Last week, I blogged about our trip to my beloved province Isabela, and as I previously mentioned, I’ll be featuring this charming Spanish-era church located just a few minutes away from my hometown: the San Pablo Church.
Let me tour you around this spectacular beauty.
The facade of the old church. So beautiful!
The San Pablo Church was built in 1624. It is said to be the oldest in our province. It has beautiful walls surrounding its atrium. The atrium is uniquely adorned with gorgeous clay insets of rosettes and sun emblems.
Upon entering the main door of the church, you’ll find the staircase to the towering belfry adjacent to it.
My first visit to this church was in 1994 back when I was only a grade school kid. I was invited by a classmate who lives near the church. Together with other school friends, we went to see the bell tower. Because we were all curious, we spontaneously decided to climb to the top! It was so dangerous to climb the tower because several stones were already chipped back then. So when my grandma learned about what I did together with my classmates, I was grounded for days! Hahaha
This lofty bell tower is of six layers (including the circular apex) and is made of adobe. It is the tallest in the Cagayan Valley! I climbed this bell tower together with some grade school friends in 1994!
The San Pablo bell tower has six layers (including the circular apex) and is made of adobe, the tallest in the Cagayan Valley. The church is said to be the only church in Cagayan Valley built with soft stones, hence its “fast” deterioration.
This area was once part of the church and was covered but it is now renovated into a beautiful garden.
Within the old church, they built a new one which is being used by the people of San Pablo these days.
So there, I hope you enjoyed viewing the pictures. If you travel to Isabela, I highly recommend that you visit San Pablo Church, a standing witness of my province’s rich history. =)
Happy that Alex and I were able to show this treasure to our little boy. =)
And oh! CNN featured this church in 2009. This was when a CNN crew went to the Philippines to cover a typhoon that never came, and in the end, found this treasure.
Here’s the video:
Do you want to visit San Pablo Church? Here’s how:
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Take a flight from Manila to Tuguegarao. From the airport, take a tricycle and tell the rider to take you to the bus or van terminal going to Cabagan or Santiago City in Isabela. Tell the bus conductor to drop you off at San Pablo (you can see the signage of the church). The church is walking distance from the highway (The bell tower can be seen from the road).
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Take a bus from Manila to Tuguegarao. Tell the bus conductor to drop you off in San Pablo, Isabela.
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