Everything you need to know about Baclaran Church.
When I was a kid, my grandparents used to bring me to this church almost every Sunday before we go shopping to street tiangge of Baclaran.
About Baclaran Church
The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (Filipino: Pambansáng Dambana ng Iná ng Laging Saklolo), also known as the Redemptorist Church and colloquially as Baclaran Church, is a prominent national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Parañaque City of Metro Manila, Philippines.
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| Inside Baclaran Church |
The church enshrines the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and is one of the largest Marian churches in the Philippines. Devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help is popular amongst Filipino Catholics, who flood the church on Wednesdays to attend Mass and pray the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help.
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In Manila, Wednesdays are popularly called "Baclaran Day" due to congested roads near the shrine.
The original icon enshrined above the main altar came from Germany before priests of the Redemptorist Order brought it to what was then the United States territory of the Philippine Islands in 1906.
Since the Feast of the Immaculate Conception 1958, the shrine has been authorized by the Holy See to remain open 24 hours a day throughout the entire year. The shrine itself was blessed by Pope John Paul II during his first Apostolic Visit to Metro Manila in 1981.
The wider shrine complex also serves as the headquarters of the Manila Vice Province of Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, while the Cebu Province of the Redemptorists is headquartered in Cebu. The shrine's current rector is the Rev. Fr. Rico John Bilangel, C.Ss.R. The shrine celebrates its annual feast day on June 27, the liturgical feast day of the icon.
Baclaran Church in Details
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| Baclaran Church |
Names: National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro (Spanish), Redemptorist Church, Iglesia Redentorista, Pambansáng Dambana ng Iná ng Laging Saklolo (Tagalog)
Location: Parañaque, Metro Manila
Country: Philippines
Denomination: Catholic
Religious institute: Redemptorists
Website: baclaranchurch.org
History Status: National Shrine
Dedication: Our Mother of Perpetual Help
Dedicated: December 5, 1958
Architect: César Homero R. Concio, Sr.
Style: Modern Romanesque
Groundbreaking: January 11, 1953
Completed: December 5, 1958
Capacity: 2,000 sitting, 9,000 standing
Length: 350 feet (110 m)
Width: 118 feet (36 m)
Height: 71 feet (22 m)
Floor area: 54,564 square feet (5,069.2 m2)
Number of spires: 1
Materials: Adobe stones, steel, cement
Bells: 24
Province: Manila
Diocese: Parañaque
Baclaran Church History
According to the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, the Shrine and its attached convent were initially dedicated to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux; a grotto statue of the saint on the shrine grounds memorialises her patronage.
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| Our Lady of Perpetual Help |
The first Redemptorists came to the Philippines in 1906 and set up a community at Opon, Cebu. Irish and Australian Redemptorists came to Manila in the 1900s. The Redemptorist community first 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. Rev. Fr. Denis Grogan, C.Ss.R., the builder, was dedicated to Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and made her patroness of the new church and parish house. However, the Ynchaustí Family, long-time supporters and friends, donated a high altar on the condition that it enshrine the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. When the church opened, the shrine became very popular.
The Redemptorist priests replaced the Mother of Perpetual Help icon with a larger version to accommodate the growing number of devotees.
During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during the Second World War, invading Imperial Japanese troops overran the church, and the priests dispersed. Australian and New Zealander priests were interred in the concentration camp at University of the Philippines – Los Baños.
The icon was removed from the church and given to a family for safekeeping; their home was later burned and ransacked towards the end of the Occupation.
In the early 1970s, Cardinal-Archbishop of Kraków Karol Wojtyła, said Mass in the Shrine during a brief, unofficial stopover in Manila. In 1981, Wojtyła, as Pope John Paul II, returned to the Shrine as part of his first Apostolic Visit.
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| Exterior or Baclaran Church |
The Shrine was notably the refuge of several computer engineers from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) during the controversial 1986 Snap Elections. Thirty-five technicians who were operating the COMELEC's electronic quick count staged a walkout from their headquarters at the Philippine International Convention Center to protest alleged electoral fraud by supporters of dictator President Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos's wife, Imelda, was a benefactress of the Shrine and devotee, having often brought her children there to perform the Visita Iglesia during Holy Week.
ATTRACTIONS TO SEE IN MANILA
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| Interior design |
In 2015, a belfry was built as part of the Shrine's redevelopment plan. The structure, which houses a 24-bell carillon cast from the world-famous foundry Grassmayr, is far from the church itself. It was blessed on September 8 that same year by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, then-Archbishop of Manila. It was the first time the Shrine had a bell tower since it was built.
The carillon bells are automatically programmed to ring 15 minutes before every Mass or Novena service. Liturgies and other activities are simulcast on TV Maria from the Shrine every first Wednesday of every month.
On September 5, 2019, the original Icon was brought down from the altar for restoration and was returned upon its completion on November 27 of the same year.
Organization
The Shrine is under the territory of Santa Rita de Cascia Parish, located a few blocks away from the Redemptorist Church. Both are part of the Vicariate of Santa Rita de Cascia in the Diocese of Parañaque. The Shrine is situated along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Parañaque, Metro Manila. It is primarily financed by donations and Mass intention donations from Filipinos in the country as well as Overseas Filipinos, and in turn funds charitable social programs for the poor.
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| Candle stand in Baclaran Church |
When the early Redemptorists settled at Baclaran, they insisted that the church besides their convent will not become a parish but a mission station in order to free them from sacramental work, except for the Eucharist and Penance. Redemptorists chose this arrangement to concentrate on fostering devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, the administering of Sacrament of Penance, and mission work, particularly with the poor in Manila and wider Tagalog-speaking region.
Canon Law of the Catholic Church defines a shrine as “a church or other sacred place which, with the approval of the local Ordinary, is by reason of special devotion frequented by the faithful as pilgrims (Can. 1230). Canon Law explains the implications of being a shrine: “As shrines the means of salvation are to be more abundantly made available to the faithful: by sedulous proclamation of the word of God, by suitable encouragement of liturgical life, especially by the celebration of the Eucharist and penance, and by the fostering of approved forms of popular devotion” (Can 1234 §1). “In shrines or in places adjacent to them, votive offerings of popular art and devotion are to be displayed and carefully safeguarded” (Can 1234 §2).
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| Interior of Baclaran Church in 2022 |
ACTIVITIES AND TOURS IN MANILA
How to Get to Baclaran Church
Baclaran Church is located in the heart of Brgy. Baclaran in Parañaque City and accessible via two of the major roads in Metro Manila - Roxas Blvd. and the end road of Taft Ave.
Here are some of the ways you can go to Baclaran Church by commuting:
By Train
Take a ride from any point of LRT station going to Baclaran Station. From then, you can walk until you get to the Baclaran church.
By Bus
Take a bus ride from Claro M. Recto Ave/Quezon Boulevard Intersection going to Roxas Boulevard/Redemptionist Road Intersection. From then, you can walk until you get to the Baclaran church.
By Taxi or GrabCar
Take a taxi or book a GrabCar from any point of Metro Manila and nearby cities going to Baclaran Church.
By Private Car
If you are driving with your own vehicle, you can follow directions from Waze or Google Maps:
Baclaran Church
Address: Redemptorist Road, Baclaran, Parañaque, Metro Manila
Phone Number: (02) 8832 1150
Facebook: Baclaran Church
Instagram: @baclaranchurch
Twitter: @Baclaranchurch
YouTube: @BaclaranChurchRedemptorist
Baclaran Church Mass Schedule
Sunday Morning Masses
- 6:30AM - Tagalog
- 8:00AM - Tagalog - Mass for the Elderly
- 9:30AM - English
- 11:00AM - English
Sunday Afternoon and Evening Masses
- 12:30PM - Tagalog
- 1:30PM - Children’s Catechesis
- 2:30PM - Tagalog - Children’s Mass
- 4:00PM - Tagalog
- 5:30PM - English
- 7:00PM - English
Wednesday Morning Novena & Masses
- 5:30AM Novena & Mass - Tagalog
- 7:00AM Novena/Benediction - Tagalog
- 7:45AM Novena & Mass - English
- 9:15AM Novena/Benediction - Tagalog
- 10:00AM Novena/Benediction - English
- 10:45AM Novena & Mass - Tagalog
Wednesday Afternoon and Evening Novena & Masses
- 1:30PM Novena & Mass - Tagalog
- 3:00PM Novena/Benediction - Tagalog
- 4:00PM Novena/Benediction - English
- 4:45PM Novena & Mass - English
- 6:00PM Novena/Benediction - Tagalog
- 6:45PM Novena/Benediction - English
- 7:30PM Novena/Benediction - English
Baclaran News and Updates
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