Bishop Abet, NMP Dir General lead turn-over of restored Loboc Church

CORTES, Bohol. May 15 (PIA) – Exactly six years and seven months after the parishioners of the Loboc cried in anguish seeing the ugly pile or rubles which was what was left of their church, the faithful now would have the first chance to step into the church, newly restored in its past grandeur.

No less than Diocese of Tagbilaran Bishop Alberto S. Uy and National Museum of the Philippine Director General Jeremy Barns along with Rev. Fr. Al John Miñoza would lead the exultant community in the turn-over and acceptance of the restored church, the unveiling of the National Cultural Treasure marker and the Dedication and Consecration of the Parish Church in ceremonies, May 16, during the pontifical mass, May 16 2021.

Built sometime later by the Jesuit pioneering missionaries after a fire gutted the 1602 structure, the present restored church is an incorporated structure in what is believed to be the second church built in town, the second being the main fabric of the present-day convent.

The church, which is also the Diocesan Shrine of the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Extremadura, figured prominently in the history of Bohol, and as considered the least vulnerable to pirate raids, Spanish authorities established here which contributed largely to the hailed renaissance in Bohol.

Erected along the banks of the Loboc River, the stone church of Jesuit provenance has had enough share of structural challenges: it built on muddy foundations and the constant flooding of the Loboc River.

Already elevated from its previous flooring to sit above the floods, the alterations proved to be hugely useless when the floods in the later years reached water levels that were unprecedented.

To keep the foundations from getting affected by the floods, church authorities have to introduce some redesigns in the church and opened side doors to facilitate the draining of the floods, while the community who take refuge in the three-story convent waited it out for the waters to subside.

A church is also associated with key religious figures like Alonzo Humanes, Miguel de Ayatomo and Pedro Calungsod, Loboc, the church has become a Jesuit and Augustinian recollect mission centers in the region, considering that the Augustinian Superior General himself Aquilino Bon was buried here.

Owing to the Pax Romana which its missionaries experienced here, the people have also used the opportunity to learn the rudiments and master the craft of music, further bolstering the claim as the music capital of Bohol.

Considered to be the second oldest Spanish-designed church in Bohol, the Loboc Church did not escape the tremor of the October 2013 earthquake that caused waterlogged areas in the southwestern Bohol to ripple, toppling if not compromising the structures of most of the infrastructure here.

Last October 15, 2013, parishioners who were gathered at the Plaza kiosk for the 3 PM mass disclosed their fears, that the ruined centuries old church would cost millions in restoration, one they could not raise even in decades.

Unknown to many of them, the church’s declaration by the NMP as National Cultural Treasure (NCT) binds the government to fund its restoration.

The restored church, which religiously followed the design and structure if the old church is now a fortified megastructure that would reopen, in time for the first day novena for the feast day of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Extremadura, May 25. (rahchiu/PIA-7/Bohol)

NEWLY RESTORED. Loboc Church of Saint Peter the Apostle would be turned over to local authorities by National Museum Director General Jeremy Barns. The restoration project, which allowed authorities to fortify the church foundations, was a dream for Loboc parishioners who knew theyt could hardly raise enough funds in decades to raise back the church back to its glory. (rahchiu/pia-7/Bohol)

LOBOC PARISIONERS LOOK IN DISBELEIF. The afternoon of October 13, six year ago, parishioners wept knowing they could not afford to rebuild and restore their church, with the main façade reduced to an ugly pile of rubbles. (Rahchiu/PIA7/Bohol)