The Romblon Cathedral ( fil, Katedral ng Romblon), officially the Saint Joseph Cathedral Parish ( fil, Parokyang Katedral ni San Jose), 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 ...

Romblon Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa Regions of the Philippines, region. Its main islands include Tablas Island, Tablas, the large ...

town, in the province 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 ...

. One of the province's known landmarks, it is the seat of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Romblon The Roman Catholic Diocese of Romblon (Lat: ''Dioecesis Rombloniesis'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The Diocese of Romblon has 24 parishes staffed by 30 priests and 1 religious SVD brother. T ...

and was declared a

National Cultural Treasure National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in 2001 by the

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas}) is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines including ethnographic, anthropological, archaeological, and visu ...

History

In 1631, the Christian community in Romblon island where the cathedral stands today was formally organized. The island faced the same fate with the adjacent Tablas,

Sibuyan Sibuyan is a crescent-shaped island, the second largest in an archipelago comprising Romblon Province, Philippines. Located in the namesake Sibuyan Sea, it has an area of and has a total population of 62,815 as of 2020 census. The island has t ...

and nearby

Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac. Marinduque lies be ...

, having been frequented by Moro raiders from the south. When the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Recollect The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spirit ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

Agustin de San Pedro from Cagayan de Misamis in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

was transferred to Romblon in 1644, he immediately spearheaded the construction of the Romblon's church and belfry due to the said raid attacks. Also because of the attacks, he trained the natives to defend themselves with military armaments and ordered constructions of structures that fortified the island, earning him the moniker "''El Padre Capitan''". Constructions of the Fuerza San Andres and Fuerza Santiago overlooking the town in 1644, Banton's church and convent including its perimeter walls, and the fortress at Banton's hills, were all under his helm. The church's rear side was placed against the mountainside for stability while the front of the bay inlet facing the town was constructed with a continuous wall-gate for protection. The first decades of the 18th century saw most of the constructions that comprise the cathedral today. In 1726, the '' retablo mayor'' was built, alongside the two smaller retablos facing each other at the

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 ...

. Another level of the belfry was added in the following year, 1727. Romblon received a replica image of the famed Cebu Santo Niño and enshrined it in the church in 1728. The church and its parts were damaged caused by typhoons in 1780 and 1829, which were all rebuilt and reconstructed throughout the 19th century. In 1974, the church of Romblon became a cathedral when the Diocese of Romblon was founded. In 1992, the cathedral-enshrined image of Santo Niño de Romblon went missing and was returned to Romblon in 2013. The cathedral was installed with its National Cultural Treasure marker in 2013 even though it was designated as such in 2001.

Gallery

File:National Cultural Treasure marker of Romblon Cathedral.jpg, National Cultural Treasure marker File:Romblon Cathedral 2.jpg, Archways at the cathedral's facade File:Convent of Romblon Cathedral.jpg, Romblon Cathedral convent File:Romblon Poblacion 08.jpg, The cathedral's belfry File:St. Joseph Cathedral 19.JPG, Buttresses at the cathedral's lateral wall File:St. Joseph Cathedral 02.JPG, Laminated image of Sto. Niño de Romblon that was lost for almost 22 years File:Romblon Poblacion 04.jpg, The cathedral's choir loft

References

External links

* Facebook pag

* {{National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines Roman Catholic churches in Romblon Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines 1635 establishments in the Spanish Empire 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Baroque architecture in the Philippines Baroque church buildings in the Philippines Fortified church buildings Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Romblon