Santa Monica Parish Church (Sarrat)

Sarrat Church
Santa Monica Parish Church

Santa Monica Parish Church and its bell tower
Sarrat Church
Location in the Philippines
18°09′21″N 120°38′41″E / 18.155861°N 120.644644°E / 18.155861; 120.644644Coordinates: 18°09′21″N 120°38′41″E / 18.155861°N 120.644644°E / 18.155861; 120.644644
Location Sarrat, Ilocos Norte
Country Philippines
Denomination Roman Catholic
History
Dedication Saint Monica
Architecture
Status Parish church
Functional status Active
Heritage designation Important Cultural Property
Designated 2009
Architectural type Church building
Style Earthquake Baroque and Neoclassical
Groundbreaking 1779
Specifications
Length 140 metres (460 ft)[1]
Width 21 metres (69 ft)[1]
Height 10.5 metres (34 ft)[1]
Number of domes None
Number of spires One
Materials Bricks
Administration
Archdiocese Nueva Segovia
Metropolis Laoag
Clergy
Archbishop Marlo Mendoza Peralta
Bishop(s) Renato Mayugba

The Santa Monica Parish Church, commonly known as the Sarrat Church, is a Roman Catholic parish church in Barangay San Leandro, Poblacion, Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. It was built in 1779 and was originally known as San Miguel Church. The Santa Monica Church complex includes the convent connected to the church by an elevated three-level brick stairway.

The parish church of Santa Monica is renowned as the largest church in the whole Ilocos Norte province, most especially the length of the nave. In June 1983, the church was the setting for the grand wedding of Gregorio Araneta and Irene Marcos, the daughter of then President Marcos. It was declared as an Important Cultural Property by the National Museum of the Philippines on September 27, 2009.

History

Sarrat used to be a visita of Laoag. It was originally named as San Miguel to mark the arrival of the first Augustinian missionaries in Sarrat during the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel on September 29, 1724. The parish of Santa Monica de Sarrat was erected in 1724. It was only in 1769 when the convent was built to serve as a temporary chapel. The church, belfry, convent, and the curillo or bridge staircase connecting the church and convent was simultaneously constructed and finished in 1779.[1]

During the 1950s, Father Clemente Tabije supervised the reinforcement of the roof by putting massive posts inside. Former first Lady Imelda Marcos spearheaded restoration work for the church on June 1977.[2] In March 3, 1816, the church was destroyed with just a few jewels saved by the Father Juan Casas. Father Vicente Barreiro, who was the prior in 1818, worked for five years and finished the reconstruction of the convent in 1817. Father Isidro Champaner rebuilt the church in 1848. The church buildings burned again on 1882 and were repaired by Father Leandro Collado during his long assignment from 1875 to 1895.[3]

During the 1950s, Father Clemente Tabije supervised the reinforcement of the roof by putting massive posts inside. Former first Lady Imelda Marcos spearheaded restoration work for the church on June 1977.[2] A few months after the wedding of Irene Marcos and Gregorio Araneta, a devastating earthquake hit the province of Ilocos Norte which recorded a magnitude of 5.3 (MI) on the Richter scale and an intensity 7 on the Rossi-Forel scale on August 17, 1983 .[4] The tremor sustained a major structural damage on the church's facade as well as toppling down the bell tower. The church underwent restoration and repair after the earthquake.[5]

Architecture

Sarrat Church is the biggest in Ilocos Norte and possibly in the whole Ilocos region.[1] The church is made from red bricks built in Earthquake Baroque and Neoclassical architecture. The church tower has a big clock that strikes every half-hour. Around the church are brick fourteen Stations of the Cross.[1] The convent, also known as Casa del Palacio Real, was rebuilt after two fires in March 1816 and October 1892. It served as the Presidencia Municipal or present-day town hall. It also housed Colegio de Santa Monica, an affiliate of Lyceo de Manila.[2] The ground floor of the convent was converted as the parish museum and photo gallery in 1994.[5]

The church was the venue of the grand wedding of Irene Marcos, daughter of President Ferdinand Marcos, and Gregorio Araneta on June 1983.[6] A longer and wider choir loft was added for the wedding. The church garden was renovated to serve as the venue for the reception.

The church appears in the 2015 period biopic Heneral Luna as the stand-in for the parish church of Arayat, Pampanga.

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dela Torre 2006, p. 168
  2. 1 2 3 Dela Torre 2006, p. 169
  3. ↑ Galende 1987
  4. ↑ Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). "Laoag Earthquake - 17 August 1983". Compilation of Damaging Earthquake of the Philippines. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  5. 1 2 Dela Torre 2006, p. 170
  6. ↑ Dela Torre 2006, pp. 169–170

Bibliography

  • Dela Torre, Visitacion (2006). The Ilocos Heritage. Makati City: Tower Book House. ISBN 978-971-91030-9-7. 
  • Galende O.S.A, Pedro (1987). Angels in Stone (1st ed.). G.A. Formoso Publishing. pp. 345–347. 

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