NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL PILAR CHURCH

     The Spaniards are said to be one of the Philippine colonizers before.They colonized the Philippines for such a long time which covered 353 years.It is them who gave a big influence to the Filipino people in terms of Christianity. It is one of the biggest  contributions to us,Filipino.

      When the Spaniards came,their was a town that was thickly covered with a rica palm (betel nuts). They asked the natives the name of the place and what they trading. The natives answered "bonga", the local name of betel nuts. The Spaniards nodded and said, "Sibonga". And that is how the town got it's name.

       Sibonga is one of the town known to have diverse cultural heritage. It is where we can find one of the oldest church which was built during the Spanish colonization. Our very own Filipino ancestors built this church. And this people were forced to render forced labor called polo. And they are called "polista".

        The church is called the Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragosa.The construction of this church began between 1846-1868 and completed during the term of Fr. Enrique Magaz in 1881. The church was restored in 1907 and consecrated by Msgr. Jeremias Harty, archbishop of Manila. 

  

         The church is quite well-preserved indoors. Once inside, the painted wooden roof left our mouths agape, it was stunning! less than 140 years old. The murals and patterns painted on the wooden ceilings are luxurios, in tones of beige, brown and highlights of sky blue. It must have taken painters several years to complete the ceilings of this church. And the painted tiles below are equally exquisite and diversified, a bit over the top.