| height =

| diameter =

| other dimensions = Façade facing northwest

| floor count =

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| tower quantity = 1{{efn|Originally comprising two bell towers, a second bell tower was destroyed in 1880.}}

| tower height =

| materials = Adobe stones

| parish = Immaculate Conception

| deanery = Nuestra Señora de Guia{{cite web|url=https://www.rcam.org/our-parishes/vicariate-of-nuestra-senora-de-guia/|title=Vicariate of Nuestra Senora de Guia|website=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila|access-date=March 14, 2023}}

| archdeaconry =

| episcopalarea =

| archdiocese = Manila

| prior = Rev. Fr. James Gubat Uy, {{post-nominals|list=O.S.A.}} (convent)

| rector = Fray Edwin Escobanas Hari, {{post-nominals|list=O.S.A.}}

| priest = Fray Reynante Bansale Balilo, {{post-nominals|list=O.S.A.}}

| embedded = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site

| child = yes

| official_name = Immaculate Conception Parish - San Agustin Church

| part_of = Baroque Churches of the Philippines

| criteria = {{UNESCO WHS type|(ii)(iv)}}(ii)(iv)

| ID = 677bis-001

| year = 2037

| extension = 2013

| area = {{convert|2.43|ha|sqft|abbr=on}}

| buffer_zone = {{convert|106.13|ha|sqft|abbr=on}}

}}

{{designation list | embed= yes

| designation2 = PNHL

| designation2_offname = Church of San Agustin

| designation2_type = House of worship

| designation2_date = {{start date and age|1973|08|01}}

| designation2_number = [https://philhistoricsites.nhcp.gov.ph/registry_database/church-of-san-agustin-2/ No. 260, s. 1973]

| designation2_free1name = Region

| designation2_free1value = National Capital Region

| designation2_free2name = Marker date

| designation2_free2value = {{start date and age|1998}}

}}

The Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture, also known as the Church of Saint Augustine and Immaculate Conception Parish, is a Roman Catholic church under the auspices of the Order of Saint Augustine located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila, Philippines. Completed in 1607, it is the oldest stone church in the country.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7XYAAAAMAAJ&q=oldest+church+in+philippines |title=Great Churches of the Philippines |last1=Galende |first1=Pedro G. |last2=Javellana |first2=René B. |publisher=Bookmark |year=1993 |isbn=9789715690638 |pages=34–35}}

In 1993, San Agustin Church was one of four Philippine churches constructed during the Spanish colonial period to be designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, under the collective title Baroque Churches of the Philippines.[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/677 "Baroque Churches of the Philippines"]. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved on January 20, 2012. It was named a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1976.

History

File:Church of San Agustin historical marker.jpg historical marker installed in 1934]]

San Agustin Church is located in General Luna St., Manila. The present structure is actually the third Augustinian church erected on the site.Layug, p. 83 The first San Agustin Church was the first religious structure constructed by the Spaniards on the island of Luzon.{{cite web |title=San Agustin Church (Intramuros, Manila) |url=http://heritageconservation.wordpress.com/2006/07/29/san-agustin-church-intramuros-manila |author=Heritage Conservation Society |date=July 29, 2006 |access-date=March 24, 2008}} Made of bamboo and nipa, it was completed in 1571, but destroyed by fire in December 1574 during the attempted invasion of Manila by the forces of Limahong.Torres, p. 62Aluit, p. 40 A second wooden structure built on the same site was destroyed in February 1583 by a fire that started when a candle ignited drapery on the funeral bier during services for Spanish Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa.

The Augustinians decided to rebuild the church using stone, and to construct an adjacent monastery. Construction began in 1586, based on a design by Juan Macías. The structure was built using hewn adobe stones quarried from Meycauayan, Binangonan and San Mateo, Rizal. The work proceeded slowly due to the lack of funds and materials, as well as the relative scarcity of stone artisans. The monastery was operational by 1604, and the church was formally declared complete on January 19, 1607, and named Church of St. Paul of Manila. Macías, who had died before the completion of the church, was officially acknowledged by the Augustinians as the builder of the edifice.Aluit, p. 41

File:San Agustin Church, Manila after the 1880 earthquake.jpg

San Agustin Church was sacked during the Battle of Manila, which occurred as part of the Seven Years' War.Torres, p. 63 In 1854, the church was renovated under the supervision of Spanish architect Luciano Oliver. On June 3, 1863, the strongest earthquake at that time hit Manila leaving widespread destruction to the city, with San Agustin Church the only public building left undamaged.Fernandez, p. 216 A series of strong earthquakes struck Manila again on July 18–20, 1880. This time, the tremors left a large crack in the east bell tower.Hannaford, p. 21 The crack was eventually repaired, but the left tower was permanently removed with only the base remaining today.Laya and Gatbonton, p. 102. The church withstood the other major earthquakes that struck Manila before in 1645, 1699, 1754, 1796, 1825, 1852, 1863 and 1880 and served as a hospital for several of those injured during the earthquake in 1863.Olbés, p.11.

