The Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish Church, also known as Bayambang Church, is a Roman Catholic church located in the municipality of Bayambang in

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...

, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. The parish church celebrated its quadricentennial year in April 2019, coinciding with the completion of the

St. Vincent Ferrer Statue The St. Vincent Ferrer Statue is a colossal bamboo statue in the town of Bayambang in Pangasinan, Philippines. It is dedicated to the town's Catholic patron saint, Vincent Ferrer (1350–1419), and is recognized by the Guinness World Recor ...

Architectural history

Father Manuel Mora built a wooden church, with 3 naves, and an old convent at the town of Bayambang in 1804. It was damaged by an earthquake in 1863. In 1869, a second church and convent was built from stone and mortar with galvanized iron roofing. Father Manuel Sucias rehabilitated the church with a cruciform plan in 1804. Father Manuel Sucias (1813-1824); Father Juan Alvarez del Manzano (1833-1835); Father Joaquin Flores; Father Benito Foncuberta (1836-1840); and Father Jose Ibañez (1836-1840) directed and supervised the gradual construction of the church. In 1856, the church was burned. The reconstruction of the church was administered by Father Benito Foncuberto who also built two sacristies and repair the tile roofing which was destroyed by the earthquakes. The galvanized iron roofing measures wide and long. Father Ciriaco Billote contributed a new church belfry for the reconstructed church.

Architectural features

The present stone structures, with its galvanized iron roofs, already existed by 1869. The galvanized iron roofing of the church was heavily damaged during World War II. The church was also damaged during the July 16, 1990, earthquake; thus, making the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

a later addition within the church. The facade is in High Renaissance style. It is divided into two levels with six Ionic columns on pedestals running the whole height of the lower level. The pediment was ornamented by statued niches symmetrically designed forming as the second level. The lower ends of the pediment are terminated by massive piers. The two levels are markedly divided by wide horizontal

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. The main entrance is formed by an arch order with a square window above it. The bell tower on the left is a late addition which is in contrast with the high renaissance style of the church facade.

References

External links

* * {{Roman Catholic churches in Pangasinan Roman Catholic churches in Pangasinan Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lingayen–Dagupan