Manila Cathedral

Manila Cathedral
Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Basilika Menor at Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi
Basílica Menor y Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción
Façade from Plaza de Roma
Façade from Plaza de Roma
14°35′29″N 120°58′25″E / 14.59147°N 120.97356°E / 14.59147; 120.97356Coordinates: 14°35′29″N 120°58′25″E / 14.59147°N 120.97356°E / 14.59147; 120.97356
LocationManila
CountryPhilippines
Language(s)Filipino, English
DenominationCatholic
Websitemanilacathedral.com.ph
History
Former name(s)Church of Manila
Authorising papal bullFebruary 6, 1579 (1579-02-06)
StatusMinor Basilica and Cathedral
Founded1571 (1571)
Founder(s)Juan de Vivero
DedicationImmaculate Conception
Consecrated1581 (1581)
EventsApril 9, 2014 (2014-04-09) (formal reopening following restoration)
January 16, 2015 (2015-01-16) (Papal Mass of Pope Francis)
Past bishop(s)
Associated peopleMiguel López de Legazpi
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designation
Designated
  • 1958
    Marked Structure
  • 2018
    Important Cultural Property
Architect(s)Fernando H. Ocampo Sr.
Architectural typeChurch building
StyleNeo-Romanesque
Groundbreaking1954 (1954)
Completed1958 (1958) Present structure
2014 (2014) Earthquake retrofitting
Construction cost70 million 2012–2014 restoration
ClosedFebruary 7, 2012 (2012-02-07) to March 25, 2014 (2014-03-25)
Demolished1945 (1945) Battle of Manila
Specifications
Number of floors2
Number of domes1
Number of spires1
MaterialsAdobe and cement
Administration
SubdivisionVicariate of Nuestra Señora de Guia
ArchdioceseManila
Clergy
ArchbishopMost Rev. Jose F. Cardinal Advincula, DD
RectorMsgr. Rolando dela Cruz
Assistant priest(s)Rev. Fr. Marion Noel Bayaras
Rev. Fr. Kali Pietre M. Llamado
Logo of the Manila Cathedral

The Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Filipino: Basilika Menor at Kalakhang Katedral ng Kalinis-linisang Paglilihi; Spanish: Basílica Menor y Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción), also known as the Manila Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Manila), is the cathedral of Manila and basilica located in Intramuros, the historic walled city within today's modern city of Manila, Philippines. It is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Patroness of the country. The cathedral serves as the episcopal seat of the Archbishop of Manila.

The cathedral was originally a parish church in Manila under the Archdiocese of Mexico in 1571, until it became a separate diocese on February 6, 1579, upon the issuance of the papal bull, Illius Fulti Præsido by Pope Gregory XIII. The cathedral was damaged and destroyed several times since the original structure was built in 1581 while the eighth and current structure of the cathedral was completed in 1958.

The basilica has merited a papal endorsement from Pope Gregory XIII and three apostolic visits from Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis. On April 27, 1981, Pope John Paul II issued papal bull Quod Ipsum designating the cathedral as a minor basilica by his own Motu Proprio.

History

The cathedral in 1792, by Fernando Brambila

The cathedral was originally the "church of Manila" officially established in 1571 by a secular priest, Fray Juan de Vivero, who arrived in Manila Bay in 1566. De Vivero, the chaplain on the galleon of San Gerónimo, was sent by the Archbishop of Mexico, Alonso de Montúfar, to establish Christianity as the spiritual and religious administration in newly colonized Philippines. De Vivero later became the vicar-general and the first ecclesiastical judge of the city of Manila.

Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi chose the location of the church and placed it under the patronage of Santa Potenciana. The first parish priest of the church was Fray Juan de Villanueva.

When the church was elevated to a cathedral in 1579 (coinciding with the canonical erection of the Diocese of Manila), a new structure made from nipa, wood, and bamboo was constructed in 1581 by Domingo de Salazar, the first-ever bishop of Manila. The new structure was consecrated on December 21, 1581; formally becoming a cathedral. The structure was destroyed by fire in 1583, which started during the funeral Mass for Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa in San Agustin Church that razed much of the city. The second cathedral, which was made of stone, was built in 1592. However, it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1600.

The collapsed belfry after the 1880 earthquake

Construction of the third cathedral began in 1614. The new structure, consisting of three naves and seven chapels, was blessed in 1614. It again toppled by another earthquake which shook Manila in 1645.

