The Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph, also known as Baras Church, is a Roman Catholic church located in Baras,

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The p ...

, Philippines, where the miraculous centuries-old image of San Jose de Baras ( es, El Glorioso Patriarca Señor San José de Baras) is enshrined. The church is known to be the oldest parish dedicated to

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

in the Southern Tagalog Region.

History

The first church was built in 1595 by Franciscan missionaries who established a parish at the town's old site in what is now Boso-Boso in Antipolo, with St. James as its patron. The town and its church was transferred in 1636 to a site called Ibayo to escape the hostilities of the Aeta inhabitants in the area who burned the town and the church in 1635. The second site was located one and one-half leagues (about 7.24 kilometers) southeast of the first site. The church was dedicated to Christ the Savior but it also was affected by hostilities, this time when Chinese rebels in 1639 burned the church as well as other churches in neighboring towns. The town was moved to its present site in 1682. On the same year, construction began on the present church. It was completed in 1686, with the church now dedicated to

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

as its patron. Renovations to the structure have been done in the 1960s and 2000s. The Altar was solemnly dedicated and consecrated on November 9, 2019, by Most Rev. Nolly C. Buco, JCD. DD., Auxiliary Bishop of Antipolo under Pope Francis' pontificate, incumbency of Most Rev. Francisco M. de Leon, DD., Bishop of Antipolo, and Rev. Fr. Rodney B. Cruz as Parish Priest. On December 7, 2021, consequently with the commemoration of the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, the culmination of the Year of St. Joseph, and the 100th anniversary of Baras' independence, the Diocese of Antipolo officially elevated and declared the historical parish church of Baras as a diocesan shrine.

Architecture

Built in a mixture of fortress-style and barn-style Baroque architecture, the church is notable for its dark, simple, and sparse qualities that are typical of Franciscan mission churches built during the 16th century. Its simple facade is given a decorative touch mainly through the stream of

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

trimming its triangular pediment, as well as the

chequerboard A checkerboard (American English) or chequerboard (British English; see spelling differences) is a board of checkered pattern on which checkers (also known as English draughts) is played. Most commonly, it consists of 64 squares (8×8) of alterna ...

pattern of brick and stone on the pediment's upper portion, which indicates an addition to the original and much lower stone pediment. The interiors revealed the exposed wooden trusses that support the church's roofing, lacking a ceiling that is usually seen in churches. The structure has not been plastered, exposing the

adobe brick A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also been fi ...

s on which the church was made.

San Jose de Baras

The miraculous image of San Jose de Baras ( es, El Glorioso Patriarca Señor San José de Baras) is a de tallado image of

cradling and facing the

Christ Child The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

on one arm and a traditional staff with a sheaf of lilies on the other. He stands atop a cloud base with the heads of two

cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the u ...

s visible. The image is carved with a classic green robe with a bright golden yellow cape and a hat on his back. The Christ Child sits on a white long robe facing the beholder with right palm pointing to St. Joseph. The venerated image is often draped in gorgeous embroidered capes offered by his devotees. Metal accouterments adorn the image, including a paragua for St. Joseph and the diagnostic tres potencias on the Christ Child's head. On December 7, 2021, as part of the Diocesan Consecration to St. Joseph and Elevation of Baras Church as a Diocesan Shrine, two ex-voto medallions were offered and placed on the staff of the miraculous centuries-old image of El Glorioso Patriarca San José de Baras by the Bishop of the Diocese of Antipolo, Most Rev. Francisco M. De Leon, DD., and Baras Municipal Mayor, Kathrine Robles.

Gallery

File:Baras Church altar.JPG, Church altar File:Baras Church steps.JPG, Church steps

References

External links

* * {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo Roman Catholic churches in Rizal National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines Baroque church buildings in the Philippines Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines Josephian churches in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo