San Miguel Church (Manila)

San Miguel Church
National Shrine of Saint Michael and the Archangels
Northern facade of the church Northern facade of the church
San Miguel Church Location within Metro Manila
Location	J.P. Laurel cor. Gen. Solano Streets, San Miguel, Manila
Country	Philippines
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Founded	1603
Dedication	Seven archangels
Architecture
Status	National Shrine (1986)
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church building
Style	European Baroque
Administration
Archdiocese	Manila
Province	Manila
Clergy
Archbishop	H.E. Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, D.D.
Priest(s)	Rev. Fr. Genaro O. Diwa, SLL
Assistant priest	Rev. Fr. Carmelo P. Arada, Jr.

The Regal Parish and National Shrine of Saint Michael and the Archangels, also known as San Miguel Church, is a Catholic church of the Latin Rite dedicated to the seven archangels, namely, Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, Saint Uriel, Saint Selatiel, Saint Jhudiel, and Saint Barachiel. Its present location is on the corner of Jose Laurel Street and General Solano Street, in San Miguel, Manila, the former original site of La Fábrica de Cerveza de San Miguel (now San Miguel Brewery).

It is also known as Malacañang Church due to its proximity to Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Republic of the Philippines. Among the presidents that heard Mass at the shrine are Carlos P. García, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Fidel V. Ramos (who is Protestant).

The parish has only about 1,500 parishioners, some of whom came from old-rich families in the district of San Miguel, Manila. It is the only church in the country with priests permitted to administer the sacrament of Confirmation twice a week.

History

File:San Miguel Church, Manila 13.JPG

Bronze statue of St. Michael fighting a dragon

San Miguel Church was first built as a stone church in 1603 by the Jesuits in Paco, Manila (formerly known as Dilao). Between the 17th up until the early 18th century, there was an increase of Japanese arrivals in that area, and they established a community. In 1611, the Jesuits and the local Catholics accommodated the Japanese Christians who were persecuted under the Tokugawa Shogunate. It was Dom Justo Takayama, a feudal lord, who led a group of approximately 300 Japanese Christians to the Philippines in 1614. According to some sources, the parish was named after Saint Michael, because most of the Japanese who arrived were warriors.

The church was damaged in an earthquake in 1645, and during the British Occupation that was part of the Seven Years' War. The church was rebuilt in 1913 at its present site through the generous assistance of Doña Margarita Roxas de Ayala. It served as the pro-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Manila while Manila Cathedral was being rebuilt from 1946 to 1958 following its destruction in World War II. The church became the National Shrine for the Archangels in 1986. The church follows a European Baroque architecture, and features its symmetrical bell towers.

Notable events

File:San Miguel Church, Manila 19.JPG

Retablo showing the statues of the seven archangels

Former Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos and beauty queen Imelda Romualdez were married in the shrine (then the pro-cathedral) on May 1, 1954. Their wedding was tagged as the Wedding of the Year.

Archbishop Gabriel M. Reyes, the archdiocese's first Filipino ordinary who served from 1949 to 1952, was first entombed in the National Shrine of St. Michael and the Archangels before his remains were transferred to Manila Cathedral. Also buried in the church are the remains of Don Domingo Roxas, patriarch of the Zóbel-de Ayala-Roxas-Soriano clans.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons