San Luis Gonzaga Parish Church

San Luis Church
San Luis Gonzaga Parish Church
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Parish Church
Parokya nang San Luis Gonzaga (Kapampangan) Iglesia Parroquial de San Luis Gonzaga (Spanish)
Church façade in 2025
San Luis Church Location in Luzon Show map of Luzon San Luis Church Location in the Philippines Show map of Philippines
15°02′21″N120°47′25″E / 15.039278°N 120.7902655°E / 15.039278; 120.7902655
Location	Brgy. Sta Cruz Poblacion, San Luis, Pampanga
Country	Philippines
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	1734
Founder	Fr. Ambrosio de San Agustin O.S.A.
Dedication	Saint Aloysius Gonzaga
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church building
Style	Baroque; Renaissance; Partido Baroque
Completed	1883
Specifications
Length	56 metres (184 ft)
Width	13 metres (43 ft)
Height	11 metres (36 ft)
Materials	Stone, mortar, sand, brick, wood
Administration
Province	Pampanga
Archdiocese	San Fernando
Clergy
Archbishop	Florentino Lavarias
Priest	Rev. Fr. Robert Feliciano

San Luis Gonzaga Parish Church, commonly known as San Luis Church, is a 19th-century Baroque Roman Catholic church located at Brgy. Sta. Cruz Poblacion, San Luis, Pampanga, Philippines. The parish church, dedicated to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, is under the