Region
6: Western Visayas ••• Capiz
Pan-ay
Santa
Monica Church
In
1566, Fray Martín de Rada is said to have preached the Gospel
in Bamban (Pan-ay) and from there he proceeded to evangelize Dumangas
to the south. The Augustinians continued to spread their net of
evangelization to the south and west of Pan-ay until they had established
footholds in the whole island. By the late 1500s, they had been had been
the sole evangelizers of Panay island until the Jesuits arrived
at this time.
Because
of lack of food, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi transferred the Spanish
settlement from Cebu to Pan-ay in 1569. The town was formally founded
in 1572 (1581 according to Jorde), although by that time Legazpi
had moved the capital of the Philippines, further north, to Manila.
Fr. Bartolome de Alcantara was named the prior of the town with
Fr. Agustin Camacho as assistant. A prosperous town due to trade,
Pan-ay became capital of Capiz for two centuries, until Capiz was
named capital. The town name was eventually given to whole island.
After 1607, Fr. Alonso de Méntrida, noted for his linguistic
studies and Visayan dictionary became prior. In the 18th
century, Pan-ay was famous for its textile industry which produced
a cloth called suerte and exported to Europe. In the 19th
century, Don Antonio Roxas, grandfather of Pres. Manuel Roxas, opened
one of the largest rum and wine distilleries in the town. The Augustinians
held the parish until 1898, when administration tranferred to the
seculars.
The first church
was built before 1698 when it is reported that a typhoon had ruined
it. In 1774, Fr. Miguel Murguía rebuilt the church, but it
was later damaged by a typhoon on 15 January 1875. Fr. Jose Beloso
restored the church in 1884. The church is best known for its 10.4
ton bell popularly called dakong lingganay (big bell). The
bell was cast by Don Juan Reina who settled in Iloilo in 1868. Reina
who was town dentist was also noted as a metal caster and smith.
The bell was cast at Pan-ay from 70 sacks of coins donated by the
townspeople. The bell was completed in 1878. It bears an inspiring
inscription which translated reads: "I am God's voice which
shall echo praise from one end of the town of Pan-ay to the other,
so that Christ's faithful followers may enter this house of God
to receive heavenly graces."
Heritage
Features:
Pan-ay
belongs to the Baroque style. The pediment cascades gracefully down.
The façade is ornamented with swags of flowers, niches and
statuary. The bell tower to the left of the façade is simple
in contrast to the façade. It base is planned as a quadrilateral
but its upper stories are octagonal with the two sides longer than
the other. To the church was attached an L-shaped
convento, which had been ruined.
Remnants of the covento have been incorporated into the present
modern convento. Behind
the church are remnants of a wall, which according to town lore
was once a fortification. Attached to the sacristy is a large storage
room, now converted into a Blessed Sacrament chapel.
The
interior was formerly divided into a central nave with flanking
aisles, but in recent years, the wooden posts that marked the divisions
were removed to improve sight lines to the altar.
The wooden choirloft was also removed because it was damaged
by termites, so were the wooden floors of the bell tower.
In place the tower has an independent steel stairway that
leads to the topmost floor.
This floor has been reconstructed in reinforced concrete
with coral stone facing. The roof of the church, already damaged
by a storm in 1984 and subsequently repaired, was already in a dilapidated
condition in 2000. Its
wood work was rotten and was in danger of collapsing. The woodwork and roof have been replaced by a steel and galvanized
iron structure.
The
church retains much of its original floor: terra cotta tiles, white
marble and black slate as accents and for the sanctuary.
The
church has three altars in Baroque style. The retablo of the central
altar has been painted over in silver and gold enamel, however,
the side altars have hardly been touched and probably represent
the original colors of the woodwork—primaries of blue, red,
green, orange with gold leaf accents.
These altars are unique for Latin inscriptions carved on
roundels set in its reed thin columns.
Behind
Gospel side altar are remnants of decorative painting, also done
in brilliant primaries.
Pan-ay
Cemetery
Near the entrance
to the town is a cemetery built during Spanish times. The builder
and date of construction are uncertain. Probably Fr. Beloso who
restored the church was also responsible for the construction.
Heritage
features:
Although recent constructions hide the distinctive features of the
cemetery, they can still be discerned. Planned as a circular site,
the perimeter is bound by a brick and wrought iron fence. Above
the entrance to the enclosure is an effigy of death as a skeleton.
Below it is a warning about the brevity of life and humanity's destiny
which is the soil. Inside the cemetery is the mortuary chapel. The
site needs conservation and restoration. |
