What should we know?
The Calbayog Cathedral is a national heritage church, formally known as the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and Parish of Our Lady’s Nativity. The cathedral is also an ecclesiastical seat of the Diocese of Calbayog located in the Calbayog city, Samar, Philippines. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Palo.
It is also known as the mother of dioceses in Eastern Visayas and the first cathedral erected in Leyte and Samar.
History
Calbayog began as a settlement called Hibatang. The Jesuit missionaries arrived in Hibatang in 1599 after reaching Samar in 1596 and established a mission station as a visita of Capul, Northern Samar.
The settlement was moved away from the coast and up to the river to avoid Moro raids and due to its flood it was moved again by the banks of the Calbayog River along the Sabang-Cahumpang. In 1737, the settlement was named after the river and it was known as Calbayog thereafter.
During the first decade of the 20th century, the church underwent improvements. A number of interiors were imported from Europe ( such as the pulpit. Chandeliers, and a large clock installed in the facade) and painted by Cirilo Buenaventura and Señor Respall.
In the colonial era, Leyte and Samar consisted of one province and their churches were under the Diocese of Cebu. In 1768, each was made into a province of Tacloban as the Capital of Leyte and Catbalogan that of Samar. The Diocese of Calbayog was erected by Pope Pius X on April 10, 1910 and its jurisdiction extended over the churches of Samar and Leyte. Bishop Pablo Singzon consecrated the church as Cathedral of the diocese and placed it under the advocation of Saints Peter and Paul in 1912.
The cathedral is a heritage church and a Level II historical marker installed by the National Historical Commissions of the Philippines.
Architecture
The cathedral is built in the shape of a cross. The Baroque-Romanesque cathedral has a brick in the entrance and stone interior in the upper level. Its facade is decorated sparsely by dentils and moldings. Its pediment is punctured with an oculus and contains the image of the Lady of Nativity flanked by the statues of Saints Paul and Peter; above is a quadrangular lantern.
The bell tower is erected separately from the church and rises up to five floors with a pyramidal roof. On top of the crossing is a dome pierced with arch openings and on the roof are dormer windows.
Celebrations
The feast day of Saints Peter and Paul is June 29, Our Lady of Nativity is on September 8.
Services
The parish is open from 8:30 AM to 12:00 NN and 2:30 to 4:30 PM every Tuesday to Saturday. On Saturday, it is open 8:30 AM to 12:00 NN only.
