THE CHURCHES OF BULACAN: PART THREE

This part covers five parish churches of Bulacan:  the St. Augustine Parish Church of Baliuag; Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish Church of Makinabang, Baliuag; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish Church in Sabang, Baliuag; Infant Jesus Parish Church of Bustos and St. Monica Parish Church of Angat. As a bonus, am also featuring a private museum of different statues of  saints of Allan Tengco in Baliuag, Bulacan. 

13.   ST. AUGUSTINE PARISH CHURCH, 

BALIWAG, BULACAN (F-1752)

The church has one main entrance decorated on the sides by a niche with a statue of a saint. The patron of the town, St. Augustine is perched on  top of the pediment. A tall concrete canopy hinders the whole  view of the façade. The bell tower to the left of the church is marked by a marble bas-relief of Moses holding the ten commandments. To the  right of the church is the convento. 

The church altar. 

External columns added to support the structure of the church. 

Station of the cross. 

Statue of St. Augustine. 

The antique convento has been artfully restored. 

Carvings on the adobe wall of the convento. 

Some precious chalices in the museum. 

An ivory statue of the Blessed Virgin. 

Interior of the church lighted. 

Last March 2023 I got to visit again the church of Baliuag and I noticed that they had a new altar retablo. 

14.   OUR LADY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY PARISH CHURCH, 

MAKINABANG, BALIUAG (F-1941)

15.   OUR LADY OF MT. CARMEL PARISH CHURCH, 

SABANG, BALIUAG

     A newly constructed church in the Rio Vista Subdivision of Sabang, Baliuag, the marker dates July 16, 2013 as its completion. The main door has a recessed arch on three columns.  By the side of the main entrance are niches of saints. It has a twin bell tower on both sides. The ceilings have gold leafed ornamentations. The altar retablo has the statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel flanked on each side by two paintings  related to the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel which includes faces of the donors as mentioned by our guide. 

16.   INFANT JESUS PARISH CHURCH, 

BUSTOS, BULACAN (F-1867)

         The parish church was in the process of being expanded on the sides when we visited it. The concrete dome was not yet finished. Being on an elevated portion, the church façade looked impressive. It also had a balustraded canopy in front of the main door. The eight columns which extended to the top at almost the same levels had the statue of saints on top. On the front they were separated from each other by rounded arches. In the middle was a small octagonal belfry with rounded roof with the statue of Jesus with outstretched arm like that in Rio de Janeiro.

17.   ST.MONICA PARISH CHURCH, 

ANGAT, BULACAN (F-1682)

   The façade of the Angat church is a representative of the baroque style with embellishments. The paired columns with Doric and Corinthian capitals divide the façade into levels and segments. An arched main portal is flanked on the sides by arched windows. Two niches of the saints are on top of the main entrance and below the pediment. The belfry is on the left side of the church. The wooden door has carved bas-reliefs of the weeping St. Monica on one side and St. Augustine on the other and smaller reliefs on the life of the two saints. Looking at the ceiling inside the church is like entering the Sistine chapel with paintings copied from it. The altar retablo has three niches with the crucifix in the middle and flanked by the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary  and St. Monica.

Metal water stoup. 

Bas-relief carving on the main door. 

The weeping St. Monica carved on the main door. 

The Veneration chapel found in another building. 

The carved wooden main door. 

THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF STATUES AND IMAGES OF DIFFERENT SAINTS OF ALLAN TENGCO, 
BALIUAG, BULACAN

These collections are usually displayed in different exhibitions around Manila.