04/09/2024
Holy Rosary Parish Church
Angeles City, Pampanga
Colored Pencils and Ink on Paper, 2023/2024
The Holy Rosary Parish Church (HRP), also known as Pisamban Maragul (big church), is one of Angeles City's extant architectural heritage. The church is a major landmark of the city, serving as a major religious and socio-cultural center for the community.
As with other Spanish-era stone churches in the country, the church began as a small chapel constructed with light materials of wood and thatch. Dedicated to the Nuestra Señora del Rosario, the chapel was the initiative of Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda who, along with his wife Doña Rosalia de Jesus, founded the town of Angeles in a place referred to as Culiat. Don Angel himself was a former gobernadorcillo of the town of San Fernando who wanted to practice his religious beliefs without much conflict from the ecclesiastical authorities.
Culiat, which was a barrio of San Fernando was separated and established as a town in 1829. The church of Culiat was also chartered as a separate parish from the mother church of San Fernando in the same year. The parish is unique, as it is one of the few which were not founded by any of the religious congregations during the Spanish colonial period.
The concern for a more permanent house of worship arose within in the community. Eventually, the construction of the present-day stone church commenced in 1877 with the laying of the foundations as per the initiatives of Fr. Ramon Sarrionandia, O. S. A. Although the church's construction, which encountered various hindrances, was not continuous, the edifice was roughly completed in 1896 - in accordance to the plans of Don Antonio de la Camara, a civil engineer from Manila.
The bell towers of the church were utilized as lookout posts during the Philippine Revolution in 1898 by the forces of Gen. Venancio Concepcion, and again in 1899 during the Philippine-American War by Generals Antonio Luna and Emilio Aguinaldo. The church was later converted into a military hospital by American forces upon their capture of the parish complex.
During the Second World War, Fort Stotsenburg and Clark Field were bombed by Japanese forces. Subsequently, two large sound detectors were installed by the US Army at the bell towers of the edifice. The church was eventually captured by the Japanese, however, and was converted into a stable for cavalry horses, and a garage for armored and transport vehicles. In 1945, a US Mitchell B-25 attack bomber plane crashed through the ceiling of the church, after being hit by Japanese anti-aircraft fire.
The present manifestation of the church materialized with major renovations in 1962, with the addition of clerestory walls, a porte-cochère at the facade, and the total remodelling of the interior. The renovation was the initiative of Msgr. Serafin Ocampo, assisted by Angeleño architect Luis Narciso, and Betis artisans Jose Serrano, Apung Diung Dayrit, and Mariano Gozum.
The Holy Rosary Parish was one of multiple churches and edifices that sustained damages during the April 2019 Luzon Earthquake. Subsequently, the church underwent conservation works supervised by the Escuela Taller de Filipinas Foundation, Inc. (ETFFI), which also spearheaded the conservation of the La Loma Cemetery Chapel in Manila, the Cathedral of San Pablo and the Parish of Cabuyao, both in Laguna.
The church is cruciform in plan and designed in the Renaissance Revival style of architecture. Its retablo is unique as it features a massive silver sunburst, or rostrillo, circumscribing the central niche of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, La Naval de Angeles. As per the description etched at the base of the sunburst, it was constructed in the 1870s through donations during the term of Fr. Guillermo Masnou as parish priest. Installed on the wall at both sides of the retablo are the epitaphs of Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda and Doña Rosalia de Jesus, the founders of Angeles. Below their epitaphs are that of their grandson, Don Mariano Vicente Henson, and his wife Doña Maria Asuncion Leon y Santos de Henson, major benefactors for the construction of the present stone church. The stained glass windows, which adorn the nave and the choir loft, were manufactured by Kraut Art Glass, the same company behind the stained glass window of the Manila Metropolitan Theater.
The church remains a major landmark and symbol for Angeles City - a tangible testament to the colorful history of the town still revered and appreciated by generations of Angeleños and Filipinos throughout the country.
References
Galende, P. G. (1996). Angels in Stone: Augustinian Churches in the Philippines (2nd ed.). San Agustin Museum.
Museo ning Angeles. (n.d.). The beginning of our story. (Ing penibatan ning kasalesayan.) Angeles City, Pampanga.
Tomen, N. L. B. & David, P. V. S. (2014). Pisamban Maragul: The Living Church of Angeles City. Curia Sancti Rosarii, Inc.
Text and Artwork © Riel A. A. Diala. All rights reserved.
