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| Longos Church | |
|---|---|
| St. John the Baptist Parish Church | |
Simbahang Pamparokya ni San Juan Bautista | |
 | |
| Location | Kalayaan, Laguna |
| Address | Brgy. Longos, Kalayaan, Laguna |
| Country | Philippines |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Founded | 1577 |
| Founder(s) | Franciscans |
| Dedication | John the Baptist Secondary Patron: Nuestra Señora Dela Paz |
| Dedicated | June 2, 1669 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architectural type | Baroque |
| Years built | ca. 1715 |
| Administration | |
| District | Ecclesiastical District IV- Vicariate of Our Lady of Guadalupe |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo |
| Clergy | |
| Priest(s) | Rev. Fr. Christian Edward L. Abao |
Longos Church, formally known as the St. John the Baptist Parish church is the oldest Roman Catholic church in the town of Kalayaan in Laguna. It is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, with its fiesta being celebrated every June 24[1].
History
editIn 1577, two Fransiscan priests- Fray P. San Juan de Placencia and Fray Diego Oropesa established a church in Lumban in their efforts to christianize the natives of areas outside Manila[2]. This church had three visitas, one of which is Babaye (now named Longos)[3].
In 1669, a request from native elites to the Franciscans was granted with an order which decreed the creation of the convento of Longos, indicating the establishment of the town. Fray Lucas Sarro was designated as first doctrinero. Several visitas were assigned to this convento[4].
Around the year 1715, the adobe church was built[5]. Tumultuous changes to its political status and jurisdictions, as well as land disputes were documented[4].
In 1899, Longos was occupied by the Americans in their campaign of Laguna[6][7] which saw damage to the convent [8]. In 1908, they established the Municipality of Longos.
Executive Order no. 127 s. 1948 transferred the seat of local government from the poblacion of Longos to the Poblacion of San Juan of the same municipality[9], further decreasing the relevance of the barrio, and in turn its church. In 1956, RA 1417 changed the official name from Municipality of Longos to the Municipality of Kalayaan[10]. An earthquake damaged large parts of its convento[11].
In 1959, the church lost its parish status, which led to 40 years of decay, seeming abandonment and looting of ecclesiastical and precious items[11] .
In 1995, super typhoon Rosing ravaged the Southern Tagalog region of the Philippines[12], which badly damaged the roof of the church. Similarly, large damage to its roof was also seen in 2006 when super typhoon Milenyo passed through the country.
In 1996, a decree from the Bishop Francisco San Diego of the Diocese of San Pablo re-established the church as a parish[13][14].
In 2021, the church was selected to be a Jubilee church in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines[15] .
Architecture and features
editThe adobe and brick structure today was largely built in the early 18th century, around the year 1715[5], in the Baroque style similar to the many churches built in the Philippines during that time. Ruins of the convent are transformed into a garden and a grotto containing an image of the Our Lady of Lourdes.
The main altar is of two tiers, the first layer contains the image Nuestra Señora Dela Paz, the secondary patron of the town, on the other hand, the second layer contains the image of St. John the Baptist. Two side altars are present. The left side altar contains the image and relic of St. Pedro Bautista, one of the priests assigned to the church when it was still a visita [16]. On the right side altar, an image of St. Joseph, husband of Mary.
Other relics are contained in the church, one are rocks from which the visitacion happened and a relic of St. Philomena.
Paintings associated to Paete artist Josef Luciano Dans adorn its walls. A bas relief of John the Baptist and the Baptism of our Lord are among the most treasured ecclesiastic items.
One of the more unusual features of the church is the Botafumeiro, a swinging thurible hung on large metal arches inscribed with verses from the song of Zechariah[3].
Marian Devotion
editIn 1694, a supposed miracle surrounding the arrival of the image of the Immaculate Concepcion to the church was documented by the parish priest and the signed by the local members of the principalia who witnessed the event. This manuscript is found in the Archivo Franciscano Ibero Oriental in Madrid, Spain. [17]
The arrival of the image on that faithful day wilted the plants and lost all their leaves around the church patio, particularly the Lucban citruses. The day after, the same Lucban miraculously blossomed at the same time. Another witness claims that they saw deathly ill people be healed after the community prayed to the image.
Furthermore, a parishioner who was attacked and dragged by a crocodile into the Laguna de Bay, prayed to God and the Virgin Mary was claimed to be saved by a mysterious woman who resembles the image that arrived in the church.
The current church devotion to the Virgin Mary is found in their reverence to the Nuestra Señora Dela Paz (arrived 1865), considered to be their secondary patron, with her fiesta being celebrated during the 20th of May[18][19]. This image is found in the first level of the main altar.
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ "V. St. James". www.dioceseofsanpablo.net. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ San Pedro Bautista: A Saint in the Philippines. Devotees of San Pedro Bautista. 1982.
- ^ a b "Finding the lost town of Longos in Laguna". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ a b Yushida Concepcion, Grace Liza. "Collaborative production of "civilizing spaces" in Spanish Philippines: The Longos-Paete land dispute in Laguna, 17th -18th century".
- ^ a b "Love Laguna". lovelaguna.ph. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
- ^ Elihu Root Collection of United States Documents Relating to the Philippine Islands. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1898.
- ^ The National Magazine. Chapple Publishing Company, Limited. 1899.
- ^ Affairs, United States Congress House Committee on Insular (1909). Committee on Insular Affairs, House of Represetatives: Committee Reports, Hearings, and Acts of Congress Corresponding Thereto, Sixtieth Congress, 1907-1909 ... U.S. Government Printing Office.
- ^ "Executive Order No. 127". lawphil.net. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
- ^ "Republic Act No. 1417". lawphil.net. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
- ^ a b "The Battered church". Bluprint magazine vol. 1, 2012
- ^ "Supertyphoon Angela. 1995 Annual Tropical Cyclone Report" (PDF).
- ^ "dir". members.tripod.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
- ^ "Diocese of San Pablo". Catholink. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
- ^ "List of Jubilee Churches for the celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines".
- ^ "San Pedro Bautista in the Philippines". ofmphilarchives.tripod.com. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
- ^ Nito, Maria Josefti C. "The Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepcion of Longos, Laguna: Devotion and Miracles in the late Seventeenth-Century Spanish Philippines" (PDF). Maria, A journal of Marian Studies. V. 4 (1). Centre for Marian Studies: 1–12.
{{cite journal}}: line feed character in|title=at position 66 (help) - ^ Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society. University of San Carlos. 2002.
- ^ "Still more Franciscan Missions in Laguna" (PDF). The American Chamber of Commerce journal.