The Diocesan Shrine and Parish of the Our Lady of the Pillar - Imus Cathedral, commonly known as the Imus Cathedral, 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 let ...

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 denominatio ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Imus Imus, officially the City of Imus ( fil, Lungsod ng Imus), is a 3rd class component city and ''de jure'' capital of the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 496,794 people. It is the ''de jure ...

, in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

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 city, which is the capital of the province, also serves as the seat of the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the

Diocese of Imus The Diocese of Imus ( la, Dioecesis Imusensis; Tagalog: ''Diyosesis ng Imus''; Spanish and Chavacano: ''Diócesis de Imus'') is a Roman Catholic diocese in the Philippines that comprises the entire province of Cavite. The diocese was canonicall ...

, the

diocese 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 associa ...

that has jurisdiction over the entire Civil Province of Cavite. Enshrined inside the cathedral is the original, miraculous and canonically crowned image of Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Imus (Our Lady of the Pillar). The said title of the Blessed Virgin Mary serves as the titular patroness of the Diocese of Imus, Province of Cavite, as implied by then pope, now a saint, John XXIII.

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

is also considered the secondary patron saint of the city. The current parish priest and rector of the cathedral is Reuel Castañeda, vicar general of the diocese. The church itself features the longest Holy Week procession in the province of Cavite, with at least 70 floats and the country's 5th longest overall (the other four being the St Augustine Parish, Baliuag, and San Isidro Labrador, Pulilan, both located in the province of Bulacan, with at least 110 floats per parish, The Our Lady Of the Abandoned in Marikina, with 82 floats, and The Our Lady of Aranzazu San Mateo, Rizal with 76 floats). Currently, the cathedral is being elevated into Cathedral Shrine.

History

Establishment

In 1616, the

Augustinian Recollects The Order of Augustinian Recollects (OAR) is a mendicant Catholic religious order of friars and nuns. It is a reformist offshoot from the Augustinian hermit friars and follows the same Rule of St. Augustine. History The Order was founded in 16t ...

arrived in Imus and established a convent. The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Imus started as a

chapel-of-ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...

in Brgy. Toclong, a sub-parish (''visita'') of Cavite Viejo (now Kawit,

). Recollect Father Pedro de San Buenaventura petitioned the government to convert Imus into an independent municipality in 1774. Imus, though, did not become a separate town and parish until October 3, 1795. Its ''

poblacion ''Poblacion'' (literally "town" or "settlement" in Spanish; ) is the common term used for the administrative center, central, downtown, old town or central business district area of a Philippine city or municipality, which may take up the ...

'' (town center) and a provisional church was first established in an area currently known as Brgy. Bayan Luma (Tagalog for 'Old Town'). The parish was under the order of the

with Francisco de Santiago, O.A.R., its first assigned priest.

Construction of the present church

During the leadership of Fr. Nicolas Becerra, who served from 1821 to 1840, he advocated the move of the town center to Brgy. Balangon, its present location. The construction of the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Imus on the new location was started in 1823 using forced labor. The structure was made from stone and bricks. Its facade was patterned after the fifth Manila Cathedral by Fr. Juan de Uguccioni, which existed from 1760 to 1852. Manila Cathedral (1792) by Brambila

Hacienda de San Juan de Imus

The early fathers were preoccupied with not just religious matters but also of economic concerns. The friars gradually bought parcels of land while some of these lands were donated by rich families. The Recollects were the first ones to buy parcels of land beginning in 1666 and their haciendas came to being in 1812. These areas, comprising the ''Hacienda de San Juan de Imus'' or the ''Hacienda de Imus'' (Imus Estate), grew to include the whole towns of

, Dasmariñas, and Brgy. Binakayan in Kawit. The estate house of the hacienda, or the house of the friars, was located along Imus River (at the present day ''Cuartel'') at the southern end of the Bridge of Isabel II, a Spanish bridge built by the priest-engineers of the Recollects.Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Dept. (1905)
"History of the Diocese of Imus"
Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral Choir. Retrieved on May 6, 2013. Citizens of Imus were required to pay rent to live and tilled the lands of Imus.

Secularization

The ''Hacienda de Imus'' was sold by the Recollect Corporation on March 31, 1894, to the ''Fomento de la Agricultura de Filipinas'' (Promotion of Agriculture in the Philippines), a corporation in Madrid, for 4,000,000 pesetas. It was later sold to the British Manila Estates Company, which eventually sold it to the U.S. controlled Philippine government for $1,045,000 in

U.S. currency The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

for distribution to the

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

, to win their favor, and to pacify the

revolutionaries A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

. The Church of Imus became

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

in 1897.

