San Sebastian Church

Unlike the ancient churches here in Bohol that were mostly built by the Jesuits, using forced labor in some cases, the all steel San Sebastian Church in Manila was fabricated in Belgium and then erected in Quiapo.

The Order of the Agustinian Recollect (OAR) Parishes Manual cited that the San Sebastian church “is the first all-iron church in the world and the first iron edifice in Asia.”

The church has its beginnings in 1621 when Don Bernardino Castillo, a generous patron and a well-known devotee of San Sebastian donated his lot for the church to be built on. The original church, which was made of wood, was burned in 1651 during a Chinese uprising. The succeeding structures were destroyed by fire and an earthquake in 1859, and 1863. They then rebuilt using stone, but it was also destroyed by an earthquake in 1880.

The exasperated parish priest, Fr. Esteban Martinez approached the Spanish Architect Genero Palacios who proposed the novel idea of a steel church.  It was approved by the Recollect Provincial Council and Palacios was commissioned to design it.  His concept for a Gothic revival structure was approved on June 14, 1883. Hence, San Sebastian Church also became known as the only Gothic church ever built in the Philippines.

In 1886, the Societe Anonyme d’Entreprise de Traveaux Publics of Brussels, Belgium was awarded the contract to undertake the construction of this grandiose design for an all steel church. The steel parts with a total weight of 1,527 tons were manufactured in the Societe Anonyme’s foundry in Binche, Belgium and were shipped to Manila during the steel temple’s fabrication phase.

On June 12, 1888, the ship William Burkitt docked in Manila bringing with it the first shipment of steel parts of the church. And for the next two years, the church was assembled with local artists and craftsmen joining the Belgian engineers in applying the final finishing touches on this magnificent new church made of steel.

The idea of fitting stained glass windows in the design of the Basilica was also conceived by the architect, Genaro Palacios.  He thought of it while in Belgium monitoring the progress of the fabrication phase of the church and was introduced to the products of the Henri Oidtmann Company, a German stained glass firm which had won in various international competitions during the 1880’s.  This company produced the stained glass windows for Palacios.

Eventually, the all steel San Sebastian church was completed and inaugurated in 1891.

The Augustinian Recollects quietly celebrated the church’s centennial.  Perhaps,  they consider it a sacred space -- a house of worship -- more so than an architectural gem. 

Incidentally, the hearsay that this all-steel church was designed and built by Gustave Eiffel is false.   

Another story was that the Recollects were the original owners of the San Miguel beer formula, which they supposedly sold to the Sorianos with a stipulation that they also receive a royalty fee of one centavo for every bottle of beer sold.  This I do not know whether true or not.  However, the church is a mere walking distance from the original San Miguel brewery compound.

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Feast of the Black Nazarene

Last week Quiapo celebrated the Feast of the Black Nazarene (Nuestro Padre Señor Jesus de Nazareno).  Every year on January 9, the Black Nazarene statue is placed on a gilded carriage; two ropes attached to it are then pulled by a throng of Catholic devotees in bare feet through the narrow streets of Quiapo.  This annual feast is considered as one of the largest festivals in the Philippines.

The original statue was handcrafted by an unknown Mexican sculptor.  It was transported to Manila aboard a Spanish Galleon by Augustinian Recollect priests.  On May 31, 1606, it was enshrined at the Church of San Juan Bautista in Bagumbayan, now part of Luneta.  In 1608, it was moved to the bigger Recollect church of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Intramuros. Finally, on January 9, 1787, it was transferred to Quiapo Church, which is also known as St. John the Baptist Church after its patron saint.

Believed to be miraculous, the Black Nazarene has become more famous than Quiapo’s own patron saint, St. John the Baptist, whose feast is celebrated every June 24. Devotees have attributed miracles and answered prayers to the Black Nazarene.  Henceforth, the Feast of the Black Nazarene on January 9, as it has come to be known, is held to commemorate the journey of this 17th century statue from its original home in Luneta to Quiapo in Manila.

The statue survived the fires that engulfed Quiapo Church in 1791 and 1929, the great earthquakes of 1645 and 1863, and the 1945 bombing of Manila during World War II.  Devotion to the Black Nazarene was encouraged by Pope Innocent X, who issued a papal bull establishing Confradia de Jesus Nazareno in 1650. In the 19th century, Pope Pius VII granted indulgences to people who prayed devoutly to the Black Nazarene.

Besides the annual procession on January 9, the Black Nazarene statue is also brought out of the church every Good Friday for a procession that traverses the same route of Quiapo streets.  However, the starting point is not from Luneta, but from the church.  It usually starts as early as three in the early morning.  This is to ensure that the statue is returned to the church before three in the afternoon.

Good Friday 2011 video by Tito Eric

Last year, after studying the Good Friday procession route, I decided to shoot a video of which at the intersection of two narrow streets: Aguila and Carcer.  This position would place me as close to the statue’s carriage as safely possible.  I took possession of this spot, a lamp post, three hours before the estimated arrival of the carriage on this particular intersection.  While shooting, I had to practically hug the post after stepping up and planting my feet on the edges of its two-foot base to gain height over the crowd.

For good measure, four young men whom I know who are residents of Quiapo, volunteered to protect me.  They were to act as my human shield from the possible onslaught of the wave of the devotees pulling the ropes of the carriage, which could get incorrigible at times.  Its impact caused the shaking of my camera (as you will notice when viewing the video).  The four young men acting as my shield would push them back to prevent my slipping off from where I was standing and, God forbid, get trampled upon by the crowd (busily maneuvering to squeeze through the line to join the devotees pulling the ropes).

Except for this year, I have been covering the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene the past several years now, and to date, I remain awed yet dumbfounded by the unfathomable devotion of those who pull the ropes, as well as by those who risk their well-being, if not their life, by climbing on top of other devotees to reach the top of the carriage to wipe their handkerchief or face towel on the statue.  This video is proof of the seemingly perilous and frenzied intensity of their devotion.

Related links:

Timeline: Deaths, injuries during Quiapo procession

The Black Nazarene: Opinion by Korina Sanchez

The Black Nazarene Feast Procession - January 9, 2011 on Palanca Street

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Please note:

I very much appreciate my articles and photos appearing on fellow bloggers' sites, popular broadsheets, and local broadcast news segments, but I would appreciate even more a request for permission first.

Thank you!

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