SAN JOSE CHURCH ILOILO | SCHEDULE OF MASSES

San Jose Church Iloilo | Schedule of Masses

SAN JOSE CHURCH, ILOILO | SCHEDULE OF MASSES

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San Jose Church, Iloilo: A centerpiece to the Ilonggo Culture

Most cultures have something central to them. Some find it in their way of life as dictated by the conditions to which they are beset, others through something tangible as a thing or a place. To the Ilonggo’s, nothing speaks their heritage than an infrastructure so commonplace in the city as the several hundred years’ old San Jose Church, also known for its Spanish name, Iglesia de San José de Placer.

Located in what was Plaza Alfonso XII, now Plaza Libertad, the San Jose Church makes for an essential part of both the local Spaniards and high-class Ilonggos alike which subsequently gave it its popularity. Adding to the place of worship’s fame was then Iloilo’s transformation as an ayuntamiento, essentially the Spanish counterpart for a “city.”

San Jose Church Iloilo | Schedule of Masses

A Brief History of San Jose Church, Iloilo

The first church in Iloilo, whose name back when was Punta, was erected by the Jesuits in 1607, primarily as a support to the military in the area. A decade later, specifically on April 29, 1617, the Augustinians came and established a house of the order they named “San Jose.”

By 1873, the church of San Jose went through a renovation, essentially bolstering on what the Jesuits had already built, and is the same church being seen to this day. In line with the church’s needed overhaul, a nearby convent was also established.

When most churches are displaying signs of age due to neglect, San Jose Church hardly looks like a church built in 1607 for its relatively cared for appearance, maintained by having new coating here and then.

To this day, the San Jose Church remains one of the few parishes under the oversight of the Augustinian order.

San Jose Church Iloilo | Schedule of Masses

Architectural Design of San Jose Church, Iloilo

Considered as rather simplistic while still quite ornate from within, the San Jose Church adheres to the Renaissance design, fused with Hellenic elements. In support of the central nave are an arcade of Corinthian pillars. The church overall is aimed to mimic the Latin Cross, only having a dome at the core.

Inhabiting also a flair of Gothic elements for added aesthetics, this is clearly visible at the altar.

San Jose Church Iloilo | Schedule of Masses

Most-valued Possessions

Set within the confines of the San Jose Church lies a historical treasure dating as far back as 1616. At the time when the country struggles at the presence of the Dutch, then commander-in-chief of the Visayas, Diego Quinones, fell into a hole where he found a box that contains an effigy.

The image was later revealed to be a statue of Mary with the infant Jesus named as the Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (or Nuestra Senora del Rosario, in Spanish). The veneration to the image subsequently gave birth to a brotherhood dedicated to the effigy of the Virgin.

Another valued treasure of the church is the mimic copy of the original Santo Nino, bestowed to the church in 1968 which, a year later, led to its consequent devotion or what is the annual celebration in Iloilo called the “Dinagyang Festival.”

San Jose Church, Iloilo Schedule of Masses

Sunday

Morning Schedules: 05:30 AM – 06:30 AM (Hiligaynon) | 07:00 AM – 08:00 AM (English) | 08:30 AM – 09:30 AM (English) | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (English)

Afternoon Schedules: 02:30 PM – 03:30 PM (Hiligaynon) |04:00 PM – 05:00 PM (English) | 05:30 PM – 06:30 PM (English) | 07:00 PM – 08:00 PM (Hiligaynon)