Parish Church of St. Francis of Assisi
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The Parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Meycauayan, Bulacan is the oldest parish in Meycauayan and is also its largest parish, with an estimated population of about 80,000 parishioners. It is also the vicarial seat of the vicariate of St. Francis of Assisi in the Diocese of Malolos.
The parish was founded in 1578 by Fr. Juan de Placencia and Fr. Diego de Oropeza, the first batch of Franciscan priests to reach the Philippines (in 1577). They built a small church in a small area called Sitio Torril (which is now part of Barangay Bahay Pare) which was made up of nipa thatch and bamboo.
The Franciscans left a wooden cross when they left the church. The cross was later found to be in the possession of a resident of Barangay Bahay Pari, whose house is near the site of what may be the original parish church and/or the town center. This discovery was made by three members of the parish's Committee on Church Cultural Heritage in the year 2001. The cross is now known as The Cross of Sitio Torril, which is probably the oldest known religious relic in Meycauayan. Presently, this cross is brought from Barangay Bahay Pari to the parish for public veneration on the parish feast day on October 4.
About 10 years later, they transferred the site to Barangay Malhacan, then to a place called Lagolo (located between Barangays Banga and Caingin), which was administered by Fr. Antonio de Nomvela and Fr. Francisco Pusiquit.
In 1589, by the decree of the "Superior Govierno", a church made up mainly of adobe (volcanic tuff) was built. The said church was the place of worship of Meycaueños until 1668. Also in this church, a Friar-Saint, San Pedro Bautista, who was persecuted in Japan, served as one of the clergy.
The Church was transferred in its present site in Poblacion due to the attacks of the native Aetas. Since then the church has stood there despite the ravages of natural and man-made disasters. The church also served as one of the prototypes of city planning in accordance to the Spanish government's reduccion policy; Meycauayan was one of the first towns in the colony that has the parish church and the city or municipal hall adjacent to each other, if not housed within the same vicinity.
A cemetery gate was constructed in 1880. The said gate still stands today at the present site of the cemetery. A belfry was constructed by order of Fr. Francisco Gascueña, OFM. The said tower was one of the two of its kind in the Philippines because of its large archbridge that connects the church and the tower. It houses five bells: namely Maria Concepcion, the biggest, which was made by order of Fr. Antonio de Cudajara in 1878; San Francisco, dedicated to the town's patron saint made by the order of Fr. Juan Fernandez in 1881; San Jose, the smallest made by the order of Fr. Francisco Gascuena; and the two others were destroyed by the attack of Li Ma Hong's army.
In the 19th century, Philippine churches were secularized. The first native priest to be assigned as Parish Priest in Meyacauayan was Fr. Esteban Daez, a native of Polo, Obando, Bulacan. During World War II, the church survived of destruction unlike those churches in Manila. But in 1949, the church did not survive its destruction from a fire, known as the Great Fire of Meycauayan.
Artifacts such as old memorabilia, statues, church vestments, records, ciboriums and chalices were some of the casualties of the fire. The magnificent retablo in the Colonial style was destroyed. Only a few artifacts including the tabernacle were saved from the fire. The tabernacle, which was saved from destruction by Fr. Jorge Capistrano, is still in use today. After its destruction, the parish priest, Fr. Anselmo De Leon and a committee formed for the reconstruction of the present church campaigned for donations and help from the people to help them build the church.
Today, the church has undergone some major and minor renovation to restore its former magnificent glory. There have been recent efforts to restore and renovate the church.
