Tags: Churches and Places of Worship, Historical Places
By Marjorie Gorospe
TANAY, RIZAL – A church that has existed more than 400 years is truly a treasure of this town. Not only that it is a place of worship for the Tanayans, but its walls have witnessed centuries of local history.
The church of San Ildefonso de Toledo is located at the center of the town, near the plaza as is usually the case in the provinces. It was built in 1606 as an independent parish of the Monte Tan-ay (now Tanay) and its first priest was Fray Pedro Talavera who also founded the mission of San Antonio in Pantay.
The town then transferred to San Antonio (the second site of Tanay) in 1620 and church was then initially made of wood and cogon grass for its roof.
But the Aetas then burned down the church – by raining it with flaming arrows – and only the very old image of the La Purisima Concepcion was saved. Based on this story, people believed that it was the reason why the Spanish forces were defeated by the natives and left the place in haste in 1872.
The image of the La Purisima Concepcion is also said to perform miracles.
During a clash between the Chinese and the Spanish government, the image was kept by the parishioners in the jungle but was accidentally found by three Chinese soldiers. It was said that the two soldiers threw spears on the image, which rebounded and struck the soldiers themselves. The remaining soldier was said to have committed suicide after witnessing the miracle.
The site where this took place is now called “Pinagbigtihan” and to honor that event, the San Ildefonso de Toledo parish not only celebrates the feast for its patron but also honors the Blessed Virgin Mary together with other saints namely Saint Joseph, San Pedro de Alcantara. Every January, the town holds its fiesta for three days in honor of these patron saints.
The San Ildefonso church was declared one of the five Jubilee Churches in the Diocese of Antipolo.
In 2001, it was also declared a “National Cultural Heritage” by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts along with 25 other churches in Philippines.
At present, the parish is open for all the devotees while a part of the church serves as school. The San Ildefonso College is also said to be one of the first in the country to accept women as students.
The church is open to visitors and mass is held daily at six o’clock in the morning. Blogger Alexander Calinawan was fortunate enough to have been given an impromptu tour by the church caretaker, who regaled him with stories about his job.
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