San Agustin Church

The San Agustin Church in Manila, also known as The Church of the Immaculate Conception
of San Agustn was the first church built on the island of Luzon in 1571, immediately after
the Spanish conquest of Manila. A site within the district of Intramuros was assigned to the
Augustinian Order, the first to evangelize in the Philippines. In 1587 the impermanent
earliest building in wood and palm fronds was replaced by a stone church and monastery
in stone, the latter becoming the Augustinian mother house in the Philippines.
It was the only structure in Intramuros to survive the Liberation of Manila in 1945. Miag-ao
became an independent parish in 1731, when a simple church and convento were built.
However, destruction of the town by Muslim pirates in 1741 and 1754 led to the town
being rebuilt in a more secure location. The new church, constructed in 1787-97, was built
as a fortress, to withstand further incursions. It was, however, damaged severely by fire
during the revolution against Spain in 1898 and in the Second World War. Two bell towers
were added in 1854, but the northern one cracked in the 1880 earthquake and had to be
demolished. In the interior of the church the wall paintings date from the 19th century, but
they overlie the original tempera murals.
As a result, the church was richly endowed, with a fine retablo, pulpit, lectern and choir-
stalls. Of special interest is the series of crypto-collateral chapels lining both sides of the
nave. The walls separating them act as buttresses. The stone barrel vault, dome, and arched
vestibule are all unique in the Philippines. A monastery complex was formerly linked to the
church by a series of cloisters, arcades, courtyards and gardens, but all except one building
were destroyed in 1945.
Santa Maria Church

The Santa Maria Church is located in the municipality of Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur. Unlike
other town churches in the Philippines, which conform to the Spanish tradition of sitting
them on the central plaza, the Church of Nuestra Seora de la Asuncion in Santa Maria with
its convento are on a hill surrounded by a defensive wall. Also unusual are the sitting of the
convento parallel to the facade of the church and that of the separate bell tower
(characteristic of Philippine-Hispanic architecture) at the midpoint of the nave wall. This
was dictated by the hill on which it is located.
The brick church follows the standard Philippine layout, with a monumental facade
masking a straight roof-line covering a long rectangular building. It is alleged to be built on
a solid raft as a precaution against earthquake damage. The walls are devoid of ornament
but have delicately carved side entrances and strong buttresses
Paoay Church

The Paoay Church, also known as the Church of San Agustn, is located in Paoay, Ilocos
Norte. It is the most outstanding example in the Philippines of an Earthquake Baroque style
architecture. Fourteen buttresses are ranged along the lines of a giant volute supporting a
smaller one and surmounted by pyramidal finials. A pair of buttresses at the midpoint of
each nave wall have stairways for access to the roof. The lower part of the apse and most of
the walls are constructed of coral stone blocks, the upper levels being finished in brick, but
this order is reversed on the facade. The massive coral stone bell tower, which was added
half a century after the church was completed, stands at some distance from the church,
again as a protection against damage during earthquakes.
Miagao Church

The Miagao Church, also known as the Church of Santo Tomas de Villanueva, stands on the
highest point in the town of Miagao, Iloilo. The church's towers served as lookouts against
Muslim raids and it is the finest surviving example of 'Fortress Baroque'. The sumptuous
facade epitomizes the Filipino transfiguration of western decorative elements, with the
figure of St Christopher on the pediment dressed in native clothes, carrying the Christ Child
on his back, and holding on to a coconut palm for support. The entire riotously decorated
facade is flanked by massive tapering bell towers of unequal heights.
The Philippines, a country with hundreds of historical churches, is promoted to be more
active in the engagement of the National Government and concerned private and public
entities to establish more UNESCO designated Church Heritage Sites in the Philippines to
safeguard national treasures more effectively and to promote the country's booming
tourism further.
Nuestra Seora de Gracia Church

The Nuestra Seora de Gracia Church, also known as Guadalupe Church is

a Baroque Roman Catholic church in Makati, Philippines. The parish church and its adjacent
monastery are currently administered by the Augustinian friars of the Province of Santo
Nio de Cebu. The territory of the parish covers San Carlos Seminary, the major seminary
of the Archdiocese of Manila and Our Lady of Guadalupe Minor Seminary.

Foundation
The first sanctuary and monastery in Guadalupe was built by Fray Simon Dantes. This
foundation was declared a domus formata or a community under the advocacy of Our Lady
of Grace through a Provincial Chapter on March 7, 1601.[1] One year after, the Community
in Guadalupe was given the right to vote in the provincial chapters.
In the Chapter held on November 30, 1603, the patroness, Our Lady of Grace was changed
to Our Lady of Guadalupe following the request of several devout and religious people to
honor the memory of the Virgin Mary venerated in Extremadura, Spain.[2] A wooden replica
of the statue was later brought from Spain.
By 1632, the devotion had spread due to the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade. Devotees from
Spain and Mexico thronged into the sanctuary of Guadalupe to pay their respects to the
Virgin. It became such a habitual courtesy that the authorities were forced to put up a
landing dock at the foot of the hill by the river. A wooden house and a stairs of stone of
around one hundred steps were built in order to accommodate the pilgrims who in turn
never failed to donate money.
In 1853, the Monastery became a domus studiorum or House of Studies for Grammar to
accommodate the excess students of the Monastery of Manila. In 1882, the monastery was
converted for three years into an asilo to house the orphans of the victims of the cholera
that devastated Manila and in 1885 it served as Escuela de Artes y Oficios, among whose
professors were the San Pedro brothers, Melchor and Gaspar. Among other facilities, it had
a printing press, which was later transferred to the asilo of Malabon. This printing press
was later destroyed together with the Escuela de Artes of Malabon during the Philippine
Revolution.
 Saints Peter and Paul Parish Church (Calasiao)

The Saints Peter and Paul Parish Church (Iglesia Parroquial de los Santos Pedro y
Pablo), commonly known as Calasiao Church is a baroque church located in Poblacion
West, Calasiao, Pangasinan, Philippines. It belongs to the Vicariate of Sts. Peter and Paul
under the Ecclesiastical Province of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan.
The 57, 840 Catholics is under the pastoral care of Rev. Fidelis B. Layog, assisted by Rev.
Isidro Palinar, Jr. and andRev. Raymund Manaois.
The Spanish-colonial-era Church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the
National Museum of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
 Loboc Church

The San Pedro Apostol Parish Church (also Saint Peter the Apostle Parish Church,
Spanish: Iglesia Parroquial de San Pedro Apstol), commonly known as Loboc Church, is a
Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Loboc, Bohol, Philippines, within the
jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran.
After the Jesuits established the Christian community in Baclayon, they moved to
Loboc and established a second Christian settlement in Bohol. The parish was established
in 1602, and the present coral stone church was completed in 1734. Because of its strategic
location, it became the center of the Jesuit mission in the Bohol area. In 1768, upon the
expulsion of the Jesuits, the town was transferred to the Augustinian Recollects.
The church is classified as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical
Commission of the Philippines and a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of
the Philippines.
It was severely damaged when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol and other
parts of Central Visayas on October 15, 2013.
The Loboc Church is currently in the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Sites
under the Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Extension). A proposal has been suggested
by scholars to make a separate UNESCO inclusion for the Old Centre of Loboc which
includes the Loboc Church. The same would be made for other churches listed in UNESCO's
tentative sites, where each town plaza and surrounding heritage buildings would be added.
No government agency has yet to take action on the proposal.