The Santa Ana Parish Church, commonly known as the Piddig 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 ...

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, ...

Piddig Piddig, officially the Municipality of Piddig ( ilo, Ili ti Piddig; fil, Bayan ng Piddig) is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 22,475 people. The town is k ...

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte, officially the Province of Ilocos Norte ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Norte; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Norte), is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. Its capital is Laoag City, located in the northwest corner of ...

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 ...

. Originally a ''visita'' of

Dingras Dingras, officially the Municipality of Dingras ( ilo, Ili ti Dingras; fil, Bayan ng Dingras), is a 2nd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 ce ...

, it was raised into an independent parish in 1770. In September 2014, the 200-year-old church of Saint Anne Parish in Piddig, Ilocos Norte was closed for public worship after it was deemed unsafe.

History

Piddig was originally a ''visita'' or mission station of Dingras in 1598. It became an independent parish under the patronage of

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

, Mother of the

Blessed 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 Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

in 1770. Father Isidro Campaner became its first parish priest. The church of Piddig was built also on that same year. During the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

, the church was occupied by five-man team of Filipino guerrillas who repulsed early American attacks. It was also razed during the Japanese Occupation. On March 19, 1932, the tower was crippled by an earthquake. The damage was repaired by Monsignor Arsenio Pacis in the same year. The 21st Infantry of the American forces later occupied the church complex during

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 ...

. Piddig became the military capital of Ilocos Norte. All church records, the convent, sacristy, furniture went up to flames when the Japanese Imperial Forces raided and burned the town. In 1965, restoration work was done in the facade and the interior of the church. The convent now houses the parochial school, Saint Anne Academy, during the term of Father Manuel Aspiras.

Closure

The church was closed for public worship after it was deemed “unsafe” after liturgical rite presided over by Laoag Bishop Renato P. Mayugba on September 14, 2014. According to Father Ericson Josue, the Commission Head of the Church Heritage of the diocese, the foundation of the church has been discovered to be weak to carry the massive walls of the edifice. The local government of Piddig is planning to sought the church to be declared a heritage structure after the

National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyon para sa Kultura at mga Sining, ceb, Nasodnong Komisyon alang sa Budaya ug mga Arte) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. ...

and

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural herita ...

. The church was reopened in 2019 after 5 years of renovation.

Features

The church of Piddig is located on top of a hill with a big central stairway, and stone and brick fence. The facade is inspired by the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

Church of Il Gesu in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

built in 1568. It has huge

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es that serves as columns and

volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...

s on the

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

. It still has the original wooden

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

and a central

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

with the image of the patron saint,

holding

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

on her lap. Its bell tower is now largely in ruins. The cemetery at the back of the church, now in ruins, is attributed to Father Felipe Fernandez.

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Laoag Roman Catholic churches in Ilocos Norte Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Laoag