The Jesuits were members of the Compaña de Jesus or Society of Jesus and was founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1534. They arrived in the Philippines in 1581 and are known champions of education and the counter reformation.

The Seculars in the Philippines have been in the country since 1565 but never formed a sizeable community compared with the regular clergy. Distrusted by the Spanish friars and in government during that time, their entwined histories with the Recollects and the Jesuits led to the Revolution against Spain in 1898.

To their credit, they have built beautiful churches across the country that still stands today.

Their legacy can be found scattered around the islands from Luzon to Mindanao and in remote regions and localities in the Philippines.

The first Augustinian Recollects arrived in Cebu in 1606 and later on sailed to Manila where they established their convent in Bagumbayan. From that time to the close of the 19th century, they have evangelized and established many of the frontier areas and their histories, are very much intertwined with the Jesuits, the Seculars and the political upheavals of the 19th century played a big role in the emerging nationalism in the Philippines culminating in the Philippine Revolution of 1898.

This book is on churches and other religious edifices built in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial regime, 1565-1898. The forms, materials and construction techniques of these edifices will be discussed, along with their furnishings such as religious statuary, paintings and vessels.

Rene Javellana, SJ’s Fortres of Empire book is perhaps the best reference, so far, to introduce the reader to the fortifications in the country. These are oft forgotten aspect of Philippine heritage and the dark history that it represents. It is not too large and is full of beautful colored pictures of structures, details as well as places. Archival imagesas well as artist’s rendering and isometric drawings of some forts and watchtowers are included.

Thanx to Jobers Bersales, some Cebu archival images (scans) from the Ahlborn Collection was made available to me. Part of the collection are black and white images of Oslob Church, the mortuary chapel and the kumbento.

From the collection of archival photos of the San Agustin Museum courtesy of Fr. Pedro Galende, three old photos of the beautiful Cabatuan cemetery are featured here. Above, is the capilla or chapel sans the vegetation that now blocked the view from the entrance. This chapel has the most stylized skull and crossbone bas relief in the country.

I’m showing my images of the North Cebu churches that are part of the photo exhibit Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu. These are just 14 out of 50 photographs that have been especially selected for this show and covers different generations from Spanish colonial era structures in the 18th century, 19th century American colonial period to modern 20th century edifices.

Below is Jobers Bersales’ article at Cebu Daily News on the Balaanong Bahandi photo exhibit that appeared today entitled “Showcasing, publishing sacred treasures.”

To mark the Diamond Jubilee of the Archdiocese of Cebu, the Cathedral Museum of Cebu and the Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church will soon launch the book Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

I first came across this wonderful exhibit, Hidden Treasures of the Philippines, A Photo Exhibit of Vintage Churches at the Ortigas Foundation Library while online and it was just past noon today that I have finally visited it. If you’re in Manila, now, you should catch it as it will end by next week, third week of June.

Great Churches of the Philippines by Pedro Galende, OSA and Rene Javellana, SJ is one of those books that you just have to get, pour over and read again and again. A lightweight tome that presents these architectural gems with its distinct Philippine style in a new light: beautiful pictures with short but concise text.