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. Continue Reading »

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)