On August 18, 1898, the church was the site where Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes prepared the terms for the surrender of Manila to the United States of America following the Spanish–American War.

On the night of August 13, 1932, a major fire inside Intramuros destroyed a portion of the adjacent San Agustin Monastery. The blaze also totally destroyed the Augustinian Provincial House across the road in Calle Real, as well as the ornate pedestrian bridge that once linked the Provincial House with the monastery.

=World War II=

File:Manila Walled City Destruction May 1945.jpg of Manila in May 1945.]]

During the Japanese occupation during the Second World War, San Agustin Church became a concentration camp. The Japanese troops removed the lower portion of the right front door of the church and placed sandbags on the resulting opening, turning the entrance into a makeshift machine gun post. In the final days of the Battle of Manila, hundreds of Intramuros residents and clergy were held hostage in the church by Japanese soldiers with many hostages killed during the three-week-long battle. It was the only one among seven churches of Intramuros to survive a leveling by combined American and Filipino ground forces in May 1945.{{cite news |title=Church Sustains Losses in Manila Atrocities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y7dTAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA1&article_id=5411,5648515 |access-date=September 20, 2024 |work=The Canadian Register |publisher=The Canadian Register |date=April 28, 1945 |page=1 |language=en |via=Google News Archive}} While the church sustained damage to its roof, the adjacent monastery was completely destroyed. In the 1970s, the monastery was rebuilt as a museum under the design of architect Angel Nakpil.Layug, p. 84 The church was renovated in 2013, with its colorful facade replaced by a sedate stone-colored one.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

=Post-WWII era=

On September 4, 2000, the image of Our Lady of Consolation was canonically crowned with a decree of canonical coronation by Pope John Paul II. The Church launched its first pilgrim image of Our Lady of Consolation on May 1, 2023, to promote the devotion to Our Lady.{{cite news |last1=Panganiban |first1=Kendrick Ivan B. |title=Intramuros' San Agustin Church launches Our Lady of Consolation pilgrim image |url=https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/intramuros-san-agustin-church-launches-our-lady-of-consolation-pilgrim-image/ |access-date=September 20, 2024 |work=CBCPNews |publisher=Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines |date=May 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506084317/https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/intramuros-san-agustin-church-launches-our-lady-of-consolation-pilgrim-image/ |archive-date=May 6, 2023}}

San Agustin Church and its adjacent convent, {{lang|es|Convento de San Agustin}}, served as the provincial house and headquarters of the Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines of Spain ever since the province's founding in 1575 until 1901, when it transferred to Madrid. It once again became the headquarters of the Province in 1927, during the tenure of Fr. Gaudencio Castrillo, {{post-nominals|list=O.S.A.}} until just after the Second World War.

San Agustin Church is currently administered by the Augustinian friars of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines.

On August 15 2024, the Manila City Council passed an ordinance formally declaring Nuestra Señora de la Consolación y Correa as the patroness of Intramuros, Manila.

Architecture

File:Iglesia de San Agustín, Manila, Filipinas, 2023-08-26, DD 36-38 HDR.jpg

File:San Agustin Church Intramuros interior from right semitransept 2023-05-28.jpg]]

San Agustin Church is patterned after some of the magnificent temples built by the Augustinians in Mexico. The present edifice was built in 1587, and completed, together with the monastery, in 1604. The atmosphere is medieval since "both church and monastery symbolize the majesty and equilibrium of a Spanish golden era".{{according to whom|date=January 2017}}

The massive structure of the church is highlighted by the symmetry and splendor of the interiors (painted by two Italians who succeeded in producing trompe-l'œil) – the profile of the mouldings, rosettes and sunken panels which appear as three-dimensional carvings, a baroque pulpit with the native pineapple as a motif, the grand pipe organ, the ante-choir with a 16th-century crucifix, the choir seats carved in molave with ivory inlays of the 17th century and the set of 16 huge chandeliers from Paris.{{cite book| title=Landmarks of Manila: 1571–1930| last=de la Torre| first=Visitacion| publisher=Filipinas Foundation, Inc.| year=1981| location=Makati| pages=63–64}}

A 2022 online study conducted by home services website Angi found out that the church is the "most beautiful building in the Philippines".{{cite news |last=Purnell |first=Kristofer |date=December 18, 2022 |title=San Agustin Church is the most beautiful building in the Philippines — study |url=https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2022/12/18/2231020/san-agustin-church-most-beautiful-building-philippines-study |work=The Philippine Star |access-date=December 18, 2022}}

Famous burials

File:Museo_de_la_iglesia_de_San_Agustín,_Manila,_Filipinas,_2023-08-27,_DD_82-84_HDR.jpg

The church, as in its custom in its heyday, contained niches for burials of bones and remains. The following are notable burials within the premises of the church.

