Baguio cathedral

Saturday afternoon was the only time we experienced rainy weather while we were in Baguio City. After a late lunch, we decided to visit the Baguio cathedral, which I only vaguely remember from childhood because we didn't visit it the last time we were in Baguio several years ago. From the marker in front of the church:

A Catholic mission was established by missionaries of CICM (Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) from Belgium in 1907. A chapel, dedicated to St. Patrick, was built at the middle part of Session Road. In 1920, the construction of the cathedral by phases was begun on this hill, originally referred to as Kampo by the native Ibalois, who had a settlement here in the latter part of the nineteenth century, and later called Mount Mary by the Catholic mission. It was spearheaded by Fr. Florimond Carlu, CICM, then the parish priest. The cathedral was finally consecrated in 1936 and dedicated to Our Lady of the Atonement (Domina Nostra Adunationis). The cathedral became an evacuation center during World War II and withstood the carpet bombing of Baguio in 1945, thereby saving thousands of lives.

In front of the plaza just before the church was this tableau. On the marker was a verse from the 19th chapter of the Gospel of John:

When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Though the figure on the left side of the cross is Mary, the mother of Jesus, I don't think that the one on the right is John—it looks more like a woman and I can only guess that it's supposed to be Mary Magdalene. PHOTO BY DOGBERRY


We came just in time for the 5:00pm anticipated Mass, which was perfect because it was my husband's birthday. Just before the priest entered, I took a shot from the pew we were sitting on, down the nave looking towards the altar. You can see the choir lofts here, and that concession to modernity found in many of our churches nowadays: an LCD projector and white screen.


After the Mass and just before the next one started, I went to the front-most pew to take a closer picture of the altar and tabernacle. Because of the ornate details, I decided to upload a higher-resolution image than I usually do. You can actually click on this one to view a larger image. BAGUIO CITY SERIES #2