The original Janiuay church, another Augustinian built church, was started by Friar Miquel Carod who was assigned to Janiuay as the parish priest between 1830 and 1871.
The actual construction was started in 1849 but Friar Carod died in November 1871 with the ‘finishing touches’ yet to be made to the church. His replacement, Friar Nicholas Gallo completed the church and subsequently built the adjoining ‘convento’ in the same style as the church itself.
This is one more example of a church being built with forced labour. The stone used in construction was quarried in nearby Dingle and various other materials were transported by balsa wood rafts fromGuimaras Island some 35 to 45 kilometers to the south. Friar Carod had kilns built near the construction site, to fire the bricks that were fabricated on-site.
The church flourished until the Japanese Occupation which started in 1942. The church was put to the torch in early 1942.
It is unclear whether it was torched by the Filipino Resistance to prevent its use by the Japanese or by the Japanese themselves to extinguish any resistance from the citizens against their regime of occupation, which was very brutal indeed.
It took over 23 years after liberation before the parish opened its new church; the one we can visit today which was built immediately adjacent to the ruins of the original.
The new Janiuay church was dedicated in 1968.
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