Front facade corner buttress is huge

Passi Church doesn’t have the appeal of, say Molo, with its soaring neogothic architecture and related details, nor the intricacies of the bas relief that make Miag-ao Church special. When one looks at it, the structure is squat and simple. But there’s one thing that readily catches one’s attention: buttresses.

It might have been the past, wherein the first structures were destroyed in the earthquakes of 1612 and 1787 that made the builder of the current church invested in buttresses. Especially those found at the corners, these buttresses are huge with its bases thick and wider, then sloping to the top. It’s a good example of an earthquake baroque church.

The back of the church, formerly, the front facade. Note the wide buttresses at each side and middle.

Close up view of one corner buttress from the back

Side buttresses of the church

Elevated roof floating above the buttresses

Detail of one buttress which shows that the roof was elevated a little

Buttresses as seen from the interior