Activities

Ministries

* Parish Youth Ministry * Ministry of Altar Servers * Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion * Lay Ministers of the Word *Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Music Ministry **includes: Tinig ng Katedral (est. 1980), Himig Batingaw (est. 1978), etc. *Ministry of Cantors

Radio Station

89.5 FM frequency is used by the Parish to broadcast Parish activities such as the recitation of the Rosary for the traditional Good Friday procession. Daily Mass, Vigil and Sunday Masses, as well as Masses for holy days of obligation celebrated in the Cathedral are also transmitted live through the same frequency, broadcasting on a very low power output.

Diocese of Imus

By virtue of the Apostolic Constitution Christi fidelium promulgated by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

on November 25, 1961, Cavite was created a separate bishopric from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

after more than three hundred years. On April 29, 1962, the

was formally erected and established. The then parish church of Imus was chosen to become the cathedral of the diocese, the seat of the bishop of Cavite, with the Virgin Mary under her title ''Our Lady of the Pillar'', its titular patroness. The first leader of the diocese and bishop of Cavite is Artemio Casas, originally from

Meycauayan, Bulacan Meycauayan, officially the City of Meycauayan ( fil, Lungsod ng Meycauayan), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 225,673 people. It is one of the oldest t ...

Bishop of Imus

The current bishop of Imus is Reynaldo G. Evangelista, previously bishop of the Diocese of Boac and a native of Batangas, who was appointed by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on April 8, 2013, his first pontifical appointment in the Philippines. He replaced Bishop

Luis Antonio Tagle Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle ( ; ; born June 21, 1957) is a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church currently serving as the Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelization of Dicastery for Evangelization (formerly the Congregation for the Evangel ...

(whose paternal ancestry is from Imus) after his installation as the

Archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...

in December 12, 2011. Evangelista was installed as the fifth bishop of Imus on June 5, 2013.(2013-04-08)
"Pontifical Acts – 8 April"
The Vatican Today. Retrieved on June 11, 2013. Katedral ng Imus historical marker

Historical marker

The cathedral was declared a structure of historical significance with the placing of a historical marker by then

National Historical Institute The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( fil, Pambansang Komisyong Pangkasaysayan ng Pilipinas, abbreviated NHCP) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritag ...

of the Philippines on November 13, 2006. ImusCathedraljf0351 01

Coronation of the patroness of the Diocese of Imus

The image of the patroness of the Imus Cathedral, '' Our Lady of the Pillar of Imus'', was canonically crowned on December 3, 2012, by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. It was originally scheduled for November 26 but the elevation of Archbishop Tagle into a Cardinal by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

necessitated the move.The Servants and Handmaids of Our Lady of the Pillar/Discuss
"100 days Countdown for the Canonical Coronation of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Imus"
Flickr.com. Retrieved on May 17, 2013.

Vicariate of Our Lady of the Pillar

Vicariate of Our Lady of the Pillar (City of Imus) Vicar Forane: Rev Fr. Benjamin Francisco

Parishes

*Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish – Bucandala *Mary, Mother of God Parish – Malagasang II *Our Lady of Fatima Parish – Anabu I *Our Lady of Fatima Parish – Anabu II *Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of the Pillar - Imus Cathedral – Poblacion (City Proper) *St. James the Greater Parish – Buhay na Tubig *St. Martha Parish – Greengate, Malagasang II *Holy Family Parish – Lancaster Estates *Our Mother of Perpetual Help - Dasmarinas Cavite DBB-1

Our Lady of the Pillar Parish

Chapels

* Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd Chapel (Palico) * Our Lady of the Pillar Chapel (Bayan Luma) * St. Peregrine Chapel (Toclong) * San Roque Chapel (Pag-asa) * San Juan Bautista Chapel (Tanzang Luma) * Our Lady of Fatima Chapel (Villa Leticia) * Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (Southern City Subdivision) * San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel (Narra Homes Subdivision)

References

External links

Diocese of Imus videos

Cavite historical sites
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Imus Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines Roman Catholic churches in Cavite Buildings and structures in Imus Roman Catholic churches completed in 1853 1853 establishments in the Philippines Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Baroque Revival architecture Baroque church buildings in the Philippines 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Neoclassical church buildings in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Imus