San Sebastian Cathedral:
An imposing presence
HISTORY NOTES
BY MODESTO SAONOY |
This church is perhaps the most prominent religious structure in Bacolod City and Occidental Negros, not only for its historical value but also for its imposing presence that exudes strength and uniqueness due to the kind of building materials used in building it.
As a Cathedral, meaning the seat of the Bishop, it is also the capital and thus the religious center of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Bacolod. It is also called the mother church of the Diocese.
The construction of the church as it stands today was started in 1876 and completed in 1888. Initial work, however began years earlier when the Bacolod parish priest, Fr. Roman Manuel Locsin collected coral stones that came from Guimaras.
The accounting book, Cargo y Datta lists the materials that were intended for a stone church to replace the nipa, bamboo and wood church that once stood where the present Diocesan Pastoral Center is. It was a big church because at the time when the roof was repaired, it required 3,000 shingles of nipa and 200 bamboo poles and hundreds of meters of rattan strips.
Fr. Locsin died in 1863 well long after 1848 when the decree mandated that all parishes in Negros be turned over to the Recollects, a religious order. Fr. Locsin was a secular but he defied the order declaring he would leave the parish only over his dead body. The Recollects described him as “troublesome” but respected his adamant posture and they stayed away from Bacolod.
While the Recollects took over other parishes, they also failed to replace the parish priest of Silay, Fr. Roman’s brother, Eusebio, who also refused to give away the parish as long as he lived.
When Fr. Roman died another secular priest, Fr. Mariano de Avila, his assistant took over. It was only in 1871 that Recollect Fr. Mauricio Ferrero assumed the parish. He then planned for the construction of a bigger church worthy of Bacolod as the new religious capital. The nipa church had to go. He constructed a church of coral and hewn stones. Coral stones from Guimaras were brought in or tugged by rafts as these stones also floated. Bishop Mariano Cuartero of Jaro approved it and the foundation stone was laid on April 27, 1876.
To reduce his cost, Fr. Ferrero proposed to Governor Roman Pastor that he be allowed to use prisoner labor. The governor agreed to the proposal on condition that Fr. Mauricio also design and supervise the construction of a stone jail. Tapping the expertise of Chinese artisans, Fr. Mauricio built the biggest church in the island.
Although the church had not been completely finished yet, Bishop Cuartero blessed the church on the feast day of San Sebastian in January 1982. It would take another six years for the church to be fully completed.
In 1969 the aluminum and hard wood belfries were demolished when the Bacolod City Engineer’s Office declared them to be public hazards. The Ruby Tower in Manila collapsed during a with minor earthquake. The towers were replaced by the present concrete belfries and two of the largest bells were brought down.
The church became a cathedral when the Diocese of Bacolod was created in 1932. It underwent reconstruction several times, its baroque retablo with silver plating removed and a baldaquin constructed over the main altar.*
San Sebastian Cathedral: