The Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Teresa de Avila, previously known as Santa Teresa de Avila Church, is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located in Talisay,

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Built in 1836 until 1848, architecturally, the church is in classical

Graeco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

style, featuring the facade's two bell towers connected by a porch with two supporting columns on the foyer. On October 15, 2007, it was declared an archdiocesan shrine and pilgrims could receive

plenary indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of ...

for a year.

Design

The church was made from coral stones and contained embellished interiors and five gilded altars. Its original design was

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

with two semicircular

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

s and the twin belfries on each side of the façade, with a connecting balustraded portico that is supported by two columns on the main entrance, are its prominent feature. Inside, hanging above the crossing is a large round chandelier. According to Filipinas Heritage Library, the church used "round arch, rectangular piers with engaged shafts, and an arcade." Felipe Redondo, writing in the late 19th century, described its architecture as Doric (classical Graeco-Roman) in style. The church's structure was remodeled, and two new wings were added on each side of the main nave. Its original stonewalls were preserved, its old arched windows and side entrances still visible to this day.

History

Dd_saint_teresas_church_of_talisay_oldest_church_f

The church's name was in honor of

Teresa of Avila Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

, its patron saint. Talisay during the Spanish times was a property of Augustinian friars and a ''visita'' of San Nicolas, which was a district south of then municipality of Cebu and to which it was later annexed. The area separated from San Nicolas when the local population boomed and on August 16, 1836, the parish was declared independent under Juan Soriano by virtue of a royal decree signed on April 25, 1836. Interestingly the tomb of another priest possibly the predecessor of Juan Soriano is still extant inside one of the small chapels inside the church. Construction began in 1836 and the works were completed in 1848. When a typhoon caused the destruction of the church's roof made of clay tiles, it was renovated with iron sheets in 1877 and in 1894, the interiors were decorated. Towards the conclusion of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the building sustained heavy damage to all parts of the church and the nearby convent did not survive the war. One of the few parts of the church that sustained little damage was the facade which still remains in its original state. Post-war restoration efforts were carried out by

Teofilo Camomot Teofilo Bastida Camomot (3 March 1914 – 27 September 1988) was a Roman Catholic Archbishop from the Philippines. Ordained a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Cebu on 14 December 1941, he was eventually appointed an auxiliary bishop on 23 ...

and because of damage sustained during World War 2 the roof was lowered significantly.

Archdiocesan shrine

On October 15, 2007, coinciding its fiesta celebration, the parish was declared as an archdiocesan shrine by Cardinal

Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal ( la, Ricardus Titus Vidal; es, Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 - October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. ...

, then Archbishop of Cebu. Pilgrims who visited the church on certain days of the month between the declaration date until October 15, 2008 would receive

References

{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu, state=expanded Roman Catholic churches in Cebu Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Tourist attractions in Cebu 1836 establishments in the Philippines 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Roman Catholic churches completed in 1836 Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu