Carigara | Dagami | Palo | Burauen | Dulag | Tanauan | Tacloban | Abuyog | Leyte | Barugo | Alang-alang | Jaro | Hilongos | ORMOC | Baybay | Palompon | Matalom | Biliran Island

In 1620, Baybay was founded by the Jesuits. A church and mission house were built this year. Oral lore identifies the Jesuits’ Baybay with Barrio Punta or Catarman point, not with the present site of Baybay town.  On 3 December 1634, the Jesuit Juan del Campo was killed by Moros in Baybay.

On 4 November 1663, Moros under Sultan Kudarat raided Baybay.

On 27 February 1836, Baybay was raised to parish status, under the advocacy of the Immaculate Conception in accordance with the episcopal decree of 8 September 1835.  As of this year the first church in Barrio Punta (Catarman Point) is reported as in need of repairs.

In 1852, the present church in the población of Baybay was built under Fray Vicente E. Coronado and continued under the supervision of Maestro Proceso from Manila.  In 1866, Fire destroyed the church except for the chapel of the Holy Cross.  In 1870, The church was repaired and finished by painter and sculptor Capitán Mateo Espinoso, probably a local dignitary and artisan.

Heritage sites:  Poblacion church—The stone church at Baybay town, therefore, does not go back to Jesuit times.

Punta chapel—But the greatly dilapidated chapel at Punta may. Its crude manner of construction betrays the hand of an amateur. It is a simple single-nave structure with a door at the gospel side, with provision for a single altar and the remains of a base for a pulpit. A ruined wall stands beside the sanctuary, probably the sacristy. Near the simple façade stands a new bell tower built on the foundations of an old squarish one. The barrio folks on their own initiative have repaired the structure, giving it a roof and floor. Old folks say that only in the 1980s did the chapel have a metal roof. Nipa covered it, and the bare earth sufficed as floor. A few baroque columns survive from what must have been an old but small retablo. The ivory image of San Isidro Labrador is the only other treasure that reputedly traces to the Spanish period, probably the 19th century. Could the chapel at Punta be the old Jesuit church?

Also called Hinablayan.  In 1700, Palompon, reputedly named after a clump of mangrove that protected the shore of this western Leyte town, was founded as a mission by the Jesuits.  In 1737, the settlement was made permanent.  Tradition says that in this year, Terio Abel, “Panday Terio,” built the first church of “cal y canto.”

In 1768, Palompon was ceded to the Augustinians.

On 12 November 1834, it was raised to parish status independent from Hilongos.  The Augustinians built a new church after the old one burnt. Remnants of that old church can still be seen in the present church fabric.  In 1843, Palompon was ceded to the Franciscans. 

Palompon was hit by a series of disasters: in 1885, a cholera epidemic; in 1890, a typhoon destroyed the town, in 1892, a smallpox epidemic.

Heritage sites:  Church—There are no dates available for the construction of the Palompon church or of the convento built behind it.  The church has been renovated.

Fort—Oral lore claims that a defensive wall of earthwork used to stand before the church façade, probably a fausse-braye. Sierra Masó claims that the Jesuits built a fort at Palompon but no traces have been found.

San Francisco image—About the only item we can be sure that comes from Jesuit times is a foot-and-  a-half image of St. Francis Xavier carved out of dark wood, probably kamagong. The image has a mandorla of gold, a collar and staff of the same material, and some 14 stars nailed to its wooden vesture. The history of this image is well attested to in the parish inventories.  It first appears in the inventories of the expulsion. Its description remains virtually unchanged in the inventories of the 19th century. The inventories all mention a heart of crystal on Francis’ s breasts. That has disappeared and so have 16 other gold stars on the image. This image of Palompon’s patronal saint is affectionately called Franciscong Gamay, Francis the Small.

Created as a parish under the advocacy of St. Joseph on 14 March 1861, in accordance with an ecclesiastical decree of 17 September 1860, Matalom was formerly a visita of Hilongos.  Redondo (1886) reports that the church is of recent construction and is a structure of mortar with a zinc roof and wooden floor.  He also reports a church and convento of tabiquen pampango in the visitas of Cajagna-an and Bato.

Heritage sites: Near the municipal hall is a two story quadrilateral watchtower of hewn coral, with a date inscribed: “1841.”  The tower has been renovated.

Biliran, an island off the northern coast of Leyte, was a mission of the Jesuits.  In 1712, Biliran became a town but obtained permission to establish a parish on 22 February 1782.  Braganza, however, claims that the parish was established this same year. Little is known of its architectural history.  Redondo (1886, 193) describes the church as made of the harique and tabique type (wood posts and wattle and daub walls).