The Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture, also known as the Church of Saint Augustine and Immaculate Conception Parish, 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 ...
church under the auspices of the
Order of Saint Augustine
The Order of Saint Augustine (), abbreviated OSA, is a mendicant order, mendicant catholic religious order, religious order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who ...
located inside the historic walled city of
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 ...
in
Manila, Philippines
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 ...
. Completed in 1607, it is the oldest stone church in the country.
In 1993, San Agustin Church was one of four Philippine churches constructed during the
Spanish colonial period to be designated as a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
, under the collective title ''
Baroque Churches of the Philippines''. It was named a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1976.
[
]
History
San Agustin Church is located in General Luna St., Manila. The present structure is actually the third Augustinian church erected on the site.[Layug, p. 83] The first San Agustin Church was the first religious structure constructed by the Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...
on the island of Luzon
Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...
. Made of bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
and nipa, it was completed in 1571, but destroyed by fire in December 1574 during the attempted invasion of Manila by the forces of Limahong
Limahong, Lim Hong, or Lin Feng ( Teochew zh, t=林鳳, :, : ), well known as Ah Hong ( Teochew zh, t=阿鳳, : , : ) or Lim-A-Hong or Limahon ( Teochew zh, t=林阿鳳, :, : ), was a Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the northern Phi ...
.[Torres, p. 62][Aluit, p. 40] A second wooden structure built on the same site was destroyed in February 1583 by a fire that started when a candle ignited drapery
Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Late Latin ). It ma ...
on the funeral bier
A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to its final disposition.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., In ...
during services for Spanish Governor-General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa.
The Augustinians decided to rebuild the church using stone, and to construct an adjacent monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
. Construction began in 1586, based on a design by Juan Macías. The structure was built using hewn adobe
Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...
stones quarried from Meycauayan, Binangonan
Binangonan, officially the Municipality of Binangonan (), is a municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 313,631 people.
A thriving fish port and fishing industry is found in Binan ...
and San Mateo, Rizal
San Mateo, officially the Municipality of San Mateo (), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 273,306 ...
. The work proceeded slowly due to the lack of funds and materials, as well as the relative scarcity of stone artisan
An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...
s. The monastery was operational by 1604, and the church was formally declared complete on January 19, 1607, and named Church of St. Paul of Manila. Macías, who had died before the completion of the church, was officially acknowledged by the Augustinians as the builder of the edifice.[Aluit, p. 41]
San Agustin Church was sacked during the Battle of Manila, which occurred as part of the Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
.[Torres, p. 63] In 1854, the church was renovated under the supervision of Spanish architect Luciano Oliver. On June 3, 1863, the strongest earthquake at that time hit Manila leaving widespread destruction to the city, with San Agustin Church the only public building left undamaged. A series of strong earthquakes struck Manila again on July 18–20, 1880. This time, the tremors left a large crack in the east 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 to ...
. The crack was eventually repaired, but the left tower was permanently removed with only the base remaining today. The church withstood the other major earthquakes that struck Manila before in 1645, 1699, 1754, 1796, 1825, 1852, 1863 and 1880 and served as a hospital for several of those injured during the earthquake in 1863.
On August 18, 1898, the church was the site where Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes prepared the terms for the surrender of Manila to the United States of America following the Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
.
On the night of August 13, 1932, a major fire inside Intramuros destroyed a portion of the adjacent San Agustin Monastery. The blaze also totally destroyed the Augustinian Provincial House across the road in Calle Real, as well as the ornate pedestrian bridge that once linked the Provincial House with the monastery.
World War II
During the Japanese occupation during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, San Agustin Church became a concentration camp
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
. The Japanese troops removed the lower portion of the right front door of the church and placed sandbags on the resulting opening, turning the entrance into a makeshift machine gun post. In the final days of the Battle of Manila, hundreds of Intramuros residents and clergy were held hostage in the church by Japanese soldiers with many hostages killed during the three-week-long battle. It was the only one among seven churches of Intramuros to survive a leveling by combined American and Filipino ground forces in May 1945. While the church sustained damage to its roof, the adjacent monastery was completely destroyed. In the 1970s, the monastery was rebuilt as a museum under the design of architect Angel Nakpil.[Layug, p. 84] The church was renovated in 2013, with its colorful facade replaced by a sedate stone-colored one.
Post-WWII era
On September 4, 2000, the image of Our Lady of Consolation was canonically crowned with a decree of canonical coronation
A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...
by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
. The Church launched its first pilgrim image of Our Lady of Consolation on May 1, 2023, to promote the devotion to Our Lady.
San Agustin Church and its adjacent convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
, , served as the provincial house and headquarters of the Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines of Spain ever since the province's founding in 1575 until 1901, when it transferred to Madrid. It once again became the headquarters of the Province in 1927, during the tenure of Fr. Gaudencio Castrillo, until just after the Second World War.
San Agustin Church is currently administered by the Augustinian friars of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines.
On August 15 2024, the Manila City Council
The Manila City Council (Spanish language, Spanish: Cabildo de Manila; Tagalog language, Tagalog: Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Maynila) is the legislature of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, capital city of the Philippines. It is composed of ...
passed an ordinance formally declaring Nuestra Señora de la Consolación y Correa as the patroness of Intramuros, Manila.
Architecture
San Agustin Church is patterned after some of the magnificent temples built by the Augustinians in Mexico. The present edifice was built in 1587, and completed, together with the monastery, in 1604. The atmosphere is medieval since "both church and monastery symbolize the majesty and equilibrium of a Spanish golden era".
The massive structure of the church is highlighted by the symmetry and splendor of the interiors (painted by two Italians who succeeded in producing trompe-l'œil
; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...
) – the profile of the mouldings, rosettes and sunken panels which appear as three-dimensional carvings, a baroque pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
with the native pineapple as a motif, the grand pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
, the ante-choir with a 16th-century crucifix
A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...
, the choir seats carved in molave with ivory inlay
Inlay covers a range of techniques in sculpture and the decorative arts for inserting pieces of contrasting, often colored materials into depressions in a base object to form Ornament (art), ornament or pictures that normally are flush with the ...
s of the 17th century and the set of 16 huge chandelier
A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...
s from Paris.
A 2022 online study conducted by home services website Angi
Angi (formerly Angie's List) is an American home services website owned by Angi Inc., a publicly traded subsidiary of IAC. Founded in 1995 by Angie Hicks and William S. Oesterle, it allows users to search for contractors to provide paid ho ...
found out that the church is the "most beautiful building in the Philippines".
Famous burials
The church, as in its custom in its heyday, contained niches for burials of bones and remains. The following are notable burials within the premises of the church.
*Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as ''Adelantado, El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spanish conquistador who financed and led an expedition to conquer the Philippines, Philippine islan ...
*Juan de Salcedo
Juan de Salcedo (; 1549 – 11 March 1576) was a Spanish conquistador. He was the grandson of Spanish general Miguel López de Legazpi. Salcedo was one of the soldiers who accompanied the Spanish conquest to the Philippines in 1565. He joined th ...
*Guido de Lavezaris
Guido de Lavezaris (c. 1512 – d. 1581) was the second Spanish Governor General of the Philippines. He succeeded Miguel López de Legazpi in 1572 as governor, and was succeeded by Francisco de Sande on August 25, 1575.
Early life
Little was ...
*Juan Luna
Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio (, ; October 25, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activism, activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recog ...
*Blessed Pedro Zuñiga
* Francisco Alonso Liongson
* Benito Natividad
*Teodoro Agoncillo
Teodoro Andal Agoncillo (November 9, 1912 – January 14, 1985) was a Filipino historian from the 20th century. He and his contemporary, Renato Constantino, were among the first Filipino historians renowned for promoting a Filipino nationalis ...
* Chit Estella
* Maria Orosa
Heritage threats
Although about away from San Agustin Church, the Binondo–Intramuros Bridge (which opened in 2022) is believed to have encroached on the buffer zone
A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them.
Common types o ...
prescribed for church, which includes the walls of 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 ...
and the immediate areas outside. However, the national government argues that the bridge will have no direct physical or visual impact to the San Agustin Church, owing to its remote distance and the number of taller structures between the bridge and the church.
So far, the World Heritage Convention (WHC) has identified several potential indirect and long-term impacts to the church. WHC noted that the church could be impacted by more ground vibration due to vehicular traffic, and air
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...
and noise pollution
Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...
. Moreover, the bridge would have a direct visual impact on the overall setting and sense of place of the property, including Intramuros' fortified wall, as well as the Maestranza strip and Plaza México
A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...
, the visual corridor 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 the underlying remains of . To mitigate the situation, it was recommended to the national government to reconsider the bridge's and location, convert the surrounding roads of the church into pedestrian areas, conduct structural assessment of the church, and adapt the design of the bridge to the character of Intramuros.
San Agustin Church was collectively declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 1993, together with Paoay Church
Saint Augustine Parish Church, commonly known as Paoay Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Paoay, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines. It is under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Diocese of Laoag. Completed in 1710, t ...
in Ilocos Norte, Santa Maria Church in Ilocos Sur, and Miag-ao Church
Santo Tomás de Villanueva Parish Church, commonly known as Miagao Church, is a Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church (building), church located in Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Jaro. The ...
in Iloilo. In April 2019, before the bridge construction, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts
The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA; , ) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, d ...
allayed fears that the three other churches could be removed from the World Heritage Site list if San Agustin Church is delisted.
See also
* Architecture of the Philippines
* Spanish Baroque architecture
Spanish Baroque is a strand of Baroque architecture that evolved in Spain, its provinces, and former colonies.
History
The development of the style passed through three phases. Between 1680 and 1720, the Churriguera popularized Guarini's ble ...
References
Notes
Citations
Cited sources
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External links
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World Heritage profile
{{authority control
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1607
Roman Catholic churches in Manila
Buildings and structures in Intramuros
Augustinian monasteries in the Philippines
World Heritage Sites in the Philippines
Baroque church buildings in the Philippines
Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila
National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines
National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines
17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines
Tourist attractions in Manila
Augustinian churches in the Philippines
1571 establishments in the Philippines
Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila
Jubilee churches in the Philippines