The fourth cathedral was constructed from 1654 to 1671. In 1750, a media naranja ("half orange") dome was added to the crossing by the Florentine friar Juan de Uguccioni, who also introduced a transept to the structure. It was severely damaged in 1863 by a very strong earthquake, that also damaged the palace of the governor general of the Philippines. The seventh cathedral was constructed from 1870 to 1879. It was solemnly consecrated in December 1879. The cross atop the central dome is a reference point of astronomical longitudes of the archipelago. In 1880, another earthquake toppled its bell tower, rendering the cathedral towerless until 1958.

Aerial view of the cathedral (center), 1936

In 1937, the International Eucharistic Congress was held in the Philippines in which the cathedral played an integral part in promoting eucharistic beliefs. Both a cathedral stamp and medal were unveiled in commemoration of the event and was made by the official manufacturer of medals for the Congress of the Philippines at the time, the sculptor Críspulo Zamora.

Manila Cathedral before destruction in 1945
The cathedral before destruction in 1945
The ruins of Manila Cathedral after destruction
Cathedral ruins after destruction

This incarnation of the cathedral was reduced to rubble by the Japanese in a scorched-earth defense in 1945 during the Battle of Manila, as the Second World War neared its conclusion.

The cathedral's present incarnation was constructed from 1954 to 1958 under Most Rev. Rufino J. Cardinal Santos, DD; and under the supervision of the notable Kapampangan architect Fernando H. Ocampo.

Pope Paul VI made an apostolic visit and celebrated Mass in the cathedral in 1970. Pope John Paul II issued a papal bull Quod Ipsum on April 27, 1981; elevating the shrine to a minor basilica through his own Motu Proprio. In the same papal bull, he reiterated that Pope Paul VI's papal decree of June 6, 1968, be eternally preserved and enforced to the merits and titles of the cathedral as its own basilica.

The cathedral in 2021

The cathedral's 50th restoration anniversary was celebrated in 2008, highlighted by the second Manila Cathedral Pipe Organ Festival from December 2 to 10, organized by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. The cathedral's pipe organ itself, which consists of 5,584 pipes, is one of the largest pipe organs in the country and in Southeast Asia.

In February 2011, the cathedral's bells were moved to the ground level to prevent the bell tower from collapsing, as had occurred in past earthquakes. In January 2012, the bells were replaced with new ones personally cast by blacksmith Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling from Heidelberg, Germany in 1958. According to the new marker installed by Manila Archbishop Most Rev. Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, DD, the newly installed bells are the largest bells actively used in the Philippines. A total of seven carillon bells were permanently installed in the ground level of the belfry, weighing at 17 metric tons (17 long tons).

2012 renovation and 2014 reopening

Reliquary-calendar with fragment bone of St. Caesarius of Terracina, deacon and martyr, Manila Cathedral. In photo, cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle next the new icon of Saint Caesarius.

The cathedral underwent repairs for earthquake retrofitting and subsidence prevention in 2012. During this time, the San Fernando de Dilao Church was designated as the temporary official church (pro-cathedral) of the Archdiocese of Manila. However, Msgr. Nestor Cerbo stated that the cathedral would finish its renovations on March 25, 2014. Some added features and changes include the installation of CCTV cameras, large flat screen television screens (similar to those found in Baclaran Church), improved audio-video systems, and improved interior and exterior LED lightings. The cathedral completed its restoration on the said date and was reopened to the general public on April 9, 2014, after two years of renovation. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle presided a Holy Mass, after the reopening of the cathedral, attended by President Benigno Aquino III.

In the baptistery of Saint John the Baptist, at the left side of the vestibule from the side entrance, is preserved a reliquary-calendar containing 365 relics of the saints; at November 1 there is a bone fragment of Saint Caesarius of Terracina, the saint protectors of the emperors, who replaced and Christianized the cult of Julius Caesar.

Pontifical visit (2015)

On January 16, 2015, Pope Francis celebrated his first Papal Mass in the country at the cathedral as part of his apostolic visit to the Philippines. The mass was celebrated for the bishops, priests, and the clergy in three languages: Latin, English, and Filipino.

Panorama of the cathedral interior

Patroness

A bronze life-sized polychrome statue of the Immaculate Conception by Italian artist Vincenzo Assenza (1915–1981), located above the high altar. Consecrated by Pope Pius XII's Papal Bull Impositi Nobis in 1942, the Virgin Mary under this title is honoured as the Principal Patroness of the country.

