Exploring the Church of Tumauini

TUMAUINI, PROVINCE OF ISABELA

28 December 2015

I had been travelling to various places to see old churches, buildings and monuments. 

I could not deny that when it comes to Heritage, there are two places that I love the most and kept on visiting - the Ilocos Provinces (Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur), home to more than a dozen of old churches, monuments and buildings.

Since then, I never had the chance to see what my home province Isabela has to offer as far as Heritage is concerned.

While I was browsing the internet I noticed from another blog site an old church in the town of Tumauini in Isabela. I noted some unique features of the church such as - the material used to build the church (red brick) and the cylindrical bell tower.

Since then, I planned to visit Tumauini to explore the old church.

I decided to travel to Tumauini early morning on the 28th of December 2015 during my Christmas break to finally see the church first hand.

From my hometown in Echague, Tumauini is approximately 93 kilometers away going further north. I took a bus bound for Tuguegarao at 0745H.

According to historians, the first church made of nipa and other light materials was built by the Dominican priest Francisco Nuñez in 1707, and dedicated to Saint Matthias. Tumauini became an independent parish from Cabagan in 1751. 

The current church was built under the auspices of another Dominican, Domingo Forto, in 1784 and later continued by the priest Antonio Herrera in 1788. In constructing the church, Forto hired artisans from as far south as Pampanga. It was completed in 1805.

The church was damaged during the Second World War; a faithful reconstruction program followed, with undamaged parts of the church building retained.

Travel time from my hometown Echague to Tumauini is approximately an hour and forty five minutes. 

The church is located near the Pan-Philippine Highway at the town center. I reached the town of Tumauini at 0905H and then walked towards the church.

From the highway, I easily spotted the church with its towering belfry.

As I approached the church, I immediately noticed the cylindrical bell tower painted with white color and the contrasting church facade made of red bricks.

According to Wikipedia, The San Matias Parish Church (Spanish: Iglesia Parroquia de San Matías), commonly known as Tumauini Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Tumauini, Isabela, Philippines within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ilagan.

The church, known for its brick Baroque-style architecture, was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines. Together with the churches of Boljoon, Guiuan, Loboc and Lazi, the Tumauini Church has been considered for the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2006 under the collective group of Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Extension).

When I arrived at the church, there was a wedding and the plaza was full of vehicles. 

As the wedding was just about to start, I immediately proceeded inside the church to see the interior and took few shots. One thing that I always looked for inside an old church is the pulpit. In the case of the church of Tumauini, the pulpit might had been destroyed previously as it was no longer inside the church.

I have not seen any old photo of the interior of the church taken before the WWII though and so I was assuming that there used to be a pulpit inside.

There are two chapels at both sides of the church and attached to the church.

To access the bell tower, one has to climb up the circular stairway made of iron and then pass-through a narrow concrete bridge that connects the church to the bell tower.

 

I'm not also sure of this is the original entrance of the bell tower as most of the bell towers that I had seen has the entrance at the bell tower itself.

 

I did not attempt to climb the bell tower anymore as it was locked at that time.

As the wedding ceremony started, I stepped out of the church and explored the exterior. Two distinct architectural features visible are the red bricks on the church facade with intricate design (very detailed) and the cylindrical bell tower. The historical marker also specified the uniqueness of the cylindrical bell tower (the only of its kind in the Philippines).

 

I was impressed at the details of the red brick design - the red color stands out in contrast to the white color of the bell tower.

 

 

I waited for the vehicles to vacate the plaza as the wedding ended to have a good shot of the church facade. I left the church for a while and walked towards the town center for an early lunch. I landed at a newly built SaveMore market as there was no food court yet at that time.

At 1100H, I walked back to church and by then the plaza was empty and there I marveled at the grandeur of the church facade.

 

 

I also had a chance of exploring the interior even longer as the church was empty already.

 

I loved the detailed design of the red bricks at the facade and interior of the church.

While exploring the church, I noted three things:

1. The need for restoration. Some of the bricks at the facade of the church had cracked exposing the inner wall component of the church.
2. Restoration following the original design/ornate of the original bricks.
3. Improvement of the Plaza on both cleanliness and orderliness.

I was able to spot easily the restored portion of the church with the plain wall in contrast to the highly-decorated red bricks (original wall). This is evident on both interior and exterior walls.

 

For me this is important to be considered by the church administrators knowing that the church was listed as part of the tentative list of additional churches to be included as UNESCO World Heritage Site under Baroque Churches of the Philippines.

 

I enjoyed exploring the Tumauini Church. I was impressed at the details of the red bricks design and the cylindrical bell tower.

I left Tumauini at 1159H.

DIOS TI AGNGINA, TUMAUINI!

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