The History of San Agustin Church (Article from AugNet.Org)
http://www.augnet.org/OrderStAugustineSECTION5/OrderHistory/OrderPlaces/Asia-Pacific/Philippines%20Places%20Header/0333-Intramuros01.htm
SAN AGUSTIN, INTRAMUROS, PHILIPPINES - 01
San Agustin Church at Intramuros in Manila is the oldest Christian sanctuary in the Far East. As the oldest stone building in the Philippines, it marked the start of using permanent materials in contrast to the local architectural tradition of using lightweight construction materials.The city of Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") began in 1570 as the centre of government of the Philippines. The Augustinians immediately in that year built there the Church of San Agustin (Saint Augustine), which was a temporary structure of bamboo and thatch.
Land for the building had been donated by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the founder of Manila who had led the expedition to the Philippines from Mexico in 1565.
Fire destroyed the church in 1574, and again in 1583. The techniques of cutting stone and of mixing lime with sand allowed a different design for the next church.
In 1586 the Augustinians approved designs for a church to be made of stone cut at the Guadalupe, Meycauayan and San Mateo quarries. It was to be the first stone church in the Philippines to be built according to the blending of the architecture of Mexico and Spain. It has been described as "a permanent miracle in stone".
The church was designed according to the plans approved by the Royal Audencia of Mexico, for the Spanish settlement of the Philippines was initially in the control of the Spanish authorities (audienca) in Mexico. Likewise, the design of the church was derived from other churches that were built by the Augustinians in Mexico.
The Church of San Agustin was built by Juan Macias, from Spain. It was begun in 1586, and completed in 1606.
Pedro Galende O.S.A., in his book San Agustin, Noble Stone Shrine (see footnote), adds that the Augustinians "who came from Spain and those born in Mexico had a great opportunity to observe and study the Latin American monastic architecture which they later used in the Philippines. They took into consideration the quality of the local stone and the weather conditions which required them to sacrifice aesthetic requirement for durability."
The facade originally had two towers. Unfortunately, the left tower is now missing. It was taken down soon after a earthquake in 1880 split it in two.
When Manila to the British forces in 1762, the sailors invaded the church and the adjacent Monastery (convento) of Saint Augustine. Books, manuscripts, gold and precious stones, ivory images, vestments, silver marcos and two portable organs were lost.
Luciano Oliver later renovated the church in 1854. Sixteen glass chandeliers (see photo, at left) were imported from Paris in 1873.
In 1875 two decorative painters from Italy, Giovanni Alberoni and Cesare Dibella, worked for the Church in fifteen months. Their work resulted in a superb trompe l'oeil vault with floral patterns, geometric outlines, classic themes and religious images.
The splendid trompe l'oeil barrel vault and dome helped to magnify the skills of two Italian decorative painters. On to that plain surface, they managed to sculpt and gave life to the ceiling with their paint brushes.
They filled every space with wonderful floral motifs, geometric patterns, classic architectural themes, coffers, and religious images. They successfully achieved this on the trompe l'oeil ceiling in a way that highlighted the spatial geometry of the church.Without a doubt, the Church of San Agustin has one of the most artistically decorated interiors among all of the old colonial churches in the Philippines.
In 1898 the military forces of the United States of America attacked Manila after they had defeated the Spanish fleet. San Agustin became the refuge of the sick, old, women and children.
Governor Jaudenes of Manila prepared the terms for the surrender of the city at the Chapel (capella) of Our Lady of Angustias within the Church of San Agustin. Soon, the Americans held the Church and stole books, food, money and statues from the monastery (convento).
In 1941 the Japanese bombed Intramuros. The Church of San Agustin is also the only colonial church that has retained the vaulting (ceiling) with which it was originally built. This was despite the destructive forces that shelled the church during WW II.
The next year, they occupied Manila and made San Agustin a strategic post and a concentration camp for prisoners. The Church again became a shelter for hundreds of families and religious priests of various communities.
It was the only building still standing when Intramuros was almost totally destroyed during the liberation of Manila from the forces of Japan in 1945. Afterwards the Americans seized the church. Many of the church's items were stolen and lost. The second floor of the adjacent Monastery of San Agustin was totally destroyed, and its walls and the roof were heavily damaged.
In 1945 the church was made into a parish. In 1960 an annex building was reconstructed to house the offices of the parish and as quarters for candidates of the Order of Saint Augustine.
In 1976 the monastery was repaired and converted into the San Agustin Museum. At about the same time, the Church of San Agustin was declared as national landmark.
In 1993 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) listed San Agustin as one of the "baroque Churches of the Philippines." In 2000 Jaime Cardinal Sin, the former Archbishop of Manila, canonically crowned the image of Our Lady of Consolation, which is kept in the Church of San Agustin.
