Dear mother of god
The Vigan Cathedral and the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia
The Saint Paul Metropolitan Cathedral or more popular as the Vigan Cathedral is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia. Established as a diocese suffragan to the Archdiocese of Manila in 1595, Nueva Segovia is one of the oldest dioceses in the Philippines. The Archdiocese was originally seated in Cagayan from its establishment until 1758, when Bishop Juan de la Fuente Yepes requested the transfer to Vigan because the old settlement at the City of Nueva Segovia in Cagayan is already slowly being washed by the river. Also, Vigan is already rising as a major city at that time already. The permanent Transfer to Vigan (Ciudad Fernandina de Vigan at the time) happened in a ceremonial procession from Lallo, Cagayan to Vigan on Sept. 7, 1758. Vigan retained it’s name. In 1951, the diocese was separated from Manila when it became a separate archdiocese, encompassing much of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra and Benguet. As of the present, it only has Ilocos Sur as the territory of the archdiocese.
The residence of the Archbishop of Nueva Segovia is the only remaining Episcopal Palace built during the Spanish Era, as the Palaces of the Archbishops of Manila and Cebu was destroyed during the war. The residence has an access to the Govantes River as a sea transport route. Since the Govantes River is already not navigable, this is not in use anymore.
Southwards from the Episcopal Palace, you’ll see the fourth structure on the same site. The first was made 1574 by the orders of Juan de Salcedo, the second is in 1641 but collapsed in an Earthquake, the third was gutted by fire in 1739, the construction of the fourth began on 1790 and was finished in 1800. The original design of the church is as intact until today.
The church has a baroque structure as exhibited by buttresses in the sides to protect it from earthquakes and typhoons and has mix of Neogothic and Romanesque embellishments. It is also the very first tile roof building in Ilocos Region.
Further south across the street is the bell tower, 25 meters high and has a weather rooster atop, symbolizing St. Peter. Bell towers are so damaging during earthquakes that they have to be built away from the church.
This is the territory of the clergy in Vigan.
Sources:
NHI Site Markers
Plaza Salcedo and the Plaza Complex town planning.
Almost all of the old towns in the Philippines dating from the Spanish Period still exhibit the town planning style adopted throughout the Spanish Colonial Empire as stated by the Laws of the Indies. All town centers must have on open town square and adjacent to these squares are the Town Church, The Municipal Hall and the residences of the prominent people of the town. The farther you are from the town center, the less privileged you are.
A perfect example of this is the Plaza Salcedo in Vigan City, at the North is the Palace of the Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, at west is the Ilocos Sur Capitol, at the east is the Vigan Cathedral and at the south is the Vigan City Hall. The Ilocos Sur Capitol is the most recent addition of all public buildings in the City, being built in the American Period.
Plaza Salcedo was named after the conquistador of Northern Luzon, Juan de Salcedo, in 1764 it witnessed the execution of Gabriela Silang. Recent Additions in the plaza includes a monument of Jose Rizal (as it is in every towns in the Philippines) and a monument of Elpidio Quirino, the President of the Philippines who hailed from Vigan. In the 1970’s a lagoon is added to the plaza, and it also served as the fire water supply of the town for fire safety.
The Chinese started migrating here in the Philippines to settle concurrently at the start of the Spanish Rule. But the Spanish Colonial masters distrust them, they are a constant source of trouble for them because some of them are unruly. That is why the Spanish located them in a cannon distance from the San Gabriel Bastion in Intramuros. There are two Chinese settlements during the first two centuries of the Spanish Rule: Parian and Binondo.
Parian was once located in the sites now located by the Post Office, Metropolitan Theater, Arroceros, and up to SM Manila. Some might wonder the lack of a market inside Intramuros, it is because Parian acts as the market (or mall) for the walled city. In modern terms, Parian got it all for Intramuros. By the opening of the drawbridge at 4AM, Intramuros residents will flock in Parian to shop. Parian is the first mall in the Philippines, everything is in there: traders, merchants, craftsmen and laborers.
Because of the advance the British made through the suburbs nearest the walls of Intramuros in their invasion, the Spanish decided to demolish these villages, Parian was not spared. By 1780, Parian was no more and some former residents relocated to Binondo. Only a gate in Intramuros exiting at Parian became the sole mark of the existence of the Parian.
Binondo is originally the parish for the Chinese Converts by the Dominicans, no wonder that their patroness is also the Lady of the Rosary. But when the Parian was dissolved, Binondo became the sole enclave of Manila’s Chinese Mestizos and Chinese Immigrants who love to engage in trade and business. This is the one of the reasons why Binondo is the first Business District and the Chinatown of Manila. Even today, at any Chinese Festival the meeting point of these celebrations will always be at Binondo, as always the best known Chinese festival is the Chinese New Year, which we will celebrate few hours from now.
