Imus Cathedral

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar Diocesan Shrine, commonly known as the Imus Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral church in the city of Imus, in the province of Cavite, Philippines. The city, which is the capital of the province, also serves as the seat of the bishop of the Diocese of Imus, the diocese that has jurisdiction over the entire Civil Province of Cavite. Enshrined inside the cathedral is the original, miraculous and canonically crowned image of Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Imus (Our Lady of the Pillar). The said title of the Blessed Virgin Mary serves as the titular patroness of the Diocese of Imus, Province of Cavite, as implied by then pope, now a saint, John XXIII. Saint John the Baptist is also considered the secondary patron saint of the city. The current parish priest and rector of the cathedral is Rev. Msgr. George Morales, vicar general of the diocese. The church itself features the longest Holy Week procession in the province of Cavite, with at least 70 floats and the country's 5th longest overall (the other four being the St Augustine Parish, Baliuag, and San Isidro Labrador, Pulilan, both located in the province of Bulacan, with at least 110 floats per parish, The Our Lady Of the Abandoned in Marikina City, with 82 floats, and The Our Lady of Aranzazu San Mateo, Rizal with 76 floats). Currently, the cathedral is being elevated into Cathedral Shrine.[4]

Imus Cathedral
Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral Diocesan Shrine Parish Catedral de Nuestra Señora del Pilar
Imus Cathedral Location in the Philippines
14°25′47″N 120°56′10″E
Location	Imus, Cavite
Country	Philippines
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Churchmanship	Roman Rite
Website	imusdiocese.net
History
Former name(s)	Imus Parish Church, Imus Catholic Church
Status	Cathedral Parish Diocesan Shrine
Founded	1795[1]
Dedication	Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Imus and Saint John the Baptist[1]
Other dedication	November 25, 1961
Past bishop(s)	Artemio Casas, D.D. Felix Perez, D.D. Manuel C. Sobreviñas, D.D. Cardinal Luís Antonio Tagle, D.D., S.Th.D.
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Marked Structure (of Historical Significance) by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines
Designated	November 13, 2006
Architect(s)	Nicolas Becerra
Architectural type	Church
Style	Earthquake Baroque
Groundbreaking	1823[1]
Completed	1853
Specifications
Length	200 ft (61 m)
Width	130 ft (40 m)
Nave width	90 ft (27 m)
Height	100 ft (30 m) est.
Number of domes	None
Number of spires	One
Materials	Bricks and tuff stone
Administration
Parish	Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral Parish
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Manila
Diocese	Diocese of Imus
Province	Manila
Clergy
Archbishop	Sede Vacante
Bishop(s)	Most Rev. Reynaldo G. Evangelista, OFS, D.D.[2]
Rector	Very Rev. Monsignor George A. Morales, V.G.
Assistant priest(s)	Fr. Michael Ceazar C. Dela Cruz, Fr. Ansley D. Falame
Laity
Reader(s)	Lectors and Commentators Guild
Youth ministry coordinator	Parish Youth Ministry
Music group(s)	Cathedral Choir of Our Lady of the Pillar[3] Imusicapella
Servers' guild	Ministry of Altar Servers

History

Establishment

In 1616, the Augustinian Recollects arrived in Imus and established a convent. The parish of Imus started as a chapel-of-ease in Brgy. Toclong, a sub-parish (visita) of Cavite Viejo (now Kawit, Cavite). Recollect Father Pedro de San Buenaventura petitioned the government to convert Imus into an independent municipality in 1774. Imus, though, did not become a separate town and parish until October 3, 1795.[5] Its poblacion (town center) and a provisional church was first established in an area currently known as Brgy. Bayan Luma (Tagalog for 'Old Town'). The parish was under the order of the Augustinian Recollects with Francisco de Santiago, O.A.R., its first assigned priest.[1]

Construction of the present church

During the leadership of Fr. Nicolas Becerra, who served from 1821 to 1840, he advocated the move of the town center to Brgy. Balangon, its present location. The construction of the parish church of Imus on the new location was started in 1823 using forced labor. The structure was made from stone and bricks.[1] Its facade was patterned after the fifth Manila Cathedral by Fr. Juan de Uguccioni, which existed from 1760 to 1852.[6]

The façade of Imus Cathedral was probably designed after the fifth incarnation of the Manila Cathedral (above) by Uguccioni.

Hacienda de San Juan de Imus

The early fathers were preoccupied with not just religious matters but also of economic concerns. The friars gradually bought parcels of land while some of these lands were donated by rich families. The Recollects were the first ones to buy parcels of land beginning in 1666 and their haciendas came to being in 1812. These areas, comprising the Hacienda de San Juan de Imus or the Hacienda de Imus (Imus Estate), grew to include the whole towns of Imus, Dasmariñas, and Brgy. Binakayan in Kawit. The estate house of the hacienda, or the house of the friars, was located along Imus River (at the present day Cuartel) at the southern end of the Bridge of Isabel II, a Spanish bridge built by the priest-engineers of the Recollects.[7] Citizens of Imus were required to pay rent to live and tilled the lands of Imus.