Miguel López de Legazpi
Juan de Salcedo
Guido de Lavezaris
Juan Luna
Blessed Pedro Zuñiga
Francisco Alonso Liongson
Benito Natividad
Teodoro Agoncillo
Chit Estella
Maria Orosahttps://radyopilipinas.ph/2025/02/mga-labi-ng-mga-civilian-war-hero-na-nahukay-sa-mass-grave-sa-malate-catholic-school-nailipat-na-ng-libingan/https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2025/02/13/2421311/world-war-ii-mass-grave-heroes-including-maria-orosa-honored

Heritage threats

File:SanAgustinjf5065 04.JPG plaque]]

Although about {{convert|550|m|sp=us}} away from San Agustin Church, the Binondo–Intramuros Bridge (which opened in 2022){{Cite news |title=Duterte inaugurates China-donated Binondo-Intramuros Bridge |language=en |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1171486 |access-date=February 22, 2023}} is believed to have encroached on the buffer zone prescribed for church, which includes the walls of Intramuros and the immediate areas outside.{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2021 |title=Unesco lauds PH on Baroque churches but . . . |url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/388264/unesco-lauds-ph-on-baroque-churches-but/ |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=Lifestyle.INQ |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=November 18, 2018 |title=China-funded bridge risks Unesco World Heritage status of San Agustin church, 3 others |url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/314282/china-funded-bridge-risks-unesco-world-heritage-status-of-san-agustin-church-3-others/ |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=Lifestyle.INQ |language=en-US}} However, the national government argues that the bridge will have no direct physical or visual impact to the San Agustin Church, owing to its remote distance and the number of taller structures between the bridge and the church.{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=UNESCO World Heritage Centre - State of Conservation (SOC 2021) Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Philippines) |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/4196/ |access-date=February 22, 2023 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}

So far, the World Heritage Convention (WHC) has identified several potential indirect and long-term impacts to the church. WHC noted that the church could be impacted by more ground vibration due to vehicular traffic, and air and noise pollution. Moreover, the bridge would have a direct visual impact on the overall setting and sense of place of the property, including Intramuros' fortified wall, as well as the Maestranza strip and Plaza México, the visual corridor of the Pasig River, and the underlying remains of {{lang|es|Baluarte de Santo Domingo}}. To mitigate the situation, it was recommended to the national government to reconsider the bridge's and location, convert the surrounding roads of the church into pedestrian areas, conduct structural assessment of the church, and adapt the design of the bridge to the character of Intramuros.

San Agustin Church was collectively declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, together with Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte, Santa Maria Church in Ilocos Sur, and Miag-ao Church in Iloilo.{{Cite web |last=Esguerra |first=Darryl John |date=November 22, 2018 |title=Palace assures China-funded bridge won't affect World Heritage status of San Agustin Church |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1056250/palace-assures-china-funded-bridge-wont-affect-world-heritage-status-of-san-agustin-church |access-date=February 22, 2023 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |language=en}} In April 2019, before the bridge construction, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts allayed fears that the three other churches will also be removed from the World Heritage Site list if San Agustin Church is delisted.{{Cite web |last=Corrales |first=Nestor |date=April 25, 2019 |title=NCCA won't allow delisting of 4 PH churches from World Heritage Sites |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1110794/ncca-wont-allow-delisting-of-4-ph-churches-from-world-heritage-sites |access-date=February 22, 2023 |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |language=en}}

References

= Notes =

= Citations =

= Cited sources =

{{cite book |last = Layug |first=Benjamin Locsin |title = A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches |year= 2007 |publisher=New Day Publishers |location=Pasig, Philippines |isbn = 978-971-8521-10-6 |pages= 39–41 }}
{{cite book |last=Aluit |first= Alfonso |title = By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II 3 February – 3 March 1945 |year=1994 |publisher=National Commission for Culture and the Arts |location=Philippines |isbn=971-8521-10-0 |pages=83–85 }}
{{cite book |last=Torres |first=Jose Victor Z. |title = Ciudad Murada: A Walk Through Historic Intramuros |year=2005 |publisher=Intramuros Administration & Vibal Publishing House, Inc. |location=Manila |isbn=971-07-2276-X |pages=62–63 }}
{{cite book |last = Olbés |first=Rene |title=The Philippines:A Century Hence |year= 2000 |publisher=Rene Olbés and Associates |location=Makati, Philippines |isbn = 971-92288-0-6 |pages = 10–11 }}
{{cite book |last=Hannaford |first=Adjutant E. |year=1899 |title = History and of our Philippine Wonderland |location=Springfield, Ohio |publisher=The Crowell & Kirkpatrick Co. |page=21 }}
{{cite book |last=Fernandez |first=Leandro H. |year=1919 |title = A Brief History of the Philippines |location=Boston |publisher=Ginn and Company |page =216 }}
{{cite book |last1=Laya |first1=Jaime |last2=Gatbonton |first2=Esperanza |year=1983 |title=Intramuros of Memory |location=Manila |publisher=Ministry of Human Settlements, Intramuros Administration |page = 102 }}