The Solemn Declaration of St. Gregory the Great Parish, Majayjay, Laguna as Minor Basilica

             Got to revisit the church of St. Gregory the Great in Majayjay, Laguna when it was solemnly declared as a Minor Basilica last May 3, 2025.  The Papal Nuncio, Charles John Brown was the celebrant together with seven other bishops, hundreds of priests, religious and the faithful of the parish of Majayjay.    One bishop was saying that the church is indeed big, but the roads are narrow. It is typical of an old town. 

            When I entered the church, I noticed that the retablo had a lighter color from the last time I visited it. The parish priest and the first Rector, Msgr. Melchor Barcenas informed me that the retablo is new. The former retablo was heavily destroyed by termites that they had to redo it.  For the most part they kept the design of the old retablo that is why I thought that they just had the old retablo repainted for a lighter color. 

The main retablo

The left-side retablo facing the congregation. 

The right-side retablo facing the congregation.

View of the altar from the choirloft

For the previous post on the church of Majayjay click here.

CHURCHES OF ILOILO, Part 3

             A double celebration was recently held at the Cathedral of Jaro, the National Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of the Candles. It began with the 50th sacerdotal anniversary of Archbishop Romeo Lazo, followed the next day by the installation of his successor, the Most Rev. Midyphil Billones. In the afternoon, right after lunch on the first day, I took the opportunity to visit several towns in the province of Iloilo whose churches I had not yet seen. These included Zarraga, Anilao, Banate, Barotac Viejo, Ajuy, San Rafael, and San Enrique. Since Barotac Nuevo was along the way, I decided to stop by again, as the last time I visited, the dome was still under construction.

NATIONAL SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF CANDLES PARISH
Jaro Cathedral, Iloilo City

The murals on the ceiling by the altar

ST. ISIDORE PARISH
Zarraga, Iloilo

ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA PARISH
Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo

ST. RITA OF CASCIA PARISH
Anilao, Iloilo

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH
Banate, Iloilo

STS. PETER AND PAUL THE APOSTLES PARISH
Barotac Viejo, Iloilo

ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO PARISH
Ajuy, Iloilo

ST. RAPHAEL THE ARCHANGEL PARISH
San Rafael, Iloilo

MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS PARISH
San Enrique, Iloilo

For previous posts on the Churches of Iloilo click here and here and here.