Architectural built heritage, Oldest Augustinian Church in Boljoon,Cebu

One of my bucket list is to visit historical churches and places in Cebu and hopefully I can visit more places outside Cebu. Patrocinio De Maria Parish Church, Boljoon, Cebu Philippines is an Augustinian colonial church that were introduced during the Spanish era by the Augustinian in the province of Cebu. It is locally known as Boljoon Church and its one of the highlight place in Boljoon town.
It is considered as one of the oldest churches next to Sto. Nino church in Cebu City. It was declared as one of the National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines in 2001 because of its realistic structures well-preserved historical valuables and architectural value.

“The Patrocinio de Maria Church is a church-convent complex on a parcel of land bounded by A. Sevallo Street on the north, Washington Street on the west, Gomez Street on the south, and Natalio Bacalso Avenue on the east. The church-convent complex is oriented with its nave in east-west axis. The complex includes remains of fortified walls, a cemetery, and a blockhouse. The north churchyard that used to be the cemetery has an arched gate built of cut coral stones capped with finials and carved relief of human skeleton. The 18th century watchtower converted as the church belfry is on the north of the façade or the epistle side of the church. South of the church is the adjoining two-storey convent with a roof that still retains the original tejas or clay tiles”. See link for reference https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/2021/11/11/the-patrocinio-de-maria-church-in-boljoon-cebu/

Up until now the church is still in good phase because of its extreme maintenance in maintaining and preserving its original structure.

For those who wants to visit Boljoon Church there are various ways to get there. Either by bus, by taxi or by own vehicle.

If you will be traveling by bus, there are a lot of buses in South Bus Terminal. Its not that hard to find a bus going there, because you just need to find a bus that passes to Santander or Oslob. You just always need to remember that you need to inform the driver or conductor that you are headed to Boljoon Church and they will just drop you to your exact location. It usually takes more or less 3 hours from Cebu City.

If you will be traveling by taxi, its more easier because you will just going to have a conversation with the taxi driver and inform them your exact location which is Boljoon church.

If you will be traveling using your own or private vehicle, it will be more convenient since you can freely manage your time and the speed time of your travel going to Boljoon. You can freely used any location maps for you to better know where you are passing.

The good thing about this historical church is that its just along the road, so its more easier for the traveler or commuter to go there in any means of transport. Across the church is also a best place for you to take pictures and relax because you can see the ocean view and a small park with chairs where you can rest for awhile and watch until the sun sets.

Why I became interested in visiting Boljoon church? Because its not just a church but it has a museum inside! The reason why I love it because I’m a person who truly love going to different art gallery and museums most especially if its historical. Because of its nice ambiance you will feel relaxed and the time travel is worth waiting for. Inside the Boljoon Museum you can see all the things that the parish priest used before many years ago, like their suits, their cabinets, the tables and the things that priest used during the mass which they call sacred vessels, these are the chalice, patens and ciborium. One of the interesting things in there is the books that were used decades ago, it was written there all the people who where baptized in the church, those people who are dead, the marriage certificates that where written in ancient pen and ink and what’s more exciting is that the cover of the book is the skin of the pig and carabao. I was just so amazed that its still well-preserved up until now. The letters are still clear and readable and it was written in Latin. You can also see the bones of the people that were buried under the church before they renovate its surroundings. They said that its was just a small village with few people living in it. They do not use a coffin, they just used a piece of blanket for their dead family members and they only buried it at the back of their houses. They are still searching for the right answer if the villagers living in there were civilized or had a trading system to Chinese people. Because the researchers that were assigned in Boljoon church, they digged and found lots of ceramics things like pots and plates that has a well painted spots. They also found different ancient jewelries that where considered only rich families and individuals can wear that. Just a little reminder that going inside the Boljoon museum you are not allowed to take pictures, its part of their way to maintain and preserved the historical things. So all you have to do is observed and listen to the tour guide that will guide and explain everything in details in each thing that you can see inside the Museum.

Hope you enjoy my little yet meaningful travel journey in Boljoon, Cebu Philippines!
Your next step is to come and visit the place! 😊