The Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and Cincture, also known as the San Agustin Church () and Immaculate Conception Parish (), is a Roman Catholic church under the auspices of the Order of Saint Augustine located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila, Philippines. Completed in 1607, it is the oldest stone church in the country.

In 1993, San Agustin Church was one of four Philippine churches constructed during the Spanish colonial period to be designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, under the collective title Baroque Churches of the Philippines. It was named a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1976. The first San Agustin Church was the first religious structure constructed by the Spaniards on the island of Luzon. Made of bamboo and nipa, it was completed in 1571, but destroyed by fire in December 1574 during the attempted invasion of Manila by the forces of Limahong. A second wooden structure built on the same site In 1617, Fray Vicente de Sepulveda, Rector Provincial of the Order of Saint Augustine by a group of four priests inside the church.

left|thumb|248x248px|Augustinian Provincial House footbridge over Real Street.

San Agustin Church was sacked during the Battle of Manila, which occurred as part of the Seven Years' War. In 1854, the church was renovated under the supervision of Spanish architect Luciano Oliver. A series of strong earthquakes struck Manila again on July 18–20, 1880. This time, the tremors left a large crack in the east bell tower. The crack was eventually repaired, but the left tower was permanently removed with only the base remaining today. The church withstood the other major earthquakes that struck Manila before in 1645, 1699, 1754, 1796, 1825, 1852, 1863 and 1880 and served as a hospital for several of those injured during the earthquake in 1863.

On August 18, 1898, the church was the site where Spanish Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes prepared the terms for the surrender of Manila to the United States of America following the Spanish–American War.

San Agustin Church and its adjacent convent, , served as the provincial house and headquarters of the Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines of Spain ever since the province's founding in 1575 until 1901, when it was transferred to Madrid after Spain surrendered the Philippines to American forces. The provincial administration of the province was briefly brought back to Manila in 1927, after the election of Fr. Gaudencio Castrillo, , after the church where the provincialate was located in Marid, the Iglesia de San Benito y San Manuel, was turned over to the Augustinian Province of Spain (founded September 11, 1926) which the latter used as its own provincialate. The provincial house of the Philippine province remained in Manila until around the year 1934 when it was brought back to Spain, where it remained ever since until its dissolution to form the unified Spanish Province of San Juan Sahagun in 2019.

San Agustin Church is currently administered by the Augustinian friars of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines, a new Augustinian province in the country which took the same name of the old Philippine Province. It was founded in 2019 following the dissolution of the old Philippine Province and the merger of the 4 Augustinian provinces in Spain to establish the Province of San Juan Sahagun.

Fiesta de Intramuros

On August 15, 2024, the Manila City Council passed a resolution formally declaring Nuestra Señora de la Consolación y Correa as the patroness of Intramuros, Manila. The same resolution declared also designated the Marian title as "Queen and Protectress of the Distinguished and Ever Loyal City".

The feast was celebrated for the first time on September 8, 2024, coinciding with the Feast of the Nativity of Mary.

A 2022 online study conducted by home services website Angi found out that the church is the "most beautiful building in the Philippines".

Famous burials

thumb|Crypts underneath the San Agustin church convent

The church, as in its custom in its heyday, contained niches for burials of bones and remains. The following are notable burials within the premises of the church.

  • Miguel López de Legazpi
  • Juan de Salcedo
  • Guido de Lavezaris
  • Juan Luna
  • Blessed Pedro Zuñiga
  • Francisco Alonso Liongson
  • Benito Natividad
  • Teodoro Agoncillo
  • Chit Estella
  • Maria Orosa

Heritage threats

thumb|UNESCO [[World Heritage Site plaque]]

Although about away from San Agustin Church, is believed to have encroached on the buffer zone prescribed for church, which includes the walls of Intramuros and the immediate areas outside. However, the national government argues that the bridge will have no direct physical or visual impact to the San Agustin Church, owing to its remote distance and the number of taller structures between the bridge and the church.

So far, the World Heritage Convention (WHC) has identified several potential indirect and long-term impacts to the church. WHC noted that the church could be impacted by more ground vibration due to vehicular traffic, and air and noise pollution. Moreover, the bridge would have a direct visual impact on the overall setting and sense of place of the property, including Intramuros' fortified wall, as well as the Maestranza strip and Plaza México, the visual corridor of the Pasig River, and the underlying remains of . To mitigate the situation, it was recommended to the national government to reconsider the bridge's and location, convert the surrounding roads of the church into pedestrian areas, conduct structural assessment of the church, and adapt the design of the bridge to the character of Intramuros. In April 2019, before the bridge construction, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts allayed fears that the three other churches could be removed from the World Heritage Site list if San Agustin Church is delisted.

See also

  • Architecture of the Philippines
  • Spanish Baroque architecture

References

Notes

Citations

Cited sources

  • World Heritage profile