The Naga Metropolitan Cathedral, formally the Metropolitan Cathedral and Parish of Saint John the Evangelist, 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 denominations ...

in Naga City,

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur ( bcl, Habagatan na Camarines; tl, Timog Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte a ...

, Philippines. It is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Caceres 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 letter ...

. The first

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 * Chri ...

was established after the creation of the archdiocese as the ''Diocese of Cáceres'' in 1595. The present cathedral was built in 1808, and was completed and consecrated in 1843. The Most Rev.

Rolando Joven Tria Tirona Rolando Octavus Joven Tria Tirona, O.C.D. (born July 22, 1946), is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. He is the Archbishop of Caceres in Naga, Philippines. He was appointed to succeed the retiring Archbishop Leonardo L ...

O.C.D. The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Carmelites of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel ( la, Ordo Fratrum Carmelitarum Discalceatorum Beatae Mariae Virginis de Monte Carmelo) or the Order of Discalced Carme ...

D.D. A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

, is the present Archbishop of Cáceres, while Rev. Msgr. Noe P. Badiola was appointed rector in 2011.

History

The first cathedral built for Naga was founded after the Diocese of Cáceres was established in 1595. It is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of the Diocese of Manila created by the papal bull of 14 August 1595, which also elevated the Diocese of Manila into an archdiocese. The church was destroyed by fire in 1768. The construction of the present cathedral in Spanish

Romanesque Revival style Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

was begun by Bishop Bernardo dela Concepción O.F.M. in 1808. An earthquake in 1820 damaged the cathedral. It was finished and

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different gro ...

under the administration of

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ...

Tomás Ladrón de Guevara in 1843."Cathedral of Naga"
National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines. Retrieved on 2014-12-08. It was damaged by a typhoon in October 1856, and restored by the Fray Francisco Gainza in 1862–1879. It was damaged by an earthquake in 1887, and repaired by Obras Publicas under the direction of Bishop Arsenio del Campo and Ricardo Ayuso in 1890.National Historical Institute.''Historical Markers:Regions V-XII''. Manila:National Historical Institute,1994. During the episcopate of Leonardo Zamora Legaspi, the cathedral was restored beginning in April 1987 under the supervision of Jaime M. San Andres, parish priest of the Saint John the Evangelist Parish, Naga City. On February 6, 1988, during the feast of Saint Peter Baptist, titular patron of the

Archdiocese of Caceres 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 associate ...

, the metropolitan cathedral was again inaugurated and rededicated by Archbishop Legaspi together with other Bicolano bishops and priests.

Description

The church presently has a generally

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 describe ...

plan and is Romanesque in ornamentation. It is a large stone construction with

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...

galvanized iron Galvanization or galvanizing ( also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot-dip galvanizing, in which the parts are submerged ...

sheets for roofing, the walls outside has a grey color. Above the crossing is a rectangular dome topped by a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, f ...

. The front façade has a high arch entrance with two-level, twin

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s flanking both sides. It has a gentle curvature on both front corners to create the illusion of a softened façade. The façade is topped by a

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 pedim ...

surmounted by a round cupola, with its roof supported by tiny columns. The pediment is flanked by two short, symmetric hexagonal belfries on both ends. The front façade has an overall squat look typical of

Earthquake Baroque Earthquake Baroque or Seismic Baroque is a style of Baroque architecture found in the Philippines and Guatemala, which suffered destructive earthquakes during the 17th century and 18th century, where large public buildings, such as churches, were ...

architecture. The front façade also holds the coats of arms of Castile and León, at the front of the entrance. Inside the cathedral are arcades to counter the effects of

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

s that damaged the cathedral in 1820; above the

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-typ ...

and both left and right aisles are supported by four massive series of arches and columns. Each of the massive interior columns, arches, including the ceilings are decorated by ''

trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

'' paintings that were recently done. Both sides have

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows.

Gallery

File:Naga Cathedral columns and arches.jpg, The massive arcades and columns inside the cathedral, designed to counter the effects of earthquakes File:WTNaga HMMM B19e.JPG, The main altar and

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for e ...

of the cathedral

References

External links

{{Naga City Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Philippines Roman Catholic churches in Camarines Sur Buildings and structures in Naga, Camarines Sur Baroque architecture in the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Tourist attractions in Naga, Camarines Sur Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Caceres