Shrine rectors

  • Artemio Gabriel Casas, (1956–1962)
  • Jose C. Abriol, P.A. (1962–1975)
  • Augusto Pedrosa, H.P. (1975–1985)
  • Domingo A. Cirilos Jr., P.C. (1985–1996)
  • Hernando M. Coronel, P.C. (1996–2002)
  • Nestor C. Cerbo, P.C. (2002–2015)
  • Reginald R. Malicdem, (2015–2022)
  • Rolando dela Cruz, (2022-present)

Burials and funerals

The cathedral crypt is the resting place for former archbishops of Manila and a few other prelates, located underneath the church complex and accessible by a stairway to the right of the altar:

Three former presidents were permitted to lie in state under the cathedral dome:

President Aguinaldo was the first president to have a requiem mass said in the restored cathedral. Although he was a freemason and was closely associated with the Aglipayan Church, his remains were brought to the cathedral and laid beneath the dome on February 14, 1964. Rufino J. Cardinal Santos officiated the requiem mass before the remains were brought to the Legislative Building for the state vigil. President Garcia was the first layman to lie-in-state and have his Requiem Mass said at the cathedral; President Aquino was the third layperson and the first woman given this honour during her funeral. This broke with centuries of tradition that reserved the right of lying-in-state beneath the dome to archbishops of Manila.

Mosaic at the cathedral's Crypt Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Latin text at the bottom, Vos omnes oui transitis per viam attendite et vidette si est dolor sicut dolor meus. (O all you who walk by on the road, pay attention and see: if there be any sorrow like my sorrow.), was taken from the Book of Lamentations 1:12.

Details of the shrine

Inscription on the tympanum of the main portal.

The northwest façade is a replica of the façade of the previous cathedral, along with statues of famous saints sculpted in Roman travertine stone. Several of the artworks inside the basilica were made by Italian artists. In the previous cathedral, they were originally made of molave wood. The statue of Saint Rose of Lima was sculpted by Angelo Fattinanzi; Saint Jacob, Saint Andrew, and Saint Anthony the Abbot by Livia Papini; and Saint Francis Xavier and Saint Polycarp by Alcide Tico.

The tympanum above the central northwest doors bears the Latin inscription Tibi cordi tuo immaculato concredimus nos ac consecramus (English: "To thy Immaculate Heart, entrust us and consecrate us").

The papal arms were added in 1981 to signify the cathedral's status as a basilica.

Since Pope John Paul II's apostolic visit to the basilica in 1981, a medallion bearing the papal arms has been placed beneath the cross of the façade. The scarlet galeros of Cardinals Rufino Santos and Jaime Sin are also suspended from the ceiling of the dome. In addition, a copy of the Saint Peter Enthroned statue of St. Peter's Basilica is enshrined inside, across a polychrome life-sized statue of the Immaculate Conception.

Prior to 1988, the bronze statue of the Immaculate Conception in the main altar, by national Italian sculptor Vincenzo Assenza, was painted gold until 1988 (though the twelve star halo-aureola is solid gold). Inscribed on the baldachin above the statue of the Immaculate Conception is the Latin antiphon Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in Te (English: "Thou art all-beautiful, Mary, and the original stain [spot] (of sin) is not in thee.").

The baptismal font and angel-shaped holy water fonts are also made of solid bronze by Publio Morbiducci; the prominent mosaic of Saint Jude Thaddeus was made by Marcello Mazzoli. The 134 modern stained glass windows were made in 1964 by Filipino artist Galo Ocampo. The window set, which was a programme of Marian themes, was commissioned and funded by Cardinal Santos.

The artistic designs of the stained glass windows of the Manila Cathedral are mostly products of the creative genius of Ocampo, one of the most versatile contemporary Filipino artists during his time and a recipient of the 1964 Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award from the city government of Manila.

The marble floors on the center aisle near the altar bears the coat of arms of four cardinal archbishops of Manila: Rufino Santos, Jaime Sin, Gaudencio Rosales, and Luis Antonio Tagle.

Cathedra

The cathedra or episcopal throne of the Archbishop of Manila was installed during the postwar reconstruction in 1958. It is made of Mexican onyx and marble from Carrara, Italy, and was designed and made by the Istituto Internazionale d’Arte Liturgica in Rome.

The original cathedra bears the coat of arms of then Archbishop Rufino Santos before he was created a cardinal. His coat of arms and the Mexican onyx was covered by a stone until its restoration in 2021.

The restored cathedra now bears a carving of the coat of arms Cardinal Jose Advincula, the present archbishop, imposed on top of white Indian marble.

Gallery

See also


This page was last updated at 2022-12-27 08:58 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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