“This is the second of three parts featuring old photos of the Cebu Cathedral…”

Above: An early 1900s photo of the interiors of the cathedral showing the 19th century main altar retablo.

The cathedral of Cebu underwent a lot of changes even during the Spanish colonial times. In the 1930s, the cathedral underwent a major renovation in preparation for the elevation of the then diocese of Cebu into an archdiocese with Gabriel Reyes as the first archbishop. The facade of the cathedral was expanded towards the belfry thus making it look bigger.

Inside, the 19th century retablo was torn down and replaced with a simple altar made of Carrara marble from Italy. Above it were three stained glass windows featuring Jesus Christ at the middle and the archangels Michael and Gabriel on each side side. The chair of the archbishop was then located near the main altar. Continue Reading »

“This is the first of three parts featuring old photos of the Cebu Cathedral…”

The renovation works at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral in time for the 75th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Cebu on April 28, 2009 is nearing completion. As of this writing, the facade now looks very clean and the plaza has been remodeled and redeveloped. A new comfort room, away from the church, is also now open for public use.

A few weeks from now, a new retablo carved from wood by a Pampanga artist will be installed. Thanks to Fr. Brian Brigoli and the team behind the preparations for the archdiocese’s diamond anniversary, the cathedral has now been brought back to its old grandeur worthy of the title as the seat of the archbishop of one of the greatest archdiocese in the country

In this connection, I will be dedicating three series to commemorate the cathedral of Cebu through the years through vintage photos that show how it used to look before. Continue Reading »