4 Churches to Explore in Ilocos Sur

The Saint John of Sahagun Parish Church, locally known as the Candon Church, is a church situated in the city of Candon, Ilocos Sur, Philippines. Constructed with an Earthquake Baroque design, the church is maintained and is still being used up to present. The church’s four-story octagonal bell tower has an alternating open and blind apertures, a balustrade, and is topped by a campanile.

The Bantay Church or also known as St.Augustine Church is located at the town of Bantay, Ilocos Sur province. Other than that, the place is also famous as the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity with the image of the Virgin Mary as the patroness of the Our Lady of Patroness way back in 1590, making it as the oldest church in the entire region of Ilocos. Thus, it has also served as a historical site in the province. The church and bell tower are considered to be the two of the oldest structures in the

One of the country’s oldest Augustinian churches, the St. Paul Metropolitan Cathedral started out as a chapel made of wood and thatch in 1578 by order of Juan de Salcedo, the conquistador and founder of Villa Ferdinandina, which later became the town of Vigan. the cathedral follows a Baroque architectural design that has been modified by Ilocanos to strengthen the structure against earthquakes. This is now known as earthquake Baroque.

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption (Nuestra Señora de la Asunción), commonly known as the Santa Maria Church is the parish church of Santa Maria in Ilocos Sur province, Philippines. The church was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on December 11, 1993 as part of the Baroque Churches of the Philippines, a collection of four Baroque Spanish-era churches.