San Sebastian Cathedral, Bacolod

Whenever I am traveling, I make it a point to look for the main Catholic church or cathedral of places we were visiting or passing through. The Philippines being a country with almost 400 years of history under Spain, there are many old churches spread around the country that represent various architectural influences. Many of these churches are in various states of disrepair due to scarce resources despite all being in active use and with many parishioners and increasing numbers of tourists. It is a good thing that with increased awareness these days, many churches are now being preserved including a few that have been included in a heritage list (e.g., Baclayon in Bohol, San Agustin in Manila, Paoay in Ilocos Norte,  Sto. Tomas de Villanueva in Iloilo, etc.).

Bacolod City being and old town, the church is located at the center of the city along one side of the plaza where also located were the old city hall, the police headquarters, a major Catholic school and commercial areas. Following are photos taken using my trusty BlackBerry Bold. My point and shoot was with one of our staff who was taking photos at our survey stations.

The Priory beside the Cathedral looks almost as old as the church.

This photo was a quick one I took while doing recon for traffic surveys we were conducting at an intersection nearby. I like it because it show the Cathedral among the chaos of the present including the electric posts and cables shown in the photo.

The Cathedral has a very long aisle judging from the length of the building structure seen outside. Inside the Cathedral, one gets a better appreciation for this and having their wedding at this church is surely many a bride's dream.

Another look inside the Cathedral, this time a close-up of the main altar. It is interesting to note that the centerpiece features not a crucifix with Christ or an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but an image of San Sebastian during the defining moment of his life, tied to a post and pierced with arrows. (He was supposed to have miraculously survived this and was later martyred by being clubbed to death.) This is also supposed to be an example of the Catalan style of Catholicism that featured gory or morbid images.

I didn't get another chance to take a photo of the Cathedral during the day time as we had to go around our surveys stations to inspect survey staff. We also had a quick side trip to Silay and Talisay Cities for us to see some heritage houses. We had only a few hours to spare so we had to make the most of it.

The facade of the Cathedral at night - the BlackBerry obviously was not sufficient for such photos but it did well enough to get a good shot despite the glare from street lamps.

Another shot right in across from the church. I shot this in front of the many flower stalls lined up in the plaza across from the Cathedral.

The first images of the Cathedral that I saw were images featured in the book Totus Tuus. The book documented the 1981 visit of Pope John Paul II to the Philippines, which included stops at major Philippine cities like Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi and Bacolod.

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