March 25, 2009

Chinoy church

Soon after the Spaniards settled the Chinese who converted to Christianity in Binondo in 1596, the Dominicans built a church for them. This was destroyed by a British bombardment in 1762 during their brief occupation of Manila. In 1852, a new Binondo Church was built on the same site with an octagonal bell tower which echoes Chinese architecture and design. The church was severely damaged during WWII but the facade and bell tower survived. The rebuilding and reconstruction of the church was done in several phases and took a long time, from 1946 to 1984. Binondo Church, dedicated to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, is also known as the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz, named after the Philippines' first saint, who was born of a Chinese father and a Tagalog mother. He served as an altar boy in the original church and was tortured and killed in Japan in 1637 for refusing to renounce his faith. He was canonized in 1987.

Binondo Church

25 comments:

  1. OlivierMarch 25, 2009 at 9:02 PM

    une très belle architecture, mais une histoire triste
    a very nice architecture, but a sad history

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  2. GeorgeMarch 25, 2009 at 9:28 PM

    What a beautiful old church. I especially like the Chinese-style bell tower. Thanks for giving us the history of this church.

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  3. LowellMarch 25, 2009 at 9:28 PM

    The face of that church bespeaks a long and crusty history. It appears the tower is built of another kind of material (brick?) or is the front of the church a facade?

    It certainly has a lot of character, and I appreciate the way you angled the shot!

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  4. HalcyonMarch 25, 2009 at 9:31 PM

    You really have such an interesting history! This church reminds me of the grand cathdrals in Milan or Rome. Beautiful!

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  5. ReenaMarch 25, 2009 at 9:37 PM

    i pass by this all the time! but i never had the chance to stop and enter. ganda tlga...

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  6. LoisMarch 25, 2009 at 10:21 PM

    It's absolutely beautiful Hilda! I love the bell tower. I also enjoyed the history lesson! By the way, I have included a short explanation of the red and white awnings you asked about on my blog. I don't think they have any relationship to the flowers though, except that maybe they decided to coordinate the colors!

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  7. TaraMarch 25, 2009 at 10:34 PM

    Oh, what a coincidence that we both posted churches. This one looks more historical than mine. Very impressive structure too.

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  8. JudyMarch 25, 2009 at 10:53 PM

    Impressive old building, I like the arches with the statues. I wonder what the inside looks like.

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  9. pennyMarch 25, 2009 at 11:25 PM

    This is a wonderful old church, Hilda. It must have taken a lot of time and hard work to build such a massive and beautiful church. Thanks for the history too.

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  10. VPMarch 25, 2009 at 11:41 PM

    This is a strange church, in different colors and oddly shaped. It has a history quite similar to many churches here, rebuilt after the last war.
    I like it, probably your story helps, and should be curious to see the inside.

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  11. PJMarch 25, 2009 at 11:47 PM

    The church is very beautiful. That's a very sad story, I keep hoping we'll learn to accept each other one day.

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  12. MoMarch 25, 2009 at 11:53 PM

    A beautiful church. Why such buildings have to be destryed in wars is beyond me

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  13. EkiMarch 26, 2009 at 1:24 AM

    what a marvellous piece of historic architecture, Hilda. I love the details and ornaments.

    About your question:
    Yes, the Allied Forced did occupy the paralyzed city for while. THey could not do much though, and with the guerrila attacks from militia, they decided it was not worth it to occupy the city and decided to leave soon.

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  14. AnonymousMarch 26, 2009 at 4:50 AM

    How lovely - and thanks for the history lesson too!

    It looks very calm and peaceful, unlike the road in front of it!

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  15. abcMarch 26, 2009 at 5:47 AM

    Wonderful building. The facade could do with some cleaning, but it looks impressive.

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  16. skywindMarch 26, 2009 at 8:47 AM

    Old building, people are looking for the secret history of a good place.
    Health information
    Humor & Fun World

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  17. Lilli & NevadaMarch 26, 2009 at 10:03 AM

    Beautiful i would love to see the inside

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  18. Ken MacMarch 26, 2009 at 10:07 AM

    gorgeous!

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  19. escapeMarch 26, 2009 at 3:36 PM

    i really smile every time i see bloggers in manila feature churches around the metro. because i get to feature churches from other provinces yet, so less of manila. truth is ive never seen that church yet. so odd.

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  20. lunarossaMarch 26, 2009 at 8:20 PM

    Very impressive building and so the story behind it. The tower is definetely unusual. manila seems such a great place to visit! Ciao. A.

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  21. Debbie Courson SmithMarch 26, 2009 at 10:52 PM

    A crusty and intricate building and history.

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  22. Cezar and LéiaMarch 27, 2009 at 8:32 AM

    Impressive story indeed! Great post dear Hilda!
    Many thanks for all informations!
    Have a nice weekend!
    Léia :-)

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  23. Joe NarvaezMarch 28, 2009 at 12:23 PM

    I have only been inside that beautiful church once. I would like to visit it again. Nice shot here. Angle and all.

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  24. Juergen KuehnMarch 31, 2009 at 2:25 AM

    As I am so interested in churches I found here a great excample of Spanish building culture from 16th. century. Thank you.

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  25. Béné(dicte)April 1, 2009 at 5:48 AM

    i love it!
    je l'adore!

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