MANILA (SE): The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help—better known as Baclaran Church—was declared by the National Museum of the Philippines one of the country’s most valuable cultural treasures, CBCP News reported on June 27.
A marker designating the church as an “important cultural property” was unveiled during a ceremony attended by National Museum archeologist, Dr. Mary Jane Louise Bolunia and Brazilian Father Rogerio Gomes, superior general of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, or the Redemptorists.
Bolunia said that the museum was delighted to bestow the honour on the church “that has become part of our culture as it evolved and developed through the years.”
CBCP News reported her as saying, “I hope the marker will serve as a reminder for us to cherish this gift of faith that we have embraced and the place where the faith has taken its root.”
The first Redemptorists arrived in the Philippines in 1906 and set up a community at Opon, Cebu. They went to Malate in 1913 where they built a small, popular shrine to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. In 1932, the community transferred to Baclaran.
Initially, the church was dedicated to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. However, when long-time supporters and friends donated a high altar, they asked that it enshrine the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. When the church opened, it became very popular.
The present church, built in the Modern Romanesque style, is the third one to be built on the site. It was dedicated on 5 December 1953 and has been open 24 hours a day ever since.
The June 27 ceremony coincided with the feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help and the celebration of the 75 years of the Perpetual Help Novena in Baclaran Church CBCP News reported.
Important Cultural Properties, are defined as cultural properties possessing “exceptional cultural, artistic, and historical significance,” and may receive government subsidies for their preservation and conservation.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
It is also the second level of protection after the classification of National Cultural Treasures.
