“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.

All credits to these wonderful photos go to the Southeast Asia Digital Library, a collaboration of the Cebuano Studies Center and the University of Northern Illinois.

Below: The Cathedral in the early 1900s.

Below: The Cathedral in 1905, shot during the visit of William Howard Taft.

Below: Sometime between the years 1920 and 1930, the plaza of the cathedral was redeveloped. In the middle was installed a statue of Christ the King.

Below: The cathedral was heavily damaged by the USAFFE aerial bombings during World War II. Only the facade, the thick walls, and the belfy remained intact. In this photo, the facade of the cathedral has already been expanded towards the belfry thus making it look bigger.