Our Lady of the Pillar Parish

Cauayan City, Isabela

Cauayan, Isabela's pride, and one of the Philippine's oldest churches, Our Lady
of the Pillar Parish Church. Also known by the locals as of Our Lady of the Pillar church,
Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Church, Parish of Nuestra Señora Del Pilar, or simply
Cauayan Isabela Parish Church. This is considered as onw of the oldest Catholic
church in Isabela. The Parish is the town's religious center for devotees of Nuestra
Señora Del Pilar. It is situated within the municipality of Cauayan, near the sports venue
and Cauayan City hall.

Our Lady of the Pillar Parish or more commonly known as Cauayan Parish
Church, mainly built with stone, mortar, and bricks. It was in the 1825 when the church’s
construction begun and finished on 1830 supervised by a Dominican priest, Fr. Juan
Prieto. The church has undergone reconstruction due to the severe damage taken
during the second world war. Some parts were completely destroyed(the convent) which
needed full reconstruction. Now, the current design of the church is combined with early
and modern architecture with a touch of Spanish influence. The locals would like to call
the style of the Tuguegarao-style of architecture. The church is dedicated to Nuestra
Señora Del Pilar, thus the name “Our Lady of the Pillar” was used. It all begun on
September 1739, when Dominican missionaries came to town and named it “Cauayan”.
Then, in 1741, Cauayan set-up a mission to establish a parish led by Dominican
authorities. Later, they soon named it to what is now called the “ Our Lady of the Pillar
Parish” with Fr. Antonio Del Ocampo as its current vicar. Apparently, there are no
blueprints or data available to provide the dimensions of the site and church.

This magnificent building has survived centuries, earthquakes, and even war. A
truly remarkable feat for a building this old to withstand time and calamities. It served as
the core of religious events and masses for the catholic devotees. As per the Scientific
significance of this heritage, there are no data regarding the research for further
investigation showing interest for enlisting it as a National Heritage. However, it has
been recognized by the National Museum as one of the two cultural properties in the
city of Cauayan, Isabela. No wonder, because it is also considered as a landmark of the
city. As a matter of fact, commuters, jeepney drivers, conductors, and others prefer to
call it simply as “Pilar”. In spite of that, there are a lot of people who recognizes and
appreciates the beauty of the church, emphasizing the working combination of old
baroque style and modern touches of the interior, especially the fresco paintings. It
embodies a timeless beauty regardless of the ruins that earthquakes and war has
brought. The church’s innovation by accepting modernization in a hybrid form of
architecture made it stronger and resilient as it is still serving and standing up until
today. While it may not have been constructed with the help of a professional architect
at that time, it is considerably strong and sturdy. Since the church's blueprint is
unavailable, it is hard to describe the interior planning. However, many people, including
tourists and locals commend the interior designs of the church. The bass reliefs on
baroque bricks, the arched windows, rose windows, arched ceiling, and of course the
fresco art of “the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary”—these are the features that
people of the city and tourists are admiring. The church solely serves as a religious
event site. The events includes holy mass, church's patron fiesta, statues exhibit event,
procession site and other church-related activities. Similar to every other church,
everyone can enter and it includes tourists and the town people themselves.

As mentioned earlier, the church has undergone renovations due to major

damage during war and earthquakes. Apparently, the upper storey of the bell tower was
destroyed and only the base remained. In addition to that, the previously gloomy interior
was also turned brighter with the help of the fresco paintings. The entrance has also
been renovated, now having an arched way over the entrance painted with the crowned
Queen of Heaven. The domed ceiling above the altar was also one of the renovated
parts of the building. Conservation process of the church are obviously seen on each
renovations and maintenance as it continues to serve the parishioners and tourists. It
cannot be denied that this church took a lot of blow but remained standing, it may not
once been intact, but is now strengthened and remodeled. Issues may arise due to it's
antiquity. However, by embracing modernization, it can cope with further damages.
 In summary, it can be deduced that in many ways, the church shows and
provides significant value as a cultural heritage of the city of Cauayan. Regarded as the
city's landmark, the Pilar church is undoubtedly famous not only for it's architectural
style and age, but also as a pride of the citizens. In addition, it is listed at the spot of the
number one tourist attraction to visit when you're in Cauayan, Isabela. It is no surprise
that it recognized as a cultural property by the National museum, a true heritage of
Cauayeñons and Gaddangs!
 References

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OpenStreetMap, Wikimedia, Mapbox. (n.d.). Our lady of the Pillar Parish Church. Mapcarta.
https://mapcarta.com/W233652920

Philippine Faith and Heritage Tour. (2022, February 25). Our lady of the Pillar Parish Church
(Cauayan City, Isabela). Philippine Faith and Heritage Tours.
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city-isabela/#:~:text=Inside%2C%20renovations%20have%20been%20made,domed
%20ceiling%20above%20the%20altar