The Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica (also known as the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and informally as Manila Cathedral) is a prominent Latin Rite Roman Catholic basilica located in Manila, Philippines, honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Principal Patroness of the Philippines.
Located in the Intramuros district of Manila, it was originally a parish church owned and governed by the diocese of Mexico in 1571, until it became a separate diocese on February 6, 1579 upon the issuance of a Papal bull by Pope Gregory XIII.
The cathedral serves both as the Prime Basilica of the Philippines and highest seat of the archbishop in the country. The cathedral was damaged and destroyed several times since the original cathedral was built in 1581. The eighth and current incarnation of the cathedral was completed in 1958.
The Basilica Minore de San Sebastián, better known as San Sebastián Church, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Manila, the Philippines. It is the seat of the Parish of San Sebastian and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
Completed in 1891, San Sebastián Church is noted for its architectural features. An example of the revival of Gothic architecture in the Philippines, it is the only all-steel church or basilica in Asia. It has also been implausibly reputed to be the first prefabricated building in the world,and more plausibly claimed as the only prefabricated steel church in the world. In 2006, San Sebastian Church was included in the Tentative List for possible designation as a World Heritage Site. It was designated as a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1973.
As the only all-steel church in Asia,San Sebastián Church has two openwork towers and steel vaulting. The basilica's central nave is twelve meters from the floor to the dome, and thirty-two meters to the tip of the spires.
The interior of the church displays groined vaults in the Gothic architecture style.The steel columns, walls and ceiling were painted by Lorenzo Rocha and his students to give off a faux-marble and jasper appearance.Trompe l'oeil paintings were used to decorate the interiors of the church. True to the Gothic revival spirit of the church are its confessionals, pulpit, altars and five retablos as designed by Lorenzo Guerrero, as well as Rocha. The sculptor Eusebio García carved the statues of holy men and women.Six holy water fonts were constructed for the church, each crafted from marble obtained from Romblon.
Above the main altar is an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, given to the church by Carmelite sisters from Mexico City in 1617 The image withstood all the earthquakes and fires which had destroyed previous incarnations of San Sebastián Church, but its ivory head was stolen in 1975.
Source: wikipedia .org
San Agustin Church is a Roman Catholic church under the auspices of The Order of St. Augustine, located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila. Completed by 1607, it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines. No other surviving building in the Philippines has been claimed to pre-date San Agustin Church.
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 classification "Baroque Churches of the Philippines". It had been named a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1976.
San Agustín Church measures 67.15 meters long and 24.93 meters wide. Its elliptical foundation has allowed it to withstand the numerous earthquakes that have destroyed many other Manila churches. It is said that the design was derived from churches built by the Augustinians in Mexico. The facade is unassuming and even criticized as "lacking grace and charm", but it has notable baroque touches, especially the ornate carvings on its wooden doors. The church courtyard is graced by several granite sculptures of lions, which had been gifted by Chinese converts to Catholicism.
The church interior is in the form of a Latin cross. The church has 14 side chapels and a trompe-l'œil ceiling painted in 1875 by Italian artists Cesare Alberoni and Giovanni Dibella Up in the choir loft are hand-carved 17th-century seats of molave, a beautiful tropical hardwood.
The church contains the tomb of Spanish conquistadors Miguel López de Legazpi, Juan de Salcedo and Martín de Goiti, as well as several early Spanish Governors-General and archbishops. Their bones are buried in a communal vault near the main altar. The painter Juan Luna, and the statesmen Pedro A. Paterno and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera are among the hundreds of laypersons whose remains are also housed within the church.
San Agustin Church also hosts an image of Our Lady of Consolation (Nuestra Senora de Consolacion y Correa), which was canonically crowned by Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin in 2000.
