Cabatuan Church

Cabatuan was a visita since the early 1600's. Formerly called Batuan, early Cabatuananons practice the Sinulog or the Dance of Death. It became an independent parish in 1732 and the present church was built in 1833 and was finished in 1866. It was noted to be the largest church in northern Iloilo. It was adored so much that El Eco de Panay described it as the 'Model of Temples'. It is the only church in Iloilo which once had three facades and six belfries, in spite of this, four of these belfries were destroyed in the 1948 earthquake.The Church which is Tuscan in style imposes heaviness and massiveness. Its overall design is that of a majestic basilica, making it not any usual church. The ornate retablo on the apse is believed to be one of the tallest retablos in the Philippines while the two large baroque pulpits are carved with ornate wooden reliefs.The Main facade is primarily decorated with Tuscan pilasters and ornate Agustinian symbols, while the eastern and the western facades remained in the Renaissance form. The belfries which might be Moorish or Byzantine in style, contribute a medieval Baroque supremacy.
Photos by: Explore Iloilo