Immaculate Conception Parish Church (Concepcion)

The Immaculate Conception Parish Church, also referred to as Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepcion or Concepcion Church, is a late 19th-century, Baroque Roman Catholic church located at Brgy. San Nicolas Poblacion, Concepcion, Tarlac, Philippines. The parish church, under the aegis of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac.

Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepcion
Church facade in 2023
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepcion is located in Luzon
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepcion
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepcion
Location in Luzon
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepcion is located in Philippines
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepcion
Santuario de la Inmaculada Concepcion
Location in the Philippines
15°19′27″N 120°34′35″E / 15.324115°N 120.5762655°E / 15.324115; 120.5762655
LocationTarlac
CountryPhilippines
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
Former name(s)Immaculate Conception Parish Church
StatusParish church
DedicationOur Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Dedicated1866
Past bishop(s)Bishop Emeritus Florentino Ferrer Cinense, D.D., Ph.D.
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architectural typeChurch building
StyleNeo-Romanesque
Completed1893
Specifications
MaterialsBrick, mortar, gravel, cement, steel, concrete
Administration
ProvinceSan Fernando
ArchdioceseSan Fernando
DioceseTarlac
Clergy
Bishop(s)Most Rev. Fr. Enrique Macaraeg, D.D.
Priest in chargeRev. Fr. O'neal Sanchez
Assistant priest(s)Rev. Fr. Randy Minion Rev Fr. Ador Castroverde

Parish history edit

History suggests two origins for the town of Concepcion. First, Concepcion was already an established parish separate from its matrix in Magalang, Pampanga on August 9, 1866. The second story is that it was created in 1860 from the following barrios of Magalang: Matondo, Maycanalo, San martin, Bucsit, San Juan and Garlit.[1]

Architecture edit

 
Church interior in 2023

The stone and brick convent was said to have been erected by Father Guillermo Masnou in 1880 while the present-day church was built by Father Fernando Vasquez in 1893. Its facade was described as being identical to that of the pre-war church of Tarlac. It is predominantly Neo-Romanesque in design with the presence of the recessed arch on the central part of the facade (marred by the concrete porte cochere). The facade is bare of ornamentation save for several circular and semi-circular arched windows. Two, three-tiered, bell towers rise on both sides of the facades.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Galende, Pedro (1996). Angels in Stone: Architecture of Augustinian Churches in the Philippines (2nd ed.). Manila, Philippines: San Agustin Museum. p. 166. ISBN 9719157100.

External links edit