Another historical church in

Northern Samar is the Saint

Michael the Archangel Parish
Church commonly known as
Laoang Church situated at the
heart of the town. It was
established by the Franciscan
friars on 18th century who
passed the strong Catholicism
to the town’s local residents.
The church has an interesting
old-looking facade with the
statues of Saint Michael the
Archangel, Virgin Mary, Saint
Paul and Saint Peter were
installed on the its niches. The
Almuraya Fortress Ruins and
Muralla (wall) that can be
found onsite are used to
defend rear of the church from
Moro pirates."To prevent the
onslaughts of Moro invaders
the Governor General
proposed in 1814 the
construction of defensive
plans. Fr. Jose Mata, the parish
priest of both Laoang and
Palapag was cited for being
the first to have launched a
construction of muralla in
Laoang at his own expense."
The church of Laoang,
dedicated to St. Michael the
Archangel, was one of the
fortress churches in Northern
Samar built by Spanish priests
and local volunteers to deter
the approach of Moro invaders
and defend the residents from
their vicious attacks. The
original church was built in
1683 by Jesuit missionaries
who ministered to the
community until their
expulsion from the Philippines
in 1768.