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San Miguel Church (Manila)

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Coordinates: 14°35′31″N 120°59′30″E / 14.59194°N 120.99167°E / 14.59194; 120.99167
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San Miguel Church
National Shrine of Saint Michael and the Archangels
  • Pambansang Dambana ni San Miguel at mga Arkanghel (Filipino)
  • Santuario Nacional de San Miguel y los Arcángeles (Spanish)
Church facade in 2023
Map
14°35′31″N 120°59′30″E / 14.59194°N 120.99167°E / 14.59194; 120.99167
LocationJ.P. Laurel cor. Gen. Solano Streets,
San Miguel, Manila
CountryPhilippines
DenominationCatholic
History
StatusNational Shrine
Founded1603
DedicationSaint Michael and the Seven Archangels
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeChurch building
StyleEuropean Baroque
Administration
ArchdioceseManila
DeaneryJose de Trozo[1]
ParishSaint Michael and the Archangels
Clergy
RectorRev. Msgr. Mario D. Enriquez[2]

The National Shrine of Saint Michael and the Archangels, commonly known as San Miguel Church, is a Roman Catholic church located on the corner of Jose Laurel Street and General Solano Street in the San Miguel district of Manila, Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila, and is dedicated to the archangels Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael.[3]

Situated on the former site of La Fábrica de Cerveza de San Miguel (now San Miguel Brewery),[4] the shrine is also known as Malacañang Church as it is within the Malacañang Palace complex, the official residence of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.[3] Presidents who have worshipped at the shrine include Carlos P. García, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Fidel V. Ramos (who was Protestant).[3]

San Miguel Church has around 1,500 regular parishioners, some of whom are descended from old, rich families in the district.[3] It is also notably the only Catholic church in the country where priests (instead of bishops) have canonical dispensation to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation twice a week.[3]

History

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NHI historical marker installed in 2003

San Miguel Church was first built in stone in 1603 by the Jesuits in Paco, Manila (formerly known as Dilao). In the 17th and early 18th centuries, the number of Japanese expatriates in that area grew, and they established a community.[5] In 1611, the Jesuits and Filipino Catholics accommodated Japanese Christian refugees from persecution by the Tokugawa Shogunate.[6]

The church was damaged in the 1645 Luzon earthquake, and during the British occupation of Manila that was part of the Seven Years' War. It was rebuilt in 1913 on its present site through the generous assistance of Doña Margarita Róxas de Ayala.[5]

The church served as the pro-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Manila while Manila Cathedral was being rebuilt from 1946 to 1958 following the city's destruction in World War II. It was elevated to the rank of national shrine in 1986.[4][6] The church generally follows European Baroque architecture and features twin bell towers.

Notable events

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Church interior in 2023

On May 1, 1954, Ilocos Norte representative and later President Ferdinand E. Marcos married beauty queen Imelda Romuáldez in the shrine (at the time still Manila’s pro-cathedral). Their wedding, which followed almost two weeks of courtship, was tagged as the Wedding of the Year, with President Ramon Magsaysay as principal sponsor.[7] Imelda's parents, Vicente Orestes Romuáldez and Remedios Trinidad, were also wedded in the church (albeit at dawn, at the insistence of the groom's mother) in 1928, while her father's first wife Juanita Acereda (d. 1926) is also interred in the church.[8]

Archbishop Gabriel M. Reyes, the archdiocese's first native Filipino ordinary who reigned from 1949 to 1952, was initially buried in the shrine before his remains were transferred to the crypt of Manila Cathedral.[3] Also buried in the church are Don Domingo Róxas, patriarch of the Zóbel-de Ayala-Róxas-Soriano clans.[5]

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References

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  1. ^ "Vicariate of Jose de Trozo". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  2. ^ "Clergy of Manila". Archdiocese of Manila. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Macas, Trisha (October 6, 2014). "A Glimpse of the Forgotten National Shrine of St. Michael and the Archangels". GMA News Online. GMA Network News. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Sebastian, Ina (October 18, 2014). "Manila: Back to the Past Touring Malacañang Palace, San Miguel Neighborhood". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c de Jesús, Joaquín Carlos U. (April 26, 2013). "San Miguel de Manila: Arrabal de una abadía, buenas familias y cerveza". Kamusta Magazine. Archived from the original on June 1, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Churches to Visit in QC, Manila". Philippine Daily Inquirer. March 27, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  7. ^ "Today in Philippine History, May 1, 1954, Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Romualdez were married". Kahimyang.info. February 16, 2013. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  8. ^ Pedrosa, Carmen Navarro (1969). The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos. Tandem Publishing Company. ASIN B004X1NGV2.
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