Location Bataan Denomination Roman Catholic Architectural style Baroque architecture Archbishop Florentino Lavarias | Country Philippines Founded 1667 Status Parish church | |
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Founder(s) Father Jose Campomares, OP Dedication Saint Michael the Arcangel Diocese Roman Catholic Diocese of Balanga Archdiocese Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando Materials Sand, Gravel, Cement, Concrete Similar Abucay Church, Balanga Cathedral, Roosevelt Protected Landscape, Mount Apo | ||
The San Miguel Arcangel Parish Church, commonly referred to as Orion Church, is a 19th-century, Baroque church located at Brgy. San Vicente, Orion, Bataan, Philippines. The parish church, dedicated to Saint Michael, the Archangel, is under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Balanga. A marker bearing the brief history of the structure has been installed in its façade by the National Historical Committee, precursor of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
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Parish and Architectural History
Orion was established by the Dominican Priests on April 30, 1667. The present-day 19th-century church was built by Father Jose Campomanes, OP after an earthquake in 1852 which destroyed the previous structure.
Exterior
The church façade is of barn-style Baroque, a style that has been described as typically found in most Spanish-era churches in the Philippines. It features side pillars capped by urn-like finials, pilasters that divide the façade into five segments and cornices that divide the expanse of the wall into two levels. The pediment is semi-arched and ends into two small volutes before tapering down to the sides. It is adorned by a framed saint’s niche flanked by two hexagonal windows. A concrete porte cochere has been added later into the structure. To the left of the church rises the four-level, slender belfry. The two uppermost levels are octagonal and are pierced with rectangular, circular and semicircular arched campanile windows.
Interior
The main altarpiece or retablo, which was done in the early 18th century, is done in Rococo style.