Hospicio de San José is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

welfare Welfare may refer to: Philosophy *Well-being (happiness, prosperity, or flourishing) of a person or group * Utility in utilitarianism * Value in value theory Economics * Utility, a general term for individual well-being in economics and decision ...

institution in the

City of Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on the island of Luzon, it is ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. It is the first social welfare agency in the country, and as a

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...

institution has been a home for orphans, the abandoned, persons with special needs, and the elderly.Hospicio de San Jose
, Archdiocese of Manila, www.rcam.org, 2003

Location

''Hospicio de San José'' is located on

Isla de Convalecencia Isla de la Convalecencia (), commonly known as simply Isla de Convalecencia (also spelled ''Isla de Convalescencia'' and sometimes erroneously called ''Isla de Convalencia''), is a small narrow river island in the Pasig River in Manila, the Phi ...

(

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, "Island of convalescence"), an

eyot An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accumu ...

in the middle of the

Pasig River The Pasig River (; ) is a water body in the Philippines that connects Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Stretching for , it bisects the Philippine capital of Manila and Metro Manila, its surrounding urban area into northern and southern halves. Its m ...

, and can only be accessed via Ayala Bridge. It was formerly located in the

Pandacan Pandacan is a district in Manila, Philippines, which is known in recent history as the former site of the Pandacan oil depot, Pandacan Oil Depot which supplied the majority of oil exports in the country. Etymology Pandacan is a corrupted term ...

district. From there, it was transferred to

Intramuros Intramuros () is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila. Intramuros comprises a centuries-old hist ...

Binondo Binondo (; ) is a district in Manila and is referred to as the city's Chinatown. Its influence extends beyond to the places of Quiapo, Manila, Quiapo, Santa Cruz, Manila, Santa Cruz, San Nicolas, Manila, San Nicolas and Tondo, Manila, Tondo. ...

, Nagtahan, and

Echague Echague, officially the Municipality of Echague, is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Isabela (province), Isabela, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 88,410 peo ...

. In 1810, the ''Hospicio'' was permanently relocated to Isla de Convalecencia.

History

Philippine Island - Manila - NARA - 68156579

Initially named the ''Hospicio General'' (General Hospice), ''Hospicio de San José'' was established during the

Spanish Era The Spanish era (), sometimes called the era of Caesar, was a calendar era (year numbering system) commonly used in the states of the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th century until the 15th, when it was phased out in favour of the ''Anno Domini'' (A ...

in October 1778 by Francisco Gómez Enríquez and his wife Barbara Verzosa. After being cured of a fever, Gómez Enríquez donated the sum of

₱ The Philippine peso sign (₱) is the currency symbol used for the Philippine peso, the official currency of the Philippines. The symbol resembles a Latin script, Latin letter P with two horizontal strokes. It differs from the currency symbol u ...

4,000 to found the hospice that would take care of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

’s “poor and unwanted children”, the physically and mentally disabled, and aging people. The initiative and example of Gómez Enríquez was followed by other charitable people of Manila.

Administrators

From December 27, 1810, and by Royal Decree, the hospice was governed by a

Board of Directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

chaired by the

Archbishop of Manila The Archdiocese of Manila (; ; ) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church, Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Catholic Church in the Philippines, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, ...

. On June 1, 1866, through the suggestion to the

Governor-General of the Philippines The governor-general of the Philippines (; ; ) was the title of the Executive (government), government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, first by History of the Philippines (1521–1898), the Spanish in Mexico City and l ...

by a benefactor named Doña Margarita Róxas, the operation of the hospice became the responsibility of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

Curriculum and programmes

The hospice provides an outreach programme and a Christian, social and work-oriented formation programme. It is committed to assisting abandoned people to experience quality life with the aim of making them “agents of social transformation”.

Commemorative markers

The Hospicio de San José has two

historical markers A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

. The first, in English, was from the Historical Research and Markers Committee and was unveiled on October 17, 1939. In 1977, a second historical marker in Tagalog was given by the

National Historical Institute The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of history of the Philippines, Philippine history and culture of the Philippines, cultural heritage through ...

1939 Marker

The first historical marker of Hospicio de San José was installed in October 17, 1939, at Ayala Boulevard, San Miguel, Manila. It was installed by Historical Research and Markers Committee.

1977 Marker

The second historical marker was installed in 1977 at Hospicio de San José, San Miguel, Manila. It was installed by National Historical Institute.

References

External links

Hospicio de San Jose (Official Website)
{{coord, 14.591, 120.988, type:landmark_region:PH, display=title Orphanages in the Philippines 1778 establishments in Asia Health in Metro Manila Buildings and structures in San Miguel, Manila Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila Spanish colonial infrastructure in the Philippines