SAN JUAN BAUTISTA CHURCH:

ONCE CEBUS MOST OPULENT CHURCH

The chapel you are standing in front of is but a faint
reminder of an opulent past.
The San Juan Bautista chapel stands on the ruins of the San
Juan Bautista Parish Church, which historians described as the
most opulent in Cebu in its time.
The church has never been surpassed by any other church
that has been built in Cebu, such as the Cathedral, the Seminary
and San Nicolas, according to Ang Sugbo sa Karaang Panahon: An
Annotated Translation of the 1935 History of Cebu by Fe Susan
Go. It was built in 1602.


The San Juan Bautista Parish Church used to stand on this spot. According to a
historian, the church has never been surpassed by any other church that has been
built in Cebu. It was torn down in the late 1870s. According to information on a
photograph found at the Cebuano Studies Center in the University of San Carlos, the
convent of the church was spared and was used later during the American regime as a
public library and a fire station.


The church was made of stone blocks, plastered together in
a mixture of lime and the sap of the lawat tree. The roofs were
made of tiles, and the lumber used was molave, balayong and
naga. The paraphernalia used in the mass was made purely of
gold, the pews were carved by a sculptor of the Parian, the
altars were covered with stone slabs with money and gold inlaid,
and the church bells were big and loud. The tolling of these
bells was so loud that it could be heard as far as Hilotungan
ang the town of Talisay, Go said in her translation, which was
submitted as thesis to the University of San Carlos.
The Augustinian friars upon seeing the magnificence of the
church of the Parian, got envious, and employed every shrewd
means they could think of to take over the Parian church, Go
said.
Fr. Rafael Vasquez, a Parianon, however, fought back and
kept the friars at bay.
Go said in one of her footnotes that Augustinian Fr. Santos
Gomez Maraon filed a petition to have the Parian parish
supressed and incorporated into the Cathedral.

Rivalry
Go said, Many reasons for this request were given, but it
definitely had the earmarks of a direct challenge against the
dominance of the Chinese mestizo community of Parian and their
elaborate church, which far outshone the cathedral.
Through the years, however, the rivalry with Spanish friars
continued with succeeding priests and capitans of the Parian
gremio.
During the time of Don Pedro Rubi as Parian captain, the
bishop ordered that masses be held at the church only on
Sundays.
During the time of Don Maximo Borromeo as captain, the
bishop removed the right of the Visayas priests to officiate
mass in the Parian Church.


In retaliation the residents of the Parian decided to make
use of the school across from the church and converted it into a
chapel where the parish priest of Parian could officiate the
mass.
In 1875, Dionisio Alo, known as Capitan Isyo, became
capitan of the Parian gremio. With the San Juan Bautista fiesta
in June approaching, Capitan Isyo called for a meeting to
discuss preparations. The fiesta was a big affair in the area
with most Parian residents spending as much as three thousand
pesos for the celebration.
Capitan Isyo also wanted to discuss who would replace their
parish priest, the Ilonggo Fr. Anselmo Pari Imoy Albancea,
who died in December 1874. The replacement would be celebrating
the fiesta mass.
Fr. Tomas de la Concepcion, the parish priest of the
cathedral, told the group to request the bishop to appoint a
white priest. De la Concepcion said there was no Filipino
priest capable of being named to the post.
Capitan Isyo, however, strongly disagreed and shouted at a
cabeza de barangay who agreed with the suggestion.
At that instance, a quarrel broke out between the two.
While Capitan Isyo used his prerogatives as head of the mestizo
gremio, Padre Tomas also made use of his power as representative
of the Bishop in order to force Capitan Isyo to yield and accept
(a) white priest as their parish and spiritual guide.
The heated and bitter exchange ended with the two deciding
not to hold a mass for the fiesta or even holding any
celebrations.

Grudge
Followers of Capitan Isyo feared he would be excommunicated
and tried to change his mind but the nationalist community
leader just told them, I would prefer that the church be
destroyed rather than have a friar in it.


Fr. Tomas kept a grudge against Parian and boasted to his
priestly friends, especially the friars, that he was obsessed
with the complete destruction of the Parian church.



When Fr. Tomas reported the incident to the bishop,
including Capitan Isyos declaration that he would rather have
the church destroyed than have a white priest in it, the bishop
felt insulted.
On June 24, 1875, the bishop forbade the parish priest from
saying mass in the Parian church. The communitys fiesta
celebration was also overseen by the Cathedral parish priest.
Capitan Isyo could not do anything and his enemies made sure he
would keep his post so that they could exact their revenge. They
told residents that the capitan was to blame for what happened
in Parian.


The bishop then ordered a Spanish engineer to check the
durability of the Parian church. The engineer later informed the
governor that the materials used to build the church were weak
and the structure, including the stone wall that surrounded it,
should be torn down.

Date of Destruction
The governor of Cebu then ordered the destruction of the
church. He also ordered the bishop to take possession of
everything inside the church, including its statues and bells.
While Ang Sugbo Sa Karaang Panahon listed the destruction
of the church as having occurred in 1875-1876, Go said the
actual destruction of the church seems to have taken place in
late 1878 or 1879.
According to information printed on a photograph found at
the Cebuano Studies Center in the University of San Carlos, the
convent of the church was spared and was used later during the
American regime as a public library and a fire station.

Source:
-http://g1d.me/san-juan-bautista-church/, retrieved December 8, 2013.