In the June 2010 issue of Bluprint Magazine, San Sebastian Minor Basilica is the main feature entitled: Prefab Gothic Revival: Saving the All-Steel San Sebastian Basilica in Manila. The article is written by Tina Paterno, a New York based conservator, who is in the country spearheading, as project head, the restoration of this stunning and historic edifice. I’ve contributed images.

It would have been a sight as one enters the lost church of Oton with its trompe l’oiels massive copula and an impressive gothic style and four sided retablo at the center.

The lost church of Oton was the only one of its kind in the Philippines in form and structure. It’s architecture is a combination of different architectural styles: gothic, classical and romanesque, a trait that is very much common in most Spanish colonial period churches in the country.

It would have been one of the country’s spectacular churches, if not the most beautiful were it not for a natural cataclysm that razed it to the ground. Oton’s once majestic church, in the form of a Greek cross, was unique as it was the only one with such a plan and architecture blending Byzantine with Gothic and classical elements.

I’ve always been fascinated with the all-steel structure of the San Sebastian Minor Basilica in Quiapo, Manila and when the opportunity came to document it inside and out, I grabbed it.

A free downloadable and printable PDF guide is now available for those who would want to do the traditional visita iglesia in Cebu! This freebie features 28 still existing Spanish colonial era churches in this historic island province, the cradle of Christianity in the Philippines, either wholly built or with it’s façade intact.

This is the fifth installment of my Visita Iglesia series focusing on the southwestern churches of Cebu that are still standing in the province. This part features Samboan, Ginatilan, Malabuyoc, Badian, Moalboal and Dumanjug.

This is the fourth installment of my Visita Iglesia series focusing on the northern churches that are still standing in the province. This part features the churches of Catmon, Sogod, San Remegio, Daan Bantayan and Bantayan

This is the third installment of my Visita Iglesia series focusing on the northern churches that are still standing in the province. This part features the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral and the churches of Liloan Compostela, Danao and Poro in Camotes.

A free downloadable and printable PDF guide is now available for those who would want to do the traditional visita iglesia in Manila! This freebie features the remaining eight still existing Spanish colonial era churches in the historic city, either wholly built or with it’s façade intact.

This downloadable PDF file is an inventory of colonial and post colonial, including contemporary, Philippine Catholic churches that I have accumulated starting in 2004. Consisting of 213 thumbnail images of church facades and 87 interior shots from 40 provinces in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

The first Franciscans arrived in the Philippines in 1578, the second order to come after the Augustinians. They founded many schools, bridges, roads, dams and hospitals. They also built many impressive stone churches that still stand today and can be found in Manila (Sta. Ana), the southern towns of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Quezon, the Bicol region and the Visayan islands of Samar and Leyte.

A few kilometers from the poblacion of Nasugbu, Batangas, in the town of Lumangbayan, aptly named as this translates to “old town” which is the original location of Nasugbu, is a Spanish colonial period church ruin that is still being used by devotees today. However, it was in this church that many of the townspeople were imprisoned and burned in 1896.

The interior of Caraga Church has been much renovated that there are no longer traces of the old, except for the hardwood posts and lateral walls. The old and dilapidated retablos were replaced with new ones during preparations for its centennial celebrations.