Ilocos Norte Philippines: St. Augustine Church Known as Paoay Church
St. Augustine Church popularly known as Paoay Church was built in 1694 and was completed in 1710. It was commissioned by the Augustinian friars led by Fr. Antonio Estavillo. This fortress-like church is so unique in our country since its heavy-set buttresses and finials give the church a silhouette similar to Asian temples. The church is also considered as the most outstanding variant of the earthquake baroque.
Paoay Church was built of baked bricks, coral rocks, tree sap and lumber. It has twenty-four carved buttresses. The lower part of the facade is made of stuccoed brick while the upper facade is made of coral blocks. The local materials were made by mixing sand, lime and sugarcane juice. The mixture is then boiled with a mixture of mangeao (salbot) leaves, leather and rice straw for two nights. The bell tower is made of coral stones. The massive buttresses of the church were made in response to earthquakes which is one of the most destructive natural calamity in the Philippines.
The arched doorway of the church is flanked by four pilasters that extend from the first to the second level. Three niches, alternating with continuous pilasters, mark the second level. Huge volutes disguise the large buttresses and make the facade look like one huge pediment. The weathered dark plaster covering that embellishes the exterior, slowly exposing the coral stone walls, the overgrowth of flora and the exotic elements, gives the structure a resemblance of a Borobudur temple rather than a church.
The ornate decorations extend to the side where floral motifs frame the side entrances. Paoay Church’s ceiling was once painted with murals similar to that of the Sistine Chapel. However, it is no longer in existence today since one would only see wooden trusses as well as an exposed roof. The altar is marked only with a simple wooden cross.
The Paoay Church was declared a national treasure by then President Ferdinand Marcos. It is also included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage List.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply