Neoclassical in style, the church of San Nicolas de Tolentino, patron saint of Cabatuan, was built in 1834, replacing the temporary ones constructed by earlier priests. It was Rev. Fr. Ramon Alquizar, an Augustinian, who initiated in building the church. Every side of the church is a facade in itself. Its walls are overlaid with red bricks.
Before World War II, there was a spacious rectory or convento, which can accommodate 3000 people, at the right side of the church. It was however burned by the guerillas in 1942 as part of their scorched earth strategy. In 1943, it was demolished by the Japanese Imperial Army and its bricks were used as overlay for the Tiring Landing Field. On Jan. 25, 1948, the church was partly destroyed by an earthquake that rocked the island of Panay.
View from the Parish Convent
It is the only church in Iloilo which once had three facades and six belfries, in spite of this, four of these belfries were destroyed in the 1948 earthquake.The Church which is Tuscan in style imposes heaviness and massiveness.
The Main facade is primarily decorated with Tuscan pilasters and ornate Agustinian symbols, while the eastern and the western facades remained in the Renaissance form.
The belfries which might be Moorish or Byzantine in style, contribute a medieval Baroque supremacy. Read More from Lingganay, a Collection of Iloilo’s Heritage Churches, by Giancarlo Parcon Alvarez
Eastern Facade
Western Facade
The central structure of the church is in the shape of the cross which is about 50 meters long and about 20 meters wide, with its walls about a meter and a half thick. Its facade is decorated with the pope’s tiara flanked by the Augustinian symbol of the transfixed heart capped by the bishop’s hat surrounded by a cord. The upper part of the walls have 19 circular windows with multicolored glass panes.
Wow..that’s our church which I’m proud to say that I’m a Cabatuananons..Through the determination of our past Parish Priests who greatly help to improve and maintain the structural image of the historical church shows the assence of the Christianity of the Cabatuanons. And also the discipline of every individual to keep the church as magnificient as it was. Hope that it will preserve to the next generation…Mabuhay!
GRAND! i have visited this church with a friend when we went to Maasin, we stopped coz history buff din yung mga kasama ko. ang ganda niya talaga pati yung convent panalo rin, kaso we haven’t explore the other facades yung nakaharap lang sa plaza. galing! according to my friend this church is one of the largest in Iloilo and i’ve read in other iloilo website that its the only church in the Philippines na more than one ang facade, european talaga siya kung ganun.
oops didn’t notice the typo there .. it’s WWII not WWIII, lol…
Your lola is right, but sadly you won’t be able to see the old church of Oton because it’s already destroyed. Kanugon gani, it was once a very magnificent structure.
wooow! large indeed! i love brick structures, and i would like to see this one, when i return to Iloilo. There are few old churches here in negros compared to Iloilo..
3 facades? according to my Lola(who hailed from Iloilo) Oton church has four facades… I’ve passed Oton once but failed to see the four-faced Oton church my lola was talking about…
more like 172 years old, not one of the oldest in Iloilo but it\’s one of the biggest. It used to be bigger but some parts were demolished during the earthquake and world war II.
The Cabatuan Church has 3 facades. The first photo is the main facade and the second photo is the facade on the left side of the church.
Glad you like the Cabatuan Church, I like it too.
There\’s a more than a dozen other old churches in Iloilo, if you\’re interested ;)
is this church like 400 years old? it looks so antique… it looks nice though.. which part of the church is the second photo.. is it another church, or an annex?
I like it too … the way it peeps out from the trees when you’re about to enter or leave the towns in a nice sight
i think this one has the most distinct belfry of all churches in iloilo…