Old church a testament of history, faith

ST. JOHN the Baptist Church, which was built by Franciscan missionaries during the Spanish colonial period, in Camalig, Albay, has been declared a historical landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. MICHAEL B. JAUCIAN

Imelda Moraleda has bound her life and faith to the massive stone church built by Franciscan missionaries during the Spanish colonial period in the 1800s in Camalig town in Albay province.

The church is indeed a very old church that provided us refuge during the war, says Moraleda, 84, who goes regularly to the St. John the Baptist Church, which was recently declared a historical landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).

Describing the place of worship as God-given, she recalls that during World War II in 1942-1945, it sheltered town residents during the Japanese occupation and when the Americans came to liberate the country.

She was a teenager then during the war years and was asked to play the piano during the daily Mass, while Japanese soldiers watched the parishioners every movement. There was no way to escape the garrison of the Japanese soldiers, which was just located at the back of St. John the Baptist Church, she remembers.

The NHCPs board of commissioners approved the declaration of the church as a historical landmark after noting its significant contributions to Camaligs history.

The marker is very educational on the part of the tourists as it will give them an idea of how Christianity started, said the agencys executive director, Ludovico Badoy, who attended the unveiling ceremony on Dec. 14, 2014.

The Franciscan missionaries administered the church for over 400 years, from 1579-1983, according to the marker. Originally, it existed as a structure of wood and nipa from 1579 to 1580.

The second church was made from stone by prisoners in 1605. It was, however, destroyed by successive eruptions of Mayon Volcano from 1766 to 1814.

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Old church a testament of history, faith