The Basilica Minore de San Pedro Bautista (Minor Basilica of Saint Pedro Bautista), also known as the San Francisco del Monte Church and alternatively as Santuario de San Pedro Bautista, is a minor basilica and parish church in the San Francisco del Monte district of Quezon City, Philippines. It is one of the oldest churches in the country and the oldest in the city, having been founded in 1590. The church is dedicated to its founder Padre Pedro Bautista, a Spanish missionary from Ávila, Spain, one of the 26 Christians martyred in Japan in 1597.
The shrine belongs to the Diocese of Cubao under the Vicariate of Saint Pedro Bautista. It is also under the administration of the Franciscans or the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), from the Franciscan Province of Saint Pedro Bautista.
The parish covers six barangays, namely: Damayan, Del Monte, Mariblo, Paraiso, Sta. Cruz, and Talayan. It is bounded by Pat Senador St. to the west, Quezon Avenue to the east, Araneta Avenue to the south, and Judge Juan Luna Street to the north.[3]
History
When Pedro Bautista was elected custos, an official of the Franciscans, he saw the need for a secluded place where the missionaries could recharge physically, mentally and spiritually. He found a hilly area which he deemed conducive for meditation, and on February 17, 1590, then Governor-GeneralSantiago de Vera granted the land to the Franciscan Order.[4]
The town of San Francisco del Monte back then was an elevated area of 250 hectares (620 acres) with thick woods, surrounded by a creek and eight water springs. Father Pedro Bautista built a little convent and a chapel made of bamboo and nipa palm. He dedicated the chapel to Our Lady of Montecelli and the place was opened as a house of retreat for missionaries, as a novitiate house, and as a place for reclusion of government officials.[4]
The chapel was replaced by a wooden structure in 1591 and in 1593, clay and natural stones were used for fortification, which was also the time when the convent was constructed. The chapel was rebuilt using adobe in 1599 as designed by the architect Domingo Ortigas. The reconstruction was funded by Don Pedro Salazar, whereas the expansion of the convent was made possible by donations from Captain Domingo Ortiz de Chagoya.[4]
The chapel was destroyed during the Limahong-led uprising in 1639 when the Chinese rebels used the church as headquarters. The 1645 earthquake completely destroyed the church and the convent, leaving both structures unattended for 39 years.[5]
Construction of the present church
The historical marker of the shrine placed by the Philippine Historical Research and Markers Committee (now the NHCP) in 1936
Reconstruction efforts were done but were halted in 1688 because the place was declared unfit for habitation. Construction resumed in 1696 under the supervision of Fr. Francisco de Mondéjar and through the generosity of a pious person, Don Tomás de Endaya, and the stone church was completed in 1699. The convent was also reconstructed alongside the church. It was also during this time when the Baroque altar was installed.[4] The new stone church was dedicated to then newly beatified Blessed Pedro Bautista and to his companion martyrs who were beatified by Pope Urban VIII on September 14, 1627 (later canonized on June 8, 1862, by Pope Pius IX).[6]
Repairs were made in 1874 by a lay brother named Gabino Perez.[4]
In 1895, the friars abandoned the place, and the following year at the time of the Cry of Balintawak, the Filipino revolutionary forces occupied the church.[4] In 1898, during the Philippine–American War, the American soldiers occupied the church. Then, it was left idle until it was repaired in 1912. In 1914, the church was blessed and a town fiesta was held to honor Saint Pedro Bautista.[5]
Independent parish and expansion
On November 11, 1932, the church was declared its own separate parish named in honor of its founder and patron saint, Pedro Bautista. Before the decree, the parish church belonged to a parish in Caloocan (then a town northwest of San Francisco del Monte).[5] A historical marker was placed at the facade of the old church by the Philippine Historical Research and Markers Committee (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) in 1936 for its historical significance.
Plans to expand the church were approved in 1969. Construction started in April 1969 with Arturo Mañalac as the architect.[1] The original stone church was expanded by removing the northeastern wall and the new nave was constructed northeastward from the wall. With the renovation, the original church structure became the sanctuary space while the original facade and apse now appears like semitransepts of the present church. They are separated from the present sanctuary by a reinforced concrete wall with a tall archway separated from the sanctuary by wooden partitions. The former Baroque altars became side altars and sacristy of the church. There was a huge crucifix at the center of the sanctuary and the floor was changed to marble. The expanded church was dedicated on January 30, 1971.[1]
In 1989, the three-century old Baroque altars were transferred to the main sanctuary in time for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of San Francisco del Monte on February 17, 1990.[7] Because of this, the huge crucifix adorning the altar was removed. This would be later installed at the choirloft during the church's renovation in 2019.
On February 5, 1997, the parish marked the 400th Anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Pedro Bautista.[5] On February 25, 2001, the parish church was declared an archdiocesan shrine and the name was changed to Santuario de San Pedro Bautista in view of its historical and religious significance to the Archdiocese of Manila.[1] In 2003, the church became part of the newly erected Diocese of Cubao.
The church is oriented in a northeast–southwest direction, featuring a rectangular plan with a width of 20 meters (66 ft) and a length of 50 meters (160 ft).[2]
Organization
Vicariate of San Pedro Bautista
The church is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cubao under the vicariate forane of San Pedro Bautista. Aside from the basilica, the vicariate covers the following churches in Quezon City:[1]