The Church of San Agustin is filled with many smaller chapels which house richly decorated altars. Over the centuries, these chapels served as burial sites for prominent residents of Manila.
A side chapel next to the main altar is dedicated to the Spanish Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the founder of Manila. His tomb there was violated by the invading British forces in 1762, when they were searching for gold and treasures.
The pipe organ that had been installed at San Agustin Church in the 18th century was restored in 1998, at a cost of P4.5 million.
This project was aided by the Spanish Embassy through the efforts of the Ambassador Delfin Colomé, and by Instituto Cervantes, the Agencia Espa¤ola de Cooperacion and the many private benefactors of the Church of San Agustin. It was directed by Father Pedro Galende O.S.A. (see footnote).
The Church of San Agustin in the only surviving one of six colonial churches that once were located in Intramuros. It is, indeed, the mother of all Philippine colonial churches. There are efforts to have the Church of San Agustin declared by the Holy See as a minor basilica.
This is the same status as the church that contains the statue of the Santo Niño in Cebu, which also has been conducted by members of the Order of Saint Augustine for over 400 years.
Adjacent to the church in Intramuros, some of the large Monastery (convento) of Saint Augustine was converted in 1973 to become a museum for religious artifacts and art treasures dating back as early as the 16th century. Here one can spend an entire day to cherish and absorb the remains of the religious history of the Philippines.
The Church of San Agustin is still conducted by members of the Order of Saint Augustine.
18th Century Pipe Organ (http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp905/html/FungYu.html)
The 18th Century Pipe Organ, apart from generating "acoustic energy"; it was also housed in a historic church, a place of "spiritual energy".San Agustin Church at Intramuros in Manila is the oldest Christian sanctuary in the Far East. As the oldest stone building in the Philippines, it marked the start of using permanent materials in contrast to the local architectural tradition of using lightweight construction materials.The city of Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") began in 1570 as the centre of government of the Philippines. The Augustinians immediately in that year built there the Church of San Agustin (Saint Augustine), which was a temporary structure of bamboo and thatch. Land for the building had been donated by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the founder of Manila who had led the expedition to the Philippines from Mexico in 1565. In 1993 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) listed San Agustin as one of the "baroque Churches of the Philippines."
http://www.augnet.org/OrderStAugustineSECTION5/OrderHistory/OrderPlaces/Asia-Pacific/Philippines%20Places%20Header/0333-Intramuros01.htm
SAN AGUSTIN, INTRAMUROS, PHILIPPINES - 01
San Agustin Church at Intramuros in Manila is the oldest Christian sanctuary in the Far East. As the oldest stone building in the Philippines, it marked the start of using permanent materials in contrast to the local architectural tradition of using lightweight construction materials.The city of Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") began in 1570 as the centre of government of the Philippines. The Augustinians immediately in that year built there the Church of San Agustin (Saint Augustine), which was a temporary structure of bamboo and thatch.
Land for the building had been donated by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the founder of Manila who had led the expedition to the Philippines from Mexico in 1565.
Fire destroyed the church in 1574, and again in 1583. The techniques of cutting stone and of mixing lime with sand allowed a different design for the next church.
In 1586 the Augustinians approved designs for a church to be made of stone cut at the Guadalupe, Meycauayan and San Mateo quarries. It was to be the first stone church in the Philippines to be built according to the blending of the architecture of Mexico and Spain. It has been described as "a permanent miracle in stone".
The church was designed according to the plans approved by the Royal Audencia of Mexico, for the Spanish settlement of the Philippines was initially in the control of the Spanish authorities (audienca) in Mexico. Likewise, the design of the church was derived from other churches that were built by the Augustinians in Mexico.
The Church of San Agustin was built by Juan Macias, from Spain. It was begun in 1586, and completed in 1606.
Pedro Galende O.S.A., in his book San Agustin, Noble Stone Shrine (see footnote), adds that the Augustinians "who came from Spain and those born in Mexico had a great opportunity to observe and study the Latin American monastic architecture which they later used in the Philippines. They took into consideration the quality of the local stone and the weather conditions which required them to sacrifice aesthetic requirement for durability."
The facade originally had two towers. Unfortunately, the left tower is now missing. It was taken down soon after a earthquake in 1880 split it in two.
When Manila to the British forces in 1762, the sailors invaded the church and the adjacent Monastery (convento) of Saint Augustine. Books, manuscripts, gold and precious stones, ivory images, vestments, silver marcos and two portable organs were lost.
