Espiritu Santo Parish, now known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Espiritu Santo, is a Roman Catholic parish belonging to the

Archdiocese of Manila In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

that is located at 1912

Rizal Avenue Rizal Avenue, also known as Avenida or Avenida Rizal, is one of Manila's main thoroughfares running from its Santa Cruz and Quiapo districts to the Bonifacio Monument (Monumento) Circle in Caloocan. Named after the national hero José Rizal ...

corner

Tayuman Street Tayuman Street is a four-lane east-west street in northern Manila, Philippines. It stretches from the former San Lazaro Hippodrome in Santa Cruz to Barrio Pritil in Tondo district. The street is designated as part of Circumferential Road 2. ...

Santa Cruz, Manila Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth, bordered by the districts of Tondo, Binondo, Quiapo, and Sampaloc, as well as the areas of Grace P ...

, Philippines. It was declared an Archdiocesan Shrine by Manila Archbishop Emeritus Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle on June 8, 2014, the Solemnity of the

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

. Rev. Msgr. Eymard Dennis Peter Marcelino S. Odiver, PC is the newly appointed parish priest and rector of the church, succeeding Rev. Fr. Wilmer R. Rosario, JCD, who has been its parish priest from 2015 to 2022.

History

Construction of the church

In 1913, a public cemetery where the church now stands was closed due to health concerns. Espiritu Santo Parish was established on December 19, 1926, and placed under the administration of the Divine Word Fathers (SVD). Fr. William Finneman, SVD was its first parish priest. In December 1931, Fr. Jose Duserhund took over as parish priest. A crypt containing 444 niches built underneath the altar were sold to local residents. The proceeds were used to construct the church. Its church was fully completed and solemnly blessed on May 14, 1932, on the occasion of the Parish fiesta. The church remained standing and unscathed during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines and the battle for the liberation of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. Mr. and Mrs. Jose G. Lopez of Job Lema donated the image of the Blessed Trinity in 1951, sculpted by the popular Maximo Vicente including its carriage. On September 29, 1952, a Tabernacle costing eight thousand pesos arrived from the United States of America. In November 1955, the beautiful edifice of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the corner of Rizal Avenue and Tayuman Street was blessed by Archbishop Rufino J. Santos. In 1956, a baptismal font was donated by Mr. Jose Pablo and Company On July 11, 1958, the marble main altar was consecrated by Cardinal Santos. Inside the tomb of the main altar were the relics of Saint Matias the Apostle, Saint Irmina, and Saint Maria Goretti. The "Descent of the Holy Spirit" upon the apostles on the ark in the sanctuary was painted by Mr. Jose Santos. A beautiful Monstrance which was made in 1899 and a church ceiling with a Gothic design were donated by the relatives of Fr. Matias. The marble altar in the middle of the sanctuary was completed and blessed in 1968. In the same year, the pipe organ costing seventy-two thousand pesos was acquired and installed by Rev. Fr. H. Schblitzki, SVD, and was solemnly blessed by the Most Rev. Bienvenido M. Lopez, DD on November 24, 1968.

Church renovations

The SVD Fathers turned over the Espiritu Santo Parish to the diocesan clergy on May 2, 1973, with Msgr. Gorgonio Encarnacion as first diocesan parish priest. A four-story multi-purpose building was constructed to replace the old convent. Under Msgr. Emmanuel Sunga's three-year service from 1990, church facilities were improved and a big generator was installed at the back of the church. Msgr. Norberto Habos' five-year service from 1993 was dedicated to continuous improvement in church facilities. Because of his eye for beauty and artistic taste, the magnificent ''retablo'' of the Holy Spirit at the dome of the main altar, the chapel of Saints, and the stained glass windows which depicted the 15 mysteries of the Rosary were installed. Under the incumbency of Msgr. Albert G. Salonga (1998–2015), the computerized church bells were put to use. The two-storey Formation Center was constructed; the Adoration Chapel, parish office, candle stand corner, coffee shop, and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help were renovated. The image of Rosa Mystica was acquired for the May flower offering. More importantly, the 43-year-old pipe organ was fully rehabilitated through the help of fund-raising projects. The rehabilitation costed two hundred forty-five million pesos. The rehabilitation was carried out by Diego Cerra Organbuilders, custodians of the Las Pinas Bamboo Organ.

Parish priests

*Rev. Msgr. Gorgonio Encarnacion, HP (1973-1990) (deceased) *Rev. Msgr. Emmanuel Sunga, PC (1990-1993) *Rev. Msgr. Norberto Habos, PC (1993-1998) (deceased) *Rev. Msgr. Albert Salonga, PC (1998-2015) *Rev. Fr. Wilmer R. Rosario, JCD (2015–2022) *Rev. Msgr. Eymard Dennis Peter Marcelino S. Odiver, PC (2022–present)

Establishment as an Archdiocesan Shrine

On June 8, 2014, the title Archdiocesan Shrine of Espiritu Santo was granted in the dedication held during the 88th fiesta anniversary officiated by Cardinal Tagle. Twelve crosses were dedicated in the church posts, The altar was dressed with linens and red roses, and white Malaysian flowers decorated the altar. The kissing of the newly consecrated altar was opened to the public. Msgr. Albert G. Salonga lit the candles and passed them to La Liga and BEC parishioners to light the twelve posts.

Gallery

File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 02.JPG, White Dove at the facade File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 01.JPG, Bell Tower File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 05.JPG, Main Entrance Door File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 14.JPG, Retablo File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 10.JPG, Posts inside the church File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 13.JPG, Way of the Cross Date File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 17.JPG, Church interior, left side File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 16.JPG, Left portion of the chancel File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 20.JPG, Chancel File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 07.JPG, Chancel File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 11.JPG, Right portion of the chansel File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 08.JPG, Left side of the altar File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 22.JPG, Virgin Mary File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 18.JPG, Pipe Organ File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 19.JPG, Choir Loft File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 04.JPG, Portal to the Bell Tower File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 06.JPG, Steep staircase of the Bell Tower File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 09.JPG, Old Bells, set to ring automatically File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 15.JPG, Pews with carved woodworks File:Espiritu Santo Parish Manila 21.JPG, Chandelier

References

{{Manila archdiocese Roman Catholic churches in Manila Buildings and structures in Santa Cruz, Manila Roman Catholic churches completed in 1932 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines