Historic Churches of Panay Island, Philippines.

 

The town of Passi was established in 1584, and it isIloilo’s sugar and pineapple capital. Two of the province’s largest pineapple and sugar plantations as well as sugar refining plants are located here.

 The present Church of St. Williamwas built by Friar Apolinario Villaneuva, the town’s then parish priest between 1821 and 1837. This is considered a militaristic church in that it was planned as a ‘fortress church’ and the proof of this can be seen in the massive buttresses which support the front and back walls of the church.  The church was built to replace churches that had been destroyed by an earthquake in 1612 and subsequent churches that had been destroyed by fires.

 In 1856 Friar Pedro Ceberio restored the church that had fallen into disrepair and what we see today is the result of his work.

 The church is surrounded by a ‘Garden of the Saints’ which contains 25 to 30 statues of Saints that have been placed in the garden by parishioners over the years. Some examples of the Saintly Statues are shown below.

 

When one enters the church you are struck by how simple and bright it is as shown in the photo below looking towards the sanctuary at the front of the church.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the entire church is the sanctuary, which when it is lit up is both dramatically breathtaking and simply beautiful, note the before picture below…