The church of Carcar, situated on an elevated plain with a commanding view of the town, is one of the few well-built stone churches in Cebu. The harmonious design and the careful layout of the church itself are obviously the works of a lettered architect or planner.

Dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, a legendary 4th century scholar and martyr, the church was built by the Augustinians between 1860-1875 and features various influences including Islamic and Graeco-Roman. Islamic influences are evident in the massive recessed arch above the main entrance and the openings or the windows of the twin belfries. Click here for more photos and text »

This blog will feature some of the remaining historical retablos in Cebu and will run for several weeks.

One of the most sought after sight when entering a Spanish-colonial church in any location in our country is the elaborately carved retablo which serves as a backdrop for an altar. The retablo usually has niches that contain statues of saints and is richly decorated with carvings of different motifs. It captivates the eyes of anyone entering the church from the main door and such may have contributed to the speeding up of the conversion of the natives. I myself have been fascinated with these old retablos that I can no longer count the number of times that I keep coming back to a particular church just to gaze at it. I look at them not on the religious side but as wonderful works of art bearing in mind that these are excellent products of Filipino craftsmanship.

Here in Cebu, some of the old churches that still have retablos are becoming popular sights for tourists and heritage buffs. Unfortunately though there are only a few left since some have been torn down while others were “deliberately removed” and “transferred” elsewhere to become an addition to a collection. Some were also destroyed during the last world war.

Due to my fascination to it, I have decided to dedicate the next few weeks to featuring some of the remaining historical retablos in Cebu. The criteria that I have set is that they must date back to the Spanish colonial era with the exception of the new retablos that were installed at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral in time for the 75th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

The deliberate destruction of our beautiful retablos must stop. I’m hoping that by undertaking this feature I will be able to educate Filipinos with regards to these precious works of art in wood.

The image of the Sto. Niño de Cebu is returned to the then San Agustin Church, now the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, after being safely kept at the Redemptorist convent during the aerial bombings of World War II. Photo above shows a Redemptorist priest and an Augustinian friar with the image.

(Photo sourced from MacArthur Memorial Museum, Norfolk, Virginia, USA and posted in Skyscrapercity Forums)

By Jobers Bersales
Cebu Daily News

CEBU CITY (Dec. 31, 2009) — ’Tis the season for reunions and family gatherings and so it came to pass that the writers and photographers of the hugely successful (my bias is showing!) 308-page coffee table book “Balaanong Bahandi” reunited at our residence in Sto. Nino Village the other day to plan the next step now that the book is out.

To recall, “Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu” was launched last Nov. 26 at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu by both the museum and its co-publisher the University of San Carlos Press. As its editor and project manager, I repeated what was promised during the pre-selling blitz for the book that was held in July this year: a smaller volume would soon follow. Well, the meeting-cum-swim party was finally held the other day in order to fulfill this promise. And the end result will hopefully come out when the Archdiocese of Cebu closes its Diamond Jubilee Celebrations on April 28, 2010. Click here for more photos and text »

Above: Bishop Juan Gorordo’s baptismal record at the parish of St. Anne in Barili, Cebu (Photo posted by vip1852 in Flickr.com).

CEBU CITY (Dec. 20, 2009) — The Archdiocese of Cebu commemorates today the 75th death anniversary of Bishop Juan Gorordo, the first Filipino Bishop of Cebu. A Holy Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral will be officiated by Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal at 4 PM and will be followed by the opening of the Bishop Juan Gorordo Exhibit at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu. Click here for more photos and text »

CEBU CITY (Nov. 29, 2009) — Starting December 1, 2009 the coffeetable book entitled Balaanong Bahandi, Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu will now be available to the public. Out of the thousands that were printed, there are only less than 800 copies of the book that have remained unsold. To purchase a copy of it, visit the Cathedral Museum of Cebu or email me at knightcarl [at] cebuheritage [dot] com.

CEBU CITY (Nov. 26, 2009) — The coffeetable book on parish churches in Cebu entitled “Balaanong Bahandi, Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu” was successfully launched a while ago at the Cathedral Museum of Cebu with Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal signing the first ten copies which were distributed to the top sponsors and to the archives of the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, the Archdiocese of Cebu and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Click here for more photos and text »