When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, they built churches all over the archipelago. Many of these churches have stood the test of time and continue to serve the needs of the faithful. But, some of these churches are shrouded by stories of the mysterious kind. One of these churches is the San Fernando Rey Parish in Liloan.
San Fernando Rey Parish Church.This parish church is the main church of Liloan Municipality. The church was built in 1847, during which the municipality had only five thousand residents but was able to construct this massive church.Liloan’s church is bigger than its neighbor’s church – Mandaue City. This church name after the saint who recaptured Spain from the Moors. The materials used for the construction came from the camotes Island and Leyte. On the other hand, the glass window shutter were sourced from Barcelona Spain.
One particular and strange feature of Liloan Church is that it faces the West, while most of the churches face the East. It was thought that this was done so that during the morning mass, the priest and churchgoers will not be facing the hot sun, while others theorized that it has something to do with the church rites.The San Fernando Rey Parish is located right in front of the municipality hall of lilo-an. You can get there by getting on a jeepney, motor and bus headed for this northern town. Just tell the driver ir conductor to let you off at the municipall hall. The church is situated on the right side of the road.
One unique feature of the church is it does not face the sea, unlike many of the churches in Cebu. One theory for this orientation is that the designers of the church may have wanted to protect churchgoers from the heat of the sun during morning services. Another notable feature is its size. When the church was built, the population of the town was smaller compared to Mandaue. But, the church was bigger compared to the church found in Mandaue.
The San Fernando Rey Parish in Lilo-an is not only a place of worship among Roman Catholics since the church is shrouded in mysterious stories there is supposedly a cave behind the altar of the church. It remains uncertain if the cave is man-made, but some people think the cave may have been used as an escape route whenever pirates and marauders attacked the town. The cave is supposedly connected to the Suba Channel.
Ancient treasures are supposedly hidden inside the cave. A giant sea creature supposedly guards of the treasure. Depending on the person telling the story, this sea creature may be the legendary cogtong, a half-man, half-fish creature or a giant red-eyed octopus. Stories of a santelmo or St. Elmo’s fire have also emerged. The santelmo supposedly roams the back part of the church. But, these stories have remained unsubstantiated and have been relegated to the long list of myths and legends of Cebu.
Even as has laid a strong foundation in the lives of many Cebuanos, myths and legends still have role to play in society. Wether you believe these stories or not, they provide us with an insight on the way of life of Cebuanos long before the coming of the Spaniards.
If you look the San Fernando rey parish in the outside, you can see that the parish is very old and enough to destroy. But, the truth is that San Fernando Rey Parish is very strong, because that church experience the very strong earthquake here in Cebu. Not only experienced the earthquake once but twice.
The walls of the church have a damage. Like the cracks, it damage during the earthquake who hit the different parts of Cebu. Even though the very strong earthquake hit church, but church is still remains standing but not strong like the first build of that Church. Even thought that happen in the church, the church remains wonderful and powerful place for the people who believe in our God. And the church is still famous and many people visit the church.
When you get inside the san fernando rey Parish, you will surprise because of the wide and huge place. The inside of the church is very unique and even its old but still its nice to see. The type of the design is elegant and decent. The san Fernando rey parish is inspired by the Cebuano’s life our ancestors people. The inside of the church is wonderful, nice and pleasant to see to our eyes. In the inside, there is a many bird in the window and ceilings of the church. Once you enter the inside and see the birds, you can feel a freedom and at they same times inspired for the day. The bird is symbolize of freedom.
SAN FERNANDO REY PARISH VIDEO –> click here
©LAIZA TAMPARONG
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