Baclaran Church

Baclaran Church
National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Redemptorist Church
  • Pambansáng Dambana ng Iná ng Laging Saklolo (Filipino)
  • Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro (Spanish)
Church façade in March 2024
Map
14°31′53″N 120°59′43″E / 14.531417°N 120.995209°E / 14.531417; 120.995209
LocationParañaque, Metro Manila
CountryPhilippines
Language(s)Filipino, English
DenominationRoman Catholic
Religious instituteRedemptorists
WebsiteBaclaran Church
History
StatusNational shrine
DedicationOur Mother of Perpetual Help
ConsecratedDecember 1, 1958; 65 years ago (1958-12-01)[1]
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationImportant Cultural Property
DesignatedJune 27, 2023
Architect(s)César Homero R. Concio Sr.[2]
Architectural typeChurch
StyleModern Romanesque
GroundbreakingJanuary 11, 1953; 71 years ago (1953-01-11)[1]
CompletedDecember 5, 1958; 65 years ago (1958-12-05)[1]
Specifications
Capacity
11,000
  • 2,000 sitting
  • 9,000 standing[3]
Length110 m (350 ft)[3]
Width36 m (118 ft)[3]
Height22 m (71 ft)[3]
Other dimensionsFaçade facing west
Floor area5,069.2 m2 (54,564 sq ft)[3]
Number of towers1
MaterialsAdobe, steel, cement
Bells24
Administration
ProvinceManila
DioceseParañaque
DeanerySanta Rita de Cascia
ParishOur Mother of Perpetual Help
Clergy
RectorRico John Bilangel

The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, also known as the Redemptorist Church (Spanish: Iglesia Redentorista) and colloquially as Baclaran Church (Filipino: Simbahan ng Baclaran), is a national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Parañaque city of Metro Manila, Philippines.[3] It is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Parañaque. The church enshrines the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and is one of the largest Marian churches in the Philippines.

Devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help is popular amongst Filipino Catholics, who flood the church on Wednesdays to attend Mass and pray the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help.[2] In Manila, Wednesdays are popularly called "Baclaran Day" due to congested roads near the shrine. The original icon enshrined above the main altar came from Germany before priests of the Redemptorist Order brought it to what was then the United States territory of the Philippine Islands in 1906. Since 1958, the shrine has been authorised by the Holy See to remain open 24 hours a day throughout the year.

The wider shrine complex also serves as the headquarters of the Manila Vice Province of Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, while the Cebu Province of the Redemptorists is headquartered in Cebu. The shrine's current rector is Rico John Bilangel. The shrine celebrates its annual feast day on June 27, the liturgical feast day of the icon. The Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido monument within the church compound was inscribed in 2019 in the CIPDH-UNESCO's Memorias Situadas, which maps international sites of memory linked to serious human rights violations. The Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido honors the victims of the brutal Marcos dictatorship.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference HistoryOurMom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "The Baclaran Phenomenon". National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Baclaran Church". Arkitekturang Filipino Online. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  4. ^ "Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido". www.cipdh.gob.ar/memorias-situadas/en/.