The Saint Vincent Ferrer Parish Church, also known as Bayambang 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 ...

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 In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

. The parish church celebrated its quadricentennial year in April 2019, coinciding with the completion of the St. Vincent Ferrer Statue.

Architectural history

Father Manuel Mora built a wooden church, with 3

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 ...

s, and an old

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 ...

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 Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

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 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 ...

. 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 The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

on pedestals running the whole height of the lower level. 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 ...

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