The Our Lady of Remedies Parish, also known as Malate Church ( es, Iglesia Parroquial de Malate), is a
parish church
A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...
in the district of
Malate
Malic acid is an organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a dicarboxylic acid that is made by all living organisms, contributes to the sour taste of fruits, and is used as a food additive. Malic acid has two stereoisomeric forms (L ...
in the city 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 ...
,
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 ...
. This Mexican
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
-style church is overlooking
Plaza Rajah Sulayman
Plaza Rajah Sulayman, also known as Rajah Sulayman Park, is a public square in Malate, Manila. It is bounded by Roxas Boulevard to the west, San Andres Street to the south, and Remedios Street to the north. The plaza is considered the center of Ma ...
and, ultimately,
Manila Bay
Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phili ...
. The church is dedicated to , the patroness of childbirth. A revered statue of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
in her role as Our Lady of Remedies was brought from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in 1624 and stands at the altar.
Malate used to be known as Maalat due to the saline waters of the bay; and as Laguio or Lagunoi, the name of the street which separated it from Ermita. It is located by Manila Bay, very close to the sea. One main street crosses it at the center. It is wide and beautiful and leads up to
Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
. The numerous trees make this road a pleasant walk. It lies just three kilometers from the center of Manila.
Foundation
The Augustinian Chapter held on 18 September 1581 accepted the house of Maalat as a house of the Order under the name of Lagunoi and the advocation of the Conception of Our Lady (Immaculate Conception). In the Chapter held on 17 May 1590, three resident priests of the monastery of
San Agustin (Manila) were charged with the care of the natives of Malate; they were Frs. Alfonso de Castro, Diego Munoz and Ildefonso Gutierrez. The report of the Father Provincial of 1591 reveals that the house of Malate together with Lagunoi has 1,200 persons, convent and church. In 1639, the convent of Malate contributed to the patriotic campaign of Governor-General
Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera
Gobernador Heneral Hurtado de Corcuera (baptized March 25, 1587, Bergüenda, Álava – August 12, 1660, Tenerife, Canary Islands) was a Spanish soldier and colonial official. From 1632 to 1634 he was governor of Panama. From June 25, 1635 to Au ...
, former governor of Panama, who brought Peruvian soldiers to fight against pirates, with a donation of two bells of seven arrobas and seven libras (154 kg. & 220 g.).
In 1624, Fr. Juan de Guevara brought from
Andalucía
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
, Spain, the image of the Virgen de los Remedios which was said to be miraculous. It "had graceful features," says San Agustin, "was half vara high (417 mm.) and slightly brown." Fr. Castro's version is different. "I saw the image a thousand times," writes Castro, "but she never looked brown to me, but rather white with hands and face of white ivory." The devotion to the Virgen de los Remedios made Malate a very famous sanctuary. People flocked to venerate the image, especially on Saturdays. Women presented their babies to the Virgin.
Except for a short time, Malate was always administered 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 ...
. The priest of Malate also administered the town of
Ermita
Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city g ...
from 1591 to 1610, since the two barrios had been united by Governor-General
Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas
Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas (1 January 1519 – 25 October 1593Some sources say October 19 or October 23) was a Spanish politician, diplomat, military officer and imperial official. He was the seventh governor-general of the Philippines from Ma ...
with the approval of Bishop
Domingo de Salazar
Domingo de Salazar (1512 – 4 December 1594) was a Catholic prelate who served as the first Bishop of Manila (1579–94) ''(in Latin)''[Pasay
Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...]
separated from Malate under the name of Pineda on 17 May 1863. Malate was also a place of recreation for the residents of the
Walled City
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
and a meeting place for noblemen,
Tagalogs
The Tagalog people ( tl, Mga Tagalog; Baybayin: ᜋᜅ ᜆᜄᜎᜓᜄ᜔) are the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering at around 30 million. An Austronesian people, the Tagalog have a well developed society due to their ...
and their kings like
Rajah Matanda
Rajah Ache ( Abecedario: ''Rája Aché'' pronounced ''Aki''), better known by his title Rajah Matanda (1480–1572), was one of the rulers of Maynila, a pre-colonial Indianized and Islamized Tagalog polity along the Pasig River in what is now M ...
and
Rajah Soliman
Rajah Sulayman, sometimes referred to as Sulayman III (Sanskrit: स्ललैअह्, Arabic: سليمان, Abecedario: ''Suláimán'') (1558–1575), was the Rajah of Maynila, a fortified Tagalog Muslim polity on the southern half of th ...
. It easily became "the most aristocratic barrio of Manila where Spaniards and
mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
s dwelt."
Construction
In 1591, Malate had only one church and one convent. The church and convent dedicated to the Nativity of Our Lady (Conception) were damaged heavily by the
1645 Luzon earthquake
The 1645 Luzon earthquake was one of the most destructive earthquakes to hit the Philippines. It occurred on November 30 at about 08:00 PM local time on Luzon Island in the northern part of the country. The island was struck by a 7.5 tremor produ ...
. San Agustin describes the latter as "a magnificent work of arches and stone." Then in 1667, both structures were destroyed on orders of Gov.
Sabiniano Manrique de Lara
Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, born in Málaga in 1609, died in Málaga, 16 November 1679,Salazar, Historia genealogica de Lara, Vol.2, cap.VII, p.776 and 780 was Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines Islands from 1653 to 1663, the third long ...
due to the threat posed by the pirate
Koxinga
Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...
.
In 1669, the father provincial placed the convent of Malate under his immediate care and authorized the prior to use the "repository of alms for the dead" for the construction of the buildings. Fr. Dionisio Suarez began the construction of a new church (the second one) and convent made of bricks and stone in 1677–1679. It was completed by Fr. Pedro de Mesa in 1680.
In 1721, the convent was in ruinous condition, and the coffers of the house empty. The father provincial sent a circular to the various ministries of the Tagalogs available. Furthermore, the convent was relieved of the obligation to pay rent to San Agustin Monastery. The money raised amounted only to 400 pesos, just enough to buy the materials. The construction work proceeded very slowly because the prior depended almost completely on funds of the provincial.
In 1762 during the
British occupation of Manila
The British occupation of Manila was an episode in colonial history of the Philippines when the Kingdom of Great Britain occupied the Spanish colonial capital of Manila and the nearby port of Cavite for twenty months from 1762 to 1764. The ...
, the British occupied the church and turned it into their headquarters. Serious damage was inflicted on the structure. There are no records as to who restored the buildings after the British had taken leave. A typhoon occurred on 3 June 1868 which destroyed the church.
Fr. Francisco Cuadrado constructed the third church, the present one, in 1864 almost in its entirety except for the facade. Fr. Francisco Cuadrado, then the parish priest, started the reconstruction. The "just one," as he was called by his parishioners, toured the city and nearby provinces to raise the necessary funds. His efforts paid off and he apparently got more than what he needed. Thus, he was known for gathering the poor fishermen of his parish and sharing with them his "savings."
There was some restoration work which was headed by Fr. Nicolas Dulanto who was also responsible for the completion of the upper part of the facade between 1894 and 1898.
The next decades saw the church attract more devotees. But when the holocaust of 1945 came, the church and convent ended up in complete ruins and the records were also burned to ashes.
During the
Japanese occupation, both the church and the convent were burned down leaving only the walls. The Japanese had earlier taken away Fathers Kelly, Henaghan, Monaghan, and
Fallon, plus other parishioners, never to be seen again.
[Connaughton, R., Pimlott, J., and Anderson, D., 1995, The Battle for Manila, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, ] Rebuilding of the church was undertaken by the
Columban Fathers during the 1950s.
They rebuilt the roof, the altar, the dome and the transept while the interior was painted, and the bricks and the stone outside were returned to their pristine color in 1978.
The old convent was demolished in 1929. Fr. Gary Cogan built a new one in 1930. One of the remaining bells displayed at the entrance of the new convent has this inscription: "Nuestra Senora de los Remedios. Se fundio en 30 de Enero de 1879."
Architecture
Malate Church is one of only two that has twisted columns and has in effect a retablo-type façade, the other being the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
church in
Daraga
Daraga, officially the Municipality of Daraga ( bcl, Banwaan kan Daraga; tl, Bayan ng Daraga), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Albay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 133,893.
The municipality is ...
.
If
Santa Ana was the summer resort by the
Pasig River
The Pasig River ( fil, Ilog Pasig) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and souther ...
from the 17th to the 19th centuries, Malate was its counterpart by Manila Bay. Seaside villas beautified the place as a virtual college town emerged, with
St. Scholastica's College and
De La Salle College on the south,
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
and
Ateneo Municipal on
Padre Faura Street
Padre Faura Street is an east-west street in downtown Manila, Philippines. It carries traffic one-way westbound from Romualdez Street to Roxas Boulevard. Starting at its eastern terminus at Paco Park in Paco district, the street heads west for a ...
on the north and some, other private schools within the boundaries of the college town.
Malate Church was considered to be a dangerous stronghold if captured by enemy forces, as stone churches outside
Intramuros
Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.
Present-day I ...
can be a convenient cover. When the British occupied Manila in 1762 they operated from the church's tower and Manila was subsequently sacked.
Exterior
![09909jfMalate Church Barangays Streets Buildings Manilafvf 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/09909jfMalate_Church_Barangays_Streets_Buildings_Manilafvf_06.jpg)
There is interplay of
Muslim design and
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
. Says one writer, "it is in the design of the facade where the significance of the Malate Church lies." The juxtaposition of Mexican Baroque and Muslim design has resulted in an interesting colonial style, "
mudejarisimo Filipino," in the words of Alice Coseteng in her book, Spanish Churches in the Philippines.
The central rectangular body of the three-storey façade is flanked by two projecting cylindrical buttresses, shaped into half-embedded hexagonal forms and converted into belltowers by employing the third tier as belfries.
The embellishments on the stone surface are worked onto the natural surface, making it appear as if the ornamental designs had emerged on the surface as a holistic part of the design. The Augustinian symbol, the flaming heart, is carved on both sides of the entrance. Bells hang from the uppermost part of the cylindrical side buttresses.
The illusion of solidity and height are from the twisted columns, which is a popular feature in Mexican baroque and used extensively in retablos but seldom on facades. The combination of Romanesque columns on the first storey, the twisted columns on the second, and the blind balusters are clearly baroque.
The presence of the plain pediment suggests a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style of architecture.
The design of the church façade is unusual with the use of trefoil blind arches which clearly indicate an influence of the Moorish art.
The large opening of the lower level is balanced by the blind trefoil openings of the second and the semi-circular niche of the third. Laid out across the tiers like cornices are diamond and rectangular designs, as well as the shallow, ornamental relief work which suggest Muslim art. Few openings suggest massiveness in the design. The attached bell towers give an impression of solidity and strength by their massiveness which tries to squeeze the middle part of the façade.
Interior
Enshrined in the main altar is an image of Our Lady of Remedios. It was brought from Spain by the Augustinians who were administering the church in the 16th century. This image is popular with the mothers who have sick children; they manifest their devotion by lighting special candles and pouring forth their private petitions.
Gallery
Image:View of Malate Church in 1831.jpg, View of Malate Church in 1831 as seen by French Captain Cyrille Pierre Théodore Laplace
Cyrille Pierre Théodore Laplace (7 November 1793 – 24 January 1875) was a French navigator famous for his circumnavigation of the globe on board ''La Favorite''. He was pivotal in the opening of French trade in the Pacific and was instrumental ...
Image:MalateChurchjf0846_14.JPG, "''Nuestra Señora de Remedios''"
Image:Malatechurchjf0906 02.JPG, Sanctuary
Image:Malatechurchjf0906 15.JPG, Interior
References
External links
Website of Malate ChurchCoordinates
{{Roman Catholic churches in Manila
Roman Catholic churches in Manila
Baroque architecture in the Philippines
Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila
Buildings and structures in Malate, Manila
Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila