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Baclayon Church

Immaculate Conception Parish Church, and informally called Baclayon Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Tagbilaran. Baclayon was founded by the Jesuit priest Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sánchez in 1596, and became the oldest Christian settlement in Bohol. It was elevated as a parish in 1717 and the present coral stone church was completed in 1727. The Augustinian Recollects succeeded the Jesuits in 1768 and heavily renovated the church since then.

History
of the church The Jesuits were the first evangelizers of Baclayon, planting the first seeds of Christianity in Bohol upon the request of Doña Catalina de Bolaños, mother of the encomendero of Bohol island, Pedro de Gamboa to Father Antonio Sedeño, mission superior of Leyte and Samar. On November 17, 1596, the first Jesuits, Father Juan de Torres, SJ and Father Gabriel Sánchez, SJ, came to Baclayon. At that time, a Catholic chapel is already existing inside the encomienda. The National Historical Institute, now National Historical Commission of the Philippines, also declared Baclayon Church a National Historical Landmark on July 27, 1994. It was considered for addition to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Philippines under the collective group of the Jesuit Churches of the Philippines with the churches of Maragondon in Cavite, Loboc in Bohol and Guiuan in Eastern Samar. However, due to its total destruction, it was removed as a nominated site. 2013 earthquake and restoration On October 15, 2013, a strong earthquake heavily damaged the church and several other churches designated as National Cultural Treasures. The church sustained major damage with its collapsed portico and bell tower. The Diocese of Tagbilaran restored the Church of Baclayon and all other churches destroyed by the earthquake. Together with government agencies, pre-restoration works were made. The church was reopened to the public on February 27, 2018. == Features ==
Features
The church, built out of coral stones, is a cross-shaped (cruciform) church with its juncture or crossing surmounted by a pyramidal wall. The original tiled roof was replaced by galvanized iron in 1893. Façade Prior to restoration the original façade, oriented southwest and located behind the portico, was built together with the stone church of the Jesuits in 1727. It is simply designed, its upper half hidden by an extended choir loft which houses an 1824 pipe organ. A way of glazed blue tiles connects the façade and portico, which was added in 1875 as an extension to the façade by the Augustinian Recollects. Murals, mostly replaced by monochromatic tin sheets, were also present on the church's ceilings. Though most ceiling paintings were unpreserved, an original work of Max Aya-ay in 1957 can still be seen on portions of the crossing. The walls were originally adorned with wooden images of Stations of the Cross commissioned by Father Úbeda in 1859 which were later replaced by European-made images. Gospel retablo The side altar located on the left hand side facing the altar is consecrated to the Santo Niño. Joining the statue of the Holy Child are 19th century images of Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Blaise; and Saint Lucy on the topmost level. Another smaller neoclassical retablo housing a 19th-century image of Saint Mary Magdalene is located on the left side of the gospel retablo. Epistle retablo The opposite side altar on the right side houses another early 19th century image of the Nuestra Señora de la Consolación (Our Lady of Consolation) in the central niche. The doors leading to both the ante-sacristy and sacristy is similar to the doors of another Jesuit church, the Maragondon Church. Other structures around the convent are the Jesuit-built bastion, remnants of an old fortification and a bakery behind the convent which processes egg yolk (unused from using egg as binder in construction of building) into broas (ladyfingers/sponge-fingers). Watchtower The quadrangular watchtower, which was also the church's bell tower, was left unfinished by the Jesuits when they were expelled out of the country. The Augustinian Recollects, who succeeded the Jesuits, completed the watchtower. It is used to be a detached structure from the church and was connected after the addition of the portico. Made of coral stones, it also has a bas relief of Saint Andrew with an inscription of the date the tower was finished during Father San Andrés de la Santísima Trinidad's administration, May 20, 1777. It still has the original six out of the nine bells from 1880 to 1894 during Father Cabañas' terms. The seventh bell (1886) is in the church museum while the eight bell (1872) was given to the then newly founded parish of Corella. Mortuary chapel Near the baptistery is a separate rectangular mortuary chapel (ermita de difuntos) built in 1859. A road from the mortuary chapel leads to the cemetery with stone fences. At the middle of the cemetery is a stone chapel and an ossuary at its back. == Notes ==
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