San Pedro Apostol Church (Apalit)

Updated on Oct 01, 2024

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Location Apalit, Pampanga Denomination Roman Catholic Architectural type Church building Archbishop Florentino Lavarias		Country Philippines Functional status Active Status Parish church

Archdiocese Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando Similar San Andres Apostol C, San Agustin Church, Santa Catalina de Alejandri, Betis Church, Santa Catalina Parish Ch

Apalit Church is a Neo-Renaissance-style church located at Apalit, in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. The additional construction of the two towers beside the church served as reinforcements to improve the structural integrity of the church. Also, the church houses bells manufactured by the Sunicos.

History

In 1597, Apalit Parish of Saint Peter was created after its separation from the Parish of Calumpit. Fr. Pedro de Vergara was the first parish priest of Apalit. A traditional fluvial parade known as Apung Iru or Libad Festival was initiated by Capitan del Pueblo Don Pedro Armayan Espiritu on June 28, 1844, in honor of St. Peter.

Fr. Juan Cabello

He began the construction of the church and convent in 1641 until 1645.

Fr. Simon de Alarcia

During his priorship from 1854 to 1860, he tried to build a three-nave church using stone and brick materials. However, records did not indicate if he was able to finish the church.

3 years later, it was destroyed by an 1863 earthquake.

Fr. Antonio Redondo

Following the initial plans of Don Ramon Hermosa, an assistant officer to the Minister of Public Works, he laid the foundations of the new church in January 1876.

The construction of the church was completed after 7 years, in year 1883. It was officially inaugurated on June 28–30, 1883.

Fr. Toribio Fanjul

The two towers were completed in 1896.

Msgr. Rustico G. Cuevas

In 1989, major renovations were conducted at the church.

Architectural features

Apalit Church measures 59 meters long and 14 meters wide. The facade resembles Neo-Renaissance Style with its plain, low segmental pediment and the symmetrical alignment of 2 flanking towers. The semi-circular main door with a circular window above is framed by receding semicircular arches in relief.

The ceiling art paintings, also known as trompe l'oeil were done by a native of Apalit, under the supervision of Caesare Alberoni, an Italian free-lance painter. One notable ceiling art paintings was located in the cupola of the Apalit Church, giving a rendition of the Apocalypse.

There are 6 bells located at the Apalit Church, 5 of which came from Fundicion de Hilario Sunico Jaboneros.

Below were the list of the bells with corresponding inscriptions:

Marker from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines

The marker of Church of Apalit was installed in 1939 at Apalit, Pampanga. It was installed by Philippines Historical Committee (now National Historical Commission of the Philippines).

References

San Pedro Apostol Church (Apalit) Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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