Luciano Oliver later renovated the church in 1854. Sixteen glass chandeliers (see photo, at left) were imported from Paris in 1873.
In 1875 two decorative painters from Italy, Giovanni Alberoni and Cesare Dibella, worked for the Church in fifteen months. Their work resulted in a superb trompe l'oeil vault with floral patterns, geometric outlines, classic themes and religious images.
The splendid trompe l'oeil barrel vault and dome helped to magnify the skills of two Italian decorative painters. On to that plain surface, they managed to sculpt and gave life to the ceiling with their paint brushes.
They filled every space with wonderful floral motifs, geometric patterns, classic architectural themes, coffers, and religious images. They successfully achieved this on the trompe l'oeil ceiling in a way that highlighted the spatial geometry of the church.Without a doubt, the Church of San Agustin has one of the most artistically decorated interiors among all of the old colonial churches in the Philippines.
In 1898 the military forces of the United States of America attacked Manila after they had defeated the Spanish fleet. San Agustin became the refuge of the sick, old, women and children.
Governor Jaudenes of Manila prepared the terms for the surrender of the city at the Chapel (capella) of Our Lady of Angustias within the Church of San Agustin. Soon, the Americans held the Church and stole books, food, money and statues from the monastery (convento).
In 1941 the Japanese bombed Intramuros. The Church of San Agustin is also the only colonial church that has retained the vaulting (ceiling) with which it was originally built. This was despite the destructive forces that shelled the church during WW II.
The next year, they occupied Manila and made San Agustin a strategic post and a concentration camp for prisoners. The Church again became a shelter for hundreds of families and religious priests of various communities.
It was the only building still standing when Intramuros was almost totally destroyed during the liberation of Manila from the forces of Japan in 1945. Afterwards the Americans seized the church. Many of the church's items were stolen and lost. The second floor of the adjacent Monastery of San Agustin was totally destroyed, and its walls and the roof were heavily damaged.
In 1945 the church was made into a parish. In 1960 an annex building was reconstructed to house the offices of the parish and as quarters for candidates of the Order of Saint Augustine.
In 1976 the monastery was repaired and converted into the San Agustin Museum. At about the same time, the Church of San Agustin was declared as national landmark.
In 1993 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) listed San Agustin as one of the "baroque Churches of the Philippines." In 2000 Jaime Cardinal Sin, the former Archbishop of Manila, canonically crowned the image of Our Lady of Consolation, which is kept in the Church of San Agustin.
The Church of San Agustin is filled with many smaller chapels which house richly decorated altars. Over the centuries, these chapels served as burial sites for prominent residents of Manila.
A side chapel next to the main altar is dedicated to the Spanish Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the founder of Manila. His tomb there was violated by the invading British forces in 1762, when they were searching for gold and treasures.
The pipe organ that had been installed at San Agustin Church in the 18th century was restored in 1998, at a cost of P4.5 million.
This project was aided by the Spanish Embassy through the efforts of the Ambassador Delfin Colomé, and by Instituto Cervantes, the Agencia Espa¤ola de Cooperacion and the many private benefactors of the Church of San Agustin. It was directed by Father Pedro Galende O.S.A. (see footnote).
The Church of San Agustin in the only surviving one of six colonial churches that once were located in Intramuros. It is, indeed, the mother of all Philippine colonial churches. There are efforts to have the Church of San Agustin declared by the Holy See as a minor basilica.
This is the same status as the church that contains the statue of the Santo Niño in Cebu, which also has been conducted by members of the Order of Saint Augustine for over 400 years.
Adjacent to the church in Intramuros, some of the large Monastery (convento) of Saint Augustine was converted in 1973 to become a museum for religious artifacts and art treasures dating back as early as the 16th century. Here one can spend an entire day to cherish and absorb the remains of the religious history of the Philippines.
The Church of San Agustin is still conducted by members of the Order of Saint Augustine.
18th Century Pipe Organ (http://geoimages.berkeley.edu/wwp905/html/FungYu.html)
The 18th Century Pipe Organ, apart from generating "acoustic energy"; it was also housed in a historic church, a place of "spiritual energy".San Agustin Church at Intramuros in Manila is the oldest Christian sanctuary in the Far East. As the oldest stone building in the Philippines, it marked the start of using permanent materials in contrast to the local architectural tradition of using lightweight construction materials.The city of Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") began in 1570 as the centre of government of the Philippines. The Augustinians immediately in that year built there the Church of San Agustin (Saint Augustine), which was a temporary structure of bamboo and thatch. Land for the building had been donated by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, the founder of Manila who had led the expedition to the Philippines from Mexico in 1565. In 1993 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) listed San Agustin as one of the "baroque Churches of the Philippines."
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