Cebu Philippines: Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church in Danao City
The church was built in 1755 by Fr. Manuel de Santa Barbara. It was made of materials that came from sugar cane and rocks from the sea. The church’s crucero was built in the 1800’s but was partially burned in 1942 during the World War II as well as other important religious items. From the original construction materials of the church, only the solid stones were spared from the fire. It was reconstructed in 1946. In 1981, the building underwent another renovation, this time almost a complete overhaul (only 30% of the original stands). The renovation was completed in 1985.
The Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church of Danao City would have stood out as a historical relic were it not for a number of renovations introduced by well-meaning parishioners which resulted in material departure from its original architecture when the church was built in 1755.
Very interesting about this church are the bells which are named after saints. The oldest bell is the San Alipio bell which was cast in 1845 and weighs 450 kilos. The Villanueva bell which weighs 630 kilos and the Sagrado Corazon bell which weighs 249 kilos were added in 1917.
Due to the renovation in 1981, some aspects in the church’s design are somewhat out of place. Some parts of the church remain old and are inherent to the original design while some parts are incompatible. An example of this is the gold-coated miter dome. Although it adds a “basilica” effect to the architectural design, it also looks inconsistent to the original design.
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