Location Baras, Rizal Completed 1686 Groundbreaking 1682 | Denomination Roman Catholic Opened 1686 | |
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Similar Santa Ursula Parish Ch, St Jerome Parish Church, Nuestra Señora de la Annun, Tanay Church, St John the Baptist Church | ||
St. Joseph Church (also known as Baras Church) is a Roman Catholic church located in Baras, Rizal, Philippines.
Contents
History
The first church was built in 1595 by Franciscan missionaries who established a parish at the town's old site in what is now Boso-Boso in Antipolo, with St. James as its patron. The town and its church was transferred in 1636 to a site called Ibayo to escape the hostilities of the Aeta inhabitants in the area who burned the town and the church in 1635. The second site was located one and one-half leagues (about 7.24 kilometers) southeast of the first site. The church was dedicated to Christ the Savior but it also was affected by hostilities, this time when Chinese rebels in 1639 burned the church as well as other churches in neighboring towns.
The town was moved to its present site in 1682. On the same year, construction began on the present church. It was completed in 1686, with the church now dedicated to St. Joseph as its patron. Renovations to the structure have been done in the 1960s and 2000s.
Architecture
Built in a mixture of fortress-style and barn-style Baroque architecture, the church is notable for its dark, simple, and sparse qualities that are typical of Franciscan mission churches built during the 16th century. Its simple facade is given a decorative touch mainly through the stream of balustrade trimming its triangular pediment, as well as the chequerboard pattern of brick and stone on the pediment’s upper portion, which indicates an addition to the original and much lower stone pediment.
The interiors revealed the exposed wooden trusses that support the church's roofing, lacking a ceiling that is usually seen in churches. The structure has not been plastered, exposing the adobe bricks on which the church was made.