The Diocesan Shrine and Parish of San Miguel Arcangel, is a 19th-century,

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 ...

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 ...

church located along De Leon St., Brgy. Poblacion, San Miguel,

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...

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 ...

. The parish church, with Saint Michael, the Archangel as patron saint, is under the jurisdiction of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos The Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos (Latin: ''Dioecesis Malolosinae''; Tagalog: ''Diyosesis ng Malolos''; Spanish: ''Diócesis de Malolos'') is a Roman Rite Diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippine, encompassing the ...

History

Parish history

It is believed that the town of San Miguel was initially established as a town under the province of

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

. The parish of San Miguel de Mayumo was founded years before 1607 as a ''visita'' of

Candaba Candaba, officially the Municipality of Candaba ( Kapampangan: ''Balen ning Candaba''; tl, Bayan ng Candaba; formerly Candawe), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populat ...

and was said to be declared an independent parish in 1725. However, some records tell that the parish of San Miguel was later annexed to

Gapan Gapan, officially the City of Gapan ( fil, Lungsod ng Gapan), is a 4th class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

in 1726 as a ''visita''. It was also recorded that San Miguel de Mayumo was once annexed to

Macabebe Macabebe, officially the Municipality of Macabebe ( pam, Balen ning Macabebe; tl, Bayan ng Macabebe), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,151 people. Hi ...

, also as a ''visita''. On May 8, 2018, 3 days before his death, The late Bishop Jose F. Oliveros of the Diocese of Malolos celebrated his final mass in the parish

Architectural history

There are no records as to who built the first parochial structures in San Miguel. Sources are also not clear as to whether Father Juan Tombo built or simply rebuilt the current 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 ...

. Father Francisco Arriola continued with the construction until it was complete in 1869. The Catholic

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

is attributed to Father Arriola while the convent was constructed under Fathers Arriola, Tombo and Ortiz during their respective periods as minister of San Miguel. 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 ...

in 1941, the roof of the church

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

collapsed.

Architecture

The church of San Miguel is the only Spanish-era church in Bulacan with the belfry attached atop the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

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 ...

. The church, with its predominantly

features, has a two-level façade and a curved pediment surmounted by the rectangular belfry with a bulbous

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. The façade is primarily adorned by the paired

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s and multi-edged

cornices 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 ...

dividing the front into several sections. The base of the façade has two saint’s

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...

s and a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

porte-cochere that was a late addition into the structure and has replaced a previous one with

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

. The second level is pierced with an

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

flanked by two semicircular windows. A tableau depicting Saint Michael slaying the dragon adorns the central portion of the pediment.

Gallery

File:ParokyaSanMiguelArkanghelBulacan_Aug1997_Exterior.jpg, Church exterior, c. 1997 File:Exterior,_park_and_fences_Shrine_of_Saint_Michael_the_Archangel_02.jpg, Church exterior, c. 2021 File:01410jfSaint Michael the Archangel Parish Church in San Miguel Bulacanfvf 10.jpg, Exterior wall featuring buttresses File:ParokyaSanMiguelArkanghelBulacan_Aug1997_Interior.jpg, Church interior, c. 1997 File:01460jfSaint_Michael_the_Archangel_Parish_Church_in_San_Miguel_Bulacanfvf_21.jpg, Church interior, c. 2016 File:09721jfSaint_Michael_Archangel_Parish_Churchfvf_26.JPG, Church interior from the choir loft

References

External links

* {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Roman Catholic churches in Bulacan San Miguel, Bulacan Baroque architecture in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Malolos