April 7, 2023
We had done our family Visita Iglesia in Bulacan for two different years already, 2015 (MY ARTICLE) and 2019 (MY ARTICLE). This year, we went to seven more towns of Bulacan province which we have not been to before, and here are the churches we were able to visit today, Good Friday 2023:
1. SAN ISIDRO LABRADOR PARISH CHURCH - PULILAN
The first church constructed by the Augustinians in this present location in 1793 was of light materials at first, only to be replaced by a stone building starting November 1798. The present facade is simple, predominantly neo-classical, with only an Augustinian emblem above the main door as ornamentation. On December 13, 2020, the parish church was elevated to the status of a diocesan shrine.
2. ST. JAMES THE APOSTLE PARISH CHURCH - PLARIDEL
The church of Plaridel (originally Quingua) was in 1581 administered by the Augustinians. The previous churches had been razed by fires or damaged by earthquakes, but were duly rebuilt promptly each time. The present stone and brick church is mainly Baroque, with a pediment of Moorish design shaped like a minaret. The church served as a military hospital for American soldiers in 1899.
3. ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH CHURCH - BALIUAG
The parish of Baliwag was founded on May 26, 1733. The architectural style of the church is Baroque, and had undergone several rehabilitation for various damages sustained over the years. In 1979, the marble Moses holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments was added to the base of its very tall bell tower in 1983. The Good Friday procession of the church is said to be one of the largest in the country, with more than 100 religious floats participating.
4. STO. NINO PARISH CHURCH - BUSTOS
In 1862, babies from Bustos drowned in the Angat River en route to their baptism in St. Augustine in Baliuag. This led to Bustos having a church of their own, the building of which started in 1872. It was dedicated to the Santo Niño, in honor of those infants that died in the river. The facade had statues of saints adorning the top of each pillar, with Christ the Redeemer topping the cupola at its highest point.
5. STA. MONICA PARISH CHURCH - ANGAT
Angat became a parish in 1683, the sixth oldest parish in Bulacan. Established in 1758 by the Augustinian fathers, the Santa Monica Parish Church is one of the oldest churches in Bulacan. It had a Baroque architectural style. A notable feature were the elaborate paintings on its ceiling completed in 2002. The images were inspired by those in the Sistine Chapel, along with scenes depicting the history of the Church in the country and religious activities in Angat.
6. MINOR BASILICA AND PARISH OF LA PURISIMA CONCEPCION - STA. MARIA
Santa Maria Church, home to a reportedly miraculous image of the Virgin Mary, was founded by Franciscan Friars as a visita under the parish of Saint Martin of Tours in Bocaue. On March 28, 2019, Pope Francis granted the canonical coronation of the image of La Purisima Concepcion. On November 27, 2021, the church was formally declared as a Minor Basilica, the 18th of such in the country.
7. ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI PARISH CHURCH - MEYCAUAYAN
The parish was founded in 1578 by the first batch of Franciscan priests who arrived in the Philippines. It is the largest parish in Bulacan. with more than 80,000 parishioners. A remarkable architectural feature of this church was the bell tower (built in 1800) which was connected to the main church by a large arch bridge. Too bad the church and tower were covered with scaffolding when we visited today.