Secularization

The Hacienda de Imus was sold by the Recollect Corporation on March 31, 1894 to the Fomento de la Agricultura de Filipinas (Promotion of Agriculture in the Philippines), a corporation in Madrid, for 4,000,000 pesetas. It was later sold to the British Manila Estates Company, which eventually sold it to the U.S. controlled Philippine government for $1,045,000 in U.S. currency for distribution to the Filipinos, to win their favor, and to pacify the revolutionaries.[7][8] The Church of Imus became secular in 1897.[1]

Activities

Ministries

• Parish Youth Ministry
• Ministry of Altar Servers
• Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
• Lay Ministers of the Word
• Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Music Ministry
  • includes: Tinig ng Katedral (est. 1980), Himig Batingaw (est. 1978), etc.
• Ministry of Cantors

Radio Station

89.5 FM frequency is used by the Parish to broadcast Parish activities such as the recitation of the Rosary for the traditional Good Friday procession. Daily Mass, Vigil and Sunday Masses, as well as Masses for holy days of obligation celebrated in the Cathedral are also transmitted live through the same frequency.

Diocese of Imus

By virtue of the Apostolic Constitution Christi fidelium promulgated by Pope John XXIII on November 25, 1961, Cavite was created a separate bishopric from Manila after more than three hundred years. On April 29, 1962, the Diocese of Imus was formally erected and established. The then Parish church of Imus was chosen to become the cathedral of the diocese, the seat of the bishop of Cavite, with the Virgin Mary under her title Our Lady of the Pillar, its titular patroness. The first leader of the diocese and bishop of Cavite is Msgr. Artemio Casas, originally from Meycauayan, Bulacan.[7]

Bishop of Imus

The current bishop of Imus is the Most Rev. Reynaldo G. Evangelista, O.F.S., D.D., previously bishop of the Diocese of Boac and a native of Batangas, who was appointed by Pope Francis on April 8, 2013, his first pontifical appointment in the Philippines. He replaced Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle (whose paternal ancestry is from Imus) after his installation as the Archbishop of Manila in December 12, 2011. Bishop Evangelista was installed as the fifth bishop of Imus on June 5, 2013.[2]

The Historical marker of the Cathedral placed by the National Historical Institute in 2006.

Historical marker

The cathedral was declared a structure of historical significance with the placing of a historical marker by then National Historical Institute of the Philippines on November 13, 2006.

The image of Our Lady of the Pillar of Imus

Coronation of the patroness of the Diocese of Imus

The image of the patroness of the Imus Cathedral, Our Lady of the Pillar of Imus, was canonically crowned on December 3, 2012 by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. It was originally scheduled for November 26 but the elevation of Archbishop Tagle into a Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI necessitated the move.[9]

Vicariate of Our Lady of the Pillar

Vicariate of Our Lady of the Pillar (City of Imus) Vicar Forane: Rev Fr. Benjamin Francisco

Parishes

• Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish – Bucandala
• Mary Mother of God Parish – Malagasang II
• Our Lady of Fatima Parish – Anabu I
• Our Lady of Fatima Parish – Anabu II
• Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral-Parish Diocesan Shrine – Poblacion (City Proper)
• St. James the Greater (Apostol Santiagong Banal) Parish – Buhay na Tubig
• St. Martha Parish – Greengate, Malagasang II

Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral Parish

Chapels

• Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd Chapel (Palico)
• Our Lady of the Pillar Chapel (Bayan Luma)
• St. Peregrine Chapel (Toclong)
• San Roque Chapel (Pag-asa)
• San Juan Bautista Chapel (Tanzang Luma)
• Our Lady of Fatima Chapel (Villa Leticia)
• Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (Southern City Subdivision)
• San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel (Narra Homes Subdivision)

References

1. "Katedral ng Imus". National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines. Retrieved on 2012-05-03.
2. (2013-04-08). "Pontifical Acts – 8 April". The Vatican Today. Retrieved on 2013-06-11.
3. "THE CATHEDRAL > The Cathedral Choir". Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral Choir. Retrieved on 2013-05-06.
4. Declaration as Diocesan Shrine OLP Cathedral, retrieved 2020-12-03
5. "City of Imus – Brief History" Archived 2013-06-08 at the Wayback Machine. Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cavite. Retrieved on 2013-05-06.
6. "The Fifth Cathedral, 1760 – 1852". Manila Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica. Retrieved on 2013-05-06.
7. Bureau of Insular Affairs, War Dept. (1905). "History of the Diocese of Imus". Our Lady of the Pillar Cathedral Choir. Retrieved on 2013-05-06.
8. "Fifth Annual Report of the Philippine Commission, 1904, Part 1 of 3", pp. 782–783. Government Printing Office, Washington.
9. The Servants and Handmaids of Our Lady of the Pillar/Discuss. "100 days Countdown for the Canonical Coronation of Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Imus". Flickr.com. Retrieved on 2013-05-17.

External links

• Diocese of Imus videos
• Cavite historical sites