Above: Detail of the tabernacle at the retablo.

I went recently to the Camotes group of islands to wrap up my tour of several parishes in Cebu in relation to a book project being jointly undertaken by the Archdiocese of Cebu, through the Cathedral Museum of Cebu, and the University of San Carlos. There are a total of four parishes in Camotes, one parish for every municipality — Poro, San Francisco, Tudela, and Pilar. The first three are located in the two bigger main islands, which are connected together by a causeway, while the last is in Ponson Island, which is nearer to Leyte already.

I practically spent an entire afternoon visiting three parishes, riding a “habal-habal” from one parish to another. The next day, I rented an outrigger and crossed the seas to go to the municipality of Pilar. On my way to the parish church of Pilar, I spotted this small chapel in Barangay Lanao that looks modern from the outside but have elements and embellishments inside that date it much, much older.

The decorative wooden corbels in the shape of scrolls, the walls made of rubblestone work or “mamposteria,” the stout wooden posts and beams that support the roof and the lintels made of hardwood at the windows all suggest that this structure was originally built during the Spanish colonial era. What makes the suggestion too convincing are the large wooden retablo at the altar with four niches containing antique statues of saints and the pulpit raised from the ground.

This chapel is perhaps the only one of its kind in Cebu today. Or perhaps there were many others but only this one was left intact of its embellishments. A bell bears the year 1860, perhaps the year this chapel, dedicated to St. Vincent Ferrer, was established.

When I arrived at the parish church in Pilar, I inquired about the chapel. I had thoughts that the chapel may have been some sort of a “mission” that would soon grow to become a parish but I was told of the lore that the chapel was embellished to such degree because priests arriving at Ponson Island and going to Pilar would make a stop-over there to rest — and celebrate mass. According to Felipe Redondo y Sendino in his book entitled Breve Reseña de lo que fue y de lo que es la Diocesis de Cebu en las Islas Filipinas which was published in Manila in 1886, Lanao was one of the “vicarages” of Pilar.

Below: The retablo at the altar containing four niches for various saints.

Below: A raised pulpit.

Below: The sanctuary lamp near the tabernacle.

Below: A modified wooden clapper used during Holy Thursday.

Below: Some of the chapel’s collections (1st to 3rd photo): a statue of the Virgin Mary at the center niche of the retablo, a small Sto. Intierro encased in a wooden box with a glass window and the Black Nazarene.

About Emperor Karl

Emperor Karl has wrote 90 articles on this blog.

A blogger since 2006, he is a registered nurse and currently works in a clinic. His interests are varied but mostly centers on history and the arts. Some of his feature articles have been published in CNNGo and in some leading local publications such as SunStar Daily and Cebu Daily News. He is also a co-author of Balaanong Bahandi, a coffetable book about the heritage churches in Cebu.

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