The Cathedral Parish of Saint John the Baptist ( akl, Parokya Katedral it San Juan Bautista), or simply Kalibo Cathedral, 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 ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

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 ...

. The cathedral is the seat of the

Diocese of Kalibo The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalibo is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. Erected in 1976, the diocese has experienced no jurisdictional changes and is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Capiz. The c ...

. It is situated near the

Aklan River The Aklan River is the longest river in the province of Aklan, Philippines, and third-longest river on Panay island (after the Panay River in Capiz and Jalaur River in Iloilo). Its drainage basin is the third largest in Panay. The river source i ...

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Kalibo Kalibo, officially the Municipality of Kalibo ( Aklanon: ''Banwa it Kalibo''; Hiligaynon: ''Banwa sang Kalibo''; tgl, Bayan ng Kalibo), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the Province of Aklan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

, the capital of

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan ( Akeanon: ''Probinsya it Akean'' k'ɣan hil, Kapuoran sang Aklan; tl, Lalawigan ng Aklan), is a province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital is Kalibo. The province is situated ...

province of the Philippines In the Philippines, provinces ( fil, lalawigan) are one of its primary political and administrative divisions. There are 82 provinces at present, which are further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The local government units ...

, some south 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 ...

History

San Juan Cathedral in Kalibo, Philippines

The cathedral stands as the oldest edifice of worship in the province of Aklan. The mission in Kalibo was founded by the

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

in 1581. Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

was chosen as the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

when the Kalibo mission was promoted into a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in 1680. The town site then was at

Barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

Laguinbanua in Numancia, away from the Kalibo present site. A church was constructed in Laguinbanua but when the town transferred site to its present location in 1804, another church was erected which is the cathedral at present. In 1826, both the church and

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

were completed. On May 24, 1885, a massive fire razed the town including the convent which was reconstructed the following year, 1886. In 1947, after the

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 ...

, Gabriel M. Reyes,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

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 ...

and later of

, personally took a hand in the church reconstruction and remodeling. In 1976, the parish church of Kalibo elevated into a cathedral when the

was erected. On June 14, 1990, an intensity 7.1 earthquake hit

Panay Island Panay is the sixth-largest and fourth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of and has a total population of 4,542,926 as of 2020 census. Panay comprises 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country. The City ...

at 3:41 P.M. with the epicenter at

Culasi Culasi, officially the Municipality of Culasi ( krj, Banwa kang Culasi; hil, Banwa sang Culasi; tl, Bayan ng Culasi), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Antique, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44, ...

. The cathedral that is made of

bricks A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

suffered cracks on its walls. Then Kalibo Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes, restored and improved the church to accommodate more pilgrims who come to celebrate the feast of the Santo Niño. Retaining some of the lines characteristic of the post-war church that alludes to earlier church styles, the cathedral of Kalibo is of modern construction. Its

architectural design Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complic ...

was crafted by the renowned

national artist National Artist is an honorary title issued by some states as a highest recognition of artists for their significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the nation. An equivalent title, People's Artist, has been known in countries of the f ...

Leandro V. Locsin Leandro V. Locsin (August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994) was a Filipino architect, artist, and Interior Design, interior designer known for his use of concrete, floating volume and simplistic design in his various projects. An avid collector, ...

. Though the principal patron and titular of Kalibo is John the Baptist, the center of attention in this church is the image of the Santo Niño, in whose honor the annual Ati-atihan is celebrated every January.

References

External links

* Facebook pag

*{{commons category inline, Kalibo Cathedral Buildings and structures in Aklan Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines 1581 establishments in the Spanish Empire 1804 establishments in the Spanish Empire 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Kalibo