The Minor Basilica and Parish of San Sebastian, also known as the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and commonly known as San Sebastian Church or San Sebastian Basilica, is a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the

Archdiocese of Manila 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 ...

. San Sebastian Church's current structure was completed in 1891, and is noted for its architecture. An example of the

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

in the Philippines, it is the only

steel building A steel building is a metal structure fabricated with steel for the internal support and for exterior cladding, as opposed to steel framed buildings which generally use other materials for floors, walls, and external envelope. Steel buildings a ...

church in the Philippines.. "The basilica is the first and the only all-steel church in Asia, the second in the world after the Eiffel Tower of Paris (French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel himself is also rumored BUT NEVER CONFIRMED to have been involved in the basilica's construction) " It was designated as a National Historical Landmark in 1973 and as a National Cultural Treasure in 2011. San Sebastian Church is under the care of the

Order of 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 Augustinians, Augustinian hermit friars and follows the same Rule of St. Augustine. They have also been kno ...

, who also operate the San Sebastian College-Recoletos adjacent to the basilica. It is located at Plaza del Carmen, near the eastern end of

Recto Avenue Claro M. Recto Avenue, more popularly known as simply Recto, is the principal commercial thoroughfare in north-central Manila, Philippines. It spans six districts just north of the Pasig River in what is generally considered Manila's old downt ...

, in

Quiapo, Manila Quiapo () is a district of the city of Manila, in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Known as the “Old Downtown of Manila", the district’s most famous landmark is Quiapo Church, a Basilicas in the Catholic Church, minor basilic ...

History

In 1621, Bernardino Castillo, a generous patron and a devotee of the 3rd-century Roman martyr

Saint Sebastian Sebastian (; ) was an early Christianity, Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this d ...

, donated the land upon which the church stands. The original structure, made of wood, burned in 1651 during a

Chinese Filipino Chinese Filipinos (sometimes referred as Filipino Chinese or Chinoy/Tsinoy in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent with ancestry mainly from Fujian, but are typically born and raised in the Philippines. Chinese Filipinos are one ...

uprising. Succeeding structures, which were built of brick, were destroyed by fire and earthquakes in 1859, 1863, and 1880. In the 1880s, Esteban Martínez, the parish priest of the ruined church, approached Spanish architect Genaro Palacios to build a church that will withstand the earthquakes. Palacios planned to build a fire and earthquake-resistant structure made entirely of steel. He completed a design that fused

Earthquake Baroque Earthquake Baroque, or Seismic Baroque, is a style of Baroque architecture found in the Philippines and in Guatemala, which were Spanish-ruled territories that suffered destructive earthquakes during the 17th and the 18th centuries. Large public b ...

with the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style. His final design was said to have been inspired by the famed Gothic

Burgos Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos () is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spanish city of Burgos. Its official name is the Holy Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica Church of St Mary of Burgos ...

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

, Spain.

Construction

The prefabricated steel sections that would compose the church were manufactured in

Binche Binche (; ; Dutch: ''Bing'') is a city and municipality of Wallonia, in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Since 1977, the municipality consists of Binche, Bray, Buvrinnes, Épinois, Leval-Trahegnies, Péronnes-lez-Binche, Ressaix, and Waudrez ...

, Belgium. According to historian

Ambeth Ocampo Ambeth Raymundo Ocampo is a Filipino public historian, academic, cultural administrator, journalist, author, and independent curator. He is best known for his definitive writings about Philippines' national hero José Rizal and on topics in Ph ...

, the knockdown steel parts were ordered from the ''Societe anonyme des Enterprises de Travaux Publiques'' in Brussels. In all, of prefabricated steel sections were transported in eight separate shipments from

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

to the Philippines, the first shipment arriving in 1888. Belgian engineers supervised the assembly of the church, the first

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

of which was erected on September 11, 1890. The walls were filled with mixed sand, gravel, and cement. The

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows were imported from the Heinrich Oidtmann Company, a German stained glass firm, while local artisans assisted in applying the finishing touches. The church was raised to the status of a

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

on June 24, 1890. Upon its completion the following year, on August 16, 1891, the was consecrated by Bernardino Nozaleda y Villa OP, the 25th

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, ...

. According to Jesús Pastor Paloma, an Augustinian Recollect priest, the structure was also supposed to have a prefabricated ''retablo'' (

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

) altar, which was lost at sea when the ship carrying it from Belgium capsized in a storm. A wooden altar was made locally in its stead. Paloma also noted that the bottom part of the church was designed to resemble a ship's

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

, so that it would sway during an earthquake.

Preservation and restoration

In recent years, San Sebastian Church has encountered threats to its structural integrity. The steel structure has been beset by

rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...

and

corrosion Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...

due to

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is a wind that blows in the afternoon from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass. By contrast, a land breeze or offshore breeze is a wind that blows in the night from a landmass toward or onto a large ...

s from nearby

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

. State funding was accorded to the church through 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 ...

which undertook restoration in 1982. The Recollect community has likewise expended funds for the church's maintenance and restoration. In 1998, it was placed on the biennial watchlist of the 100 Most Endangered Sites by the

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training ...

, though it was not retained in the subsequent watchlists. The church was listed again as one of the most endangered monuments in the world by

in the 2010 World Monuments Watch, along with the

Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras are a World Heritage Site consisting of a complex of Terrace (earthworks), rice terraces on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They were inscribed on the World Heritage Site, UNESCO W ...

and

Santa Maria Church The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, commonly known as Santa Maria Church, Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption, and Santa Maria Pro-cathedral, is a Roman Catholic Basilica in Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. Th ...

. All of the sites were taken off the list in 2011 after the passage of the

National Cultural Heritage Act The National Cultural Heritage Act, officially designated as Republic Act No. 10066, is a Philippine law that created the Philippine Registry of Cultural Property (PRECUP) and took other steps to preserve historic buildings that are over 50 year ...

Architecture

San Sebastian Church has two openwork towers and steel

vaulting In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

. From its floor, the basilica's

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 ...

rises to the

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

and to the tip of the twin

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

s. The faux finished interior of the church incorporates groined vaults in the

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

style permitting very ample illumination from lateral windows. The steel

s, walls and ceiling were painted by Lorenzo Rocha, Isabelo Tampingco and Félix Martínez to give the appearance of

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

and

jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

. ''

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 ...

'' paintings of saints and martyrs by Rocha were used to decorate the interiors of the church. True to the Gothic revival spirit of the church are its

confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall where the priest from some Christian denominations sits to hear the confessions of a penitent's sins. It is the traditional venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Luther ...

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 ...

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

s and five

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

s designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Rocha. The sculptor Eusebio García carved the statues of holy men and women. Six

holy water font A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or other Christian art. It is used in Catholic, as well as many Lutheran and Angli ...

s were constructed for the church, each crafted from marble hewn in

Romblon Romblon (, , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main components include Romblon, an archipelagic municipality of the same name that also serves as the provi ...

. Above the main altar is the

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...

statue of

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic Titles of Mary, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patron saint, patroness of the Carmelites, Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on M ...

, given to the church by Carmelite sisters from

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in 1617. The image withstood all the earthquakes and fires which had destroyed previous incarnations of San Sebastian Church, but its ivory head was stolen in 1975.

Cultural and historical declarations

San Sebastian Church was declared a National Historical Landmark by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

through Presidential Decree No. 260 on August 1, 1973. Subsequently, the church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines () is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines, including Ethnography, ethnographic, Anthropology, anthropological, Archaeology, archaeological, an ...

on August 15, 2011, with the unveiling of the marker on January 20, 2012. On May 16, 2006, San Sebastian Church was included by the National Historical Institute (now the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...

) in the Philippines' Tentative List for possible designation 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 ...

, on account of its architectural and historical heritage. the church is no longer included in the Tentative List.

Troubled UNESCO re-inclusion

On October 1, 2018, it was revealed that a thirty-one-storey residential high-rise building of Summithome Realty Corporation is being planned to be constructed beside the historic San Sebastian Church, negatively affecting the site's possible re-inclusion in the

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 ...

tentative list as the area around the church is integral to the site as a 'buffer zone'. The site, the first and only all-steel church in Asia, used to be in the UNESCO tentative list but was removed in 2015 due to structural decay. To re-establish the site's integrity and re-inclusion in the tentative list, it underwent a massive restoration program, which conservationists have cited as a megalithic success. However, with the looming threat of the high-rise building, the site's inclusion in the UNESCO list is bleak. Summithome was able to acquire a barangay clearance supporting their application for a building permit from the barangay chairman, without the site managers being initially informed.

Alleged involvement of Gustave Eiffel

It has long been reputed that

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel ( , ; Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway net ...

, the French engineer behind the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

and the steel structure within the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

, was involved in the design and construction of San Sebastián, but this was never confirmed. However, it was confirmed later on that Eiffel was involved in designing and supplying the metal framework for San Ignacio Church in

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 ...

, thus confirming the contribution of Eiffel in Philippine church architecture, if not in San Sebastián Church.

Notes

References

Citations

Works cited

External links

* *
Basilica Menor de San Sebastian
accessed March 22, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:San Sebastian Church Hall churches Roman Catholic churches in Manila Roman Catholic churches completed in 1891 Buildings and structures in Quiapo, Manila Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila Basilica churches in the Philippines National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines Gothic Revival church buildings in the Philippines Spanish Colonial architecture in the Philippines Tourist attractions in Manila National Cultural Treasures of the Philippines Marked Historical Structures of the Philippines 1621 establishments in the Spanish Empire 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Roman Catholic national shrines in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila