Baclayon Church

Baclayon Church
Immaculate Conception Parish Church
Iglesia Parroquial de La Purísima Concepción de la Virgen María (Spanish)
The church in January 2023
Baclayon Church is located in Visayas
Baclayon Church
Baclayon Church
Location in the Visayas
Baclayon Church is located in Philippines
Baclayon Church
Baclayon Church
Location in the Philippines
9°37′22″N 123°54′44″E / 9.6227°N 123.9122°E / 9.6227; 123.9122
LocationBaclayon, Bohol
CountryPhilippines
DenominationCatholic
History
StatusParish church
Founded1596
1717 (as Parish)
Founder(s)Fr. Juan de Torres, SJ
Fr. Gabriel Sanchez, SJ
DedicationImmaculate Conception
Consecrated1727; 297 years ago (1727)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Heritage designationNational Cultural Treasure
Architectural typeChurch building
StyleBaroque
Years built1727, 2014–2018
Groundbreaking2014; 10 years ago (2014) (restoration)
CompletedFebruary 27, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-02-27) (restoration)
Specifications
MaterialsCoral stones
Administration
ProvinceCebu
DioceseTagbilaran (since 1941)
DeaneryAssumption of Our Lady
ParishImmaculate Concepcion
Clergy
Priest(s)Fr. Vicente Mathias M. Nunag, III
Assistant priest(s)Fr. Felipe B. Digal
National Historical Landmarks
DesignatedJuly 27, 1994 (1994-07-27)
Legal BasisResolution No. 3, s. 1994
Designated2010 (2010)

Immaculate Conception Parish Church, also known as La Purisima Concepcion de la Virgen Maria Parish Church and Baclayon Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Baclayon, Bohol, Philippines within the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Tagbilaran. Baclayon was founded by the Jesuit priest Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sánchez in 1596, and became the oldest Christian settlement in Bohol. It was elevated as a parish in 1717 and the present coral stone church was completed in 1727. The Augustinian Recollects succeeded the Jesuits in 1768 and heavily renovated the church since then.

The church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines and a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Together with the churches of Maragondon, Loboc and Guiuan, the Baclayon Church was formerly included for the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List of the Philippines since 1993 under the collective group of Jesuit Churches of the Philippines. When a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol and other parts of Central Visayas in 2013, the church building sustained major damage. It was reconstructed by the National Museum of the Philippines from 2014 to 2018.