Parish Church of San Agustin Bacong, Negros Oriental
Parish Church of San Agustin Bacong, Negros Oriental
Photo 1_Illustration
For today’s #BuiltTraditionThursday of our #MuseumFromHome series, we feature an immovable cultural treasure on the Visayas’ island province of Negros Oriental. An architectural heritage built near the seaboard of Bohol Sea, the Parish Church of San Agustin, also known as Bacong Church is a Spanish colonial church architecture introduced by the Augustinian Recollects.
The parish was founded in 1849, under the patronage of Saint Augustine of Hippo. The cornerstone of the church structure was laid in 1866 by Fr. Leandro Arrue Agudo, OAR (later Bishop of Jaro in Iloilo from 1885 – 1897). He also celebrated the first mass on August 28, 1883, the feast day of the parish patron. The church-convent complex was built mainly of bricks, a deviation from the normal construction material in Negros Oriental which is coral stone. The church is in a Latin cross form with the nave oriented in east-west axis. Its main entrance and altar face the sea. A four-level bell tower rises on the southeast and was built with coral stone in L- shape masonry work. Situated at the northern yard of the complex is the two-storey convent which was completed in September 1859. The exterior walls were built with bricks and wooden walls on the lower and upper levels, respectively.
The architectural interior of the church features a vaulted ceiling, plastered walls, hardwood doors, and excellent acoustics that allows clear sound to resonate within the church’s massive nave. The church houses an original pulpito and the oldest altarpieces or retablos in the province. The main altarpiece or retablo mayor is made of molave and yakal wood decorated with wood embellishments, gold leafing and painted friezes. It has two levels standing on a base and topped with a crown element. Corinthian pilasters frame the three niches with Corinthian columns separating them in between. Its entablature is ornamented with dentils. Crowning the altarpiece is a semi-circular pediment that features a dove radiating sun rays. Located on the northern part of the sanctuary is the sacristy where extant baldosas or floor tiles, masonry wall mural, and ceiling made of sawali can be found. The church also maintains a 19th-century pipe organ, one of the few remaining century-old Spanish made pipe-organs in the country. It is an instrument completely made in Zaragoza, Spain.
Because of the exceptional location and architectural elements of the church, it became one of the important landmarks in the locality and is considered the best-preserved church-convent complex in the province. Bacong Church was declared as a National Cultural Treasure on July 31, 2001, by the National Museum of the Philippines.
Text by Ar. K. Sepidoza-Daysa
Illustrations and Photos by AABHD Museum Researchers (ABK)
© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines