THE 225-year-old Sta. Ursula Parish Church in Binangonan, Rizal was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts on Sunday, March 2.
Also known as Binangonan Church, the site has preserved its original baroque structure with timber roof support, which the Diocese of Antipolo described as exhibiting a “high degree of integrity with minimal traces of modern-day intervention.”
“The complex of Sta. Ursula Parish Church is an essential center of community life and identity as a witness to important town events and a material link to the rich history of Binangonan,” the diocese said in its petition.
Its original 18th and 19th-century neo-classical retablos have also been preserved.
The side retablos feature four paintings of Mary Magdalene, the Virgin of Sorrows, St. John the Evangelist, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus on iron sheets made by 19th-century Angono painter Juan Senson.
The predellas, or altar steps, include carved images of saints and elements believed to have been made by Chinese artists or artists who used Chinese art styles.
NCCA Chair Victorino Mapa lauded the faith and artistry of the parishioners of Binangonan that helped maintain the church structure.
“[Ang simbahan ay] nagpapakita ng lalim ng pananampalataya ng mga taga Binangonan, nagpapamalas kung paano naghahalo-halo at nagkaroon ng interaksyon ang mga tradisyon ng sining mula sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng daigdig,” he said.
“Nagpapamalas [din] ng pagiging malikhain ng mga Pilipino at ng kanilang kakayahan sa inobasyon at nagpapakita ng epekto ng pagbabago ng kalikasan sa kultura at sining,” he added.
Built between 1792 and 1800, the Binangonan Church is one of the few churches that have all been administered by the Franciscans, Jesuits, and Augustinians.
It joins the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph in Baras and St. Jerome Parish Church in Morong as the National Cultural Treasures in Rizal.
It is also one of the pilgrim churches in the Philippines this Jubilee Year.
Antipolo Bishop Ruperto Santos presided over the Mass.
A National Cultural Treasure is “a unique cultural property found locally possessing outstanding historical, cultural, artistic, and/or scientific value, is highly significant and important to the country and nation, and has been officially declared as such by law or the pertinent cultural agency or agencies.”
