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Baguio Cathedral

Coordinates: 16°24′46″N 120°35′54″E / 16.412744°N 120.598435°E / 16.412744; 120.598435
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Baguio Cathedral
Our Lady of the Atonement Cathedral
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Expiación (Spanish)
Cathedral facade in 2024
Baguio Cathedral is located in Luzon
Baguio Cathedral
Baguio Cathedral
Location in Luzon
Baguio Cathedral is located in Philippines
Baguio Cathedral
Baguio Cathedral
Location in the Philippines
16°24′46″N 120°35′54″E / 16.412744°N 120.598435°E / 16.412744; 120.598435
LocationBaguio
CountryPhilippines
Language(s)Filipino, Ilocano, English
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
StatusCathedral
DedicationOur Lady of the Atonement
ConsecratedJuly 9, 1936
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeChurch building
StyleNeo-Romanesque
Groundbreaking1920
CompletedJuly 9, 1936
Specifications
Number of towers2
MaterialsGravel, Cement, Steel, Concrete
Administration
ProvinceNueva Segovia
MetropolisNueva Segovia
ArchdioceseNueva Segovia
DioceseBaguio
ParishOur Lady of the Atonement
Clergy
ArchbishopMarlo Mendoza Peralta
Bishop(s)Rafael T. Cruz
RectorBerlynden Dao-anis
Assistant priest(s)Marion Joseph S. Nebres

Our Lady of the Atonement Cathedral, commonly known as Baguio Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and the see of the Diocese of Baguio in the Philippines. It is located at Cathedral Loop adjacent to Session Road in Baguio.

Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Atonement, its distinctive exterior, twin spires and stained glass windows make it a popular tourist attraction in Baguio.[1] It served as an evacuation center under the Japanese Occupation during the Second World War.

History

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In 1907, a Catholic mission chapel, dedicated to St. Patrick, was established by Belgian missionaries from the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae. The site where the cathedral currently stands was a hill referred to as Kampo by the Ibaloi people. Construction of the cathedral itself began in 1920 under the leadership of the parish priest, Florimond Carlu. The building was completed and consecrated in 1936. It was dedicated to Our Lady of Atonement.[2]

Memorial plaque to the carpet bombing victims buried in the cathedral grounds

During the Second World War, the cathedral served as an evacuation center, and was the only building in Baguio that withstood the carpet-bombing of the city by American forces during liberation on March 15, 1945. Former Baguio mayor Virginia de Guia, recalled that refugees "packed the church like sardines when the airplanes came".[2] US troops began its first air raid on Baguio on January 6, 1945, after which came an almost daily carpet-bombing which reduced most of the city to rubble. Among the areas bombed were the Baguio City Hall, Session Road, and the front of the cathedral, where hundreds of civilians who sought refuge died.[3] The remains of the thousands that had died in the bombardment are interred within the cathedral precinct.[4]

In February 1986, anti-dictatorship organizers based in the Azotea Building and in Cafe Amapola on Session Road learned that the People Power Revolution had begun in Manila. Deciding that their locations were too unsafe, they encamped in the courtyard of the cathedral, which was located on higher ground.[5] Thus, it became the site where Baguio residents had gathered to protest the abuses of the Marcos administration—their own contribution to the largely peaceful revolution.[6]

Features

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Cathedral interior in 2022

The cathedral has a distinctive façade with a rose window and twin square belfries with pyramidal roofs.[4] Within its large courtyard is a viewing deck that overlooks Session Road and the downtown commercial district of Baguio.

The cathedral is accessible to pedestrians from Session Road via 104-step stone staircase that ends at a Calvary, or through the adjacent campus of Saint Louis University.[7]

A mural on the cathedral grounds, carved by Baguio artist Clinton Pagao Aniversario in 2017,[8] honors the missionaries of the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae (CICM) who first began Roman Catholic evangelical work in Mountain Province in the 1900s, and were eventually instrumental in the building of the cathedral.[8]

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  • Cathedral altar
    Cathedral altar
  • The cathedral at night
    The cathedral at night
  • The cathedral from the stairs with the large Calvary at the terminus of the stone stairs
    The cathedral from the stairs with the large Calvary at the terminus of the stone stairs
  • The statue of Our Lady of the Atonement, the titular patroness of the cathedral. It was episcopally crowned on March 25, 2023
    The statue of Our Lady of the Atonement, the titular patroness of the cathedral. It was episcopally crowned on March 25, 2023

References

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  1. ^ "Baguio Catholic Cathedral". Landmarks and Scenic Sites: The City of Baguio. Archived from the original on April 11, 2008. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Cabreza, Vincent (July 11, 2011). "Baguio cathedral celebrates 75 years". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  3. ^ Agoot, Liza (April 18, 2018). "Solon hopes Senate declares Sept. 3 a yearly holiday in Baguio". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Layug, p. 76
  5. ^ "EDSA '86 up north: The day Baguio turned yellow". Rappler.
  6. ^ "Remembering the People's Power Revolution in Baguio". Baguio Herald Express. February 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Layug, p. 77
  8. ^ a b Opiña, Rimaliza A. (January 15, 2017). "Mural immortalizes CICM missionaries". Baguio Midland Courier. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
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References

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  • Layug, Benjamin Locsin (2007). A Tourist Guide to Notable Philippine Churches. Pasig, Philippines: New Day Publishers. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-971-8521-10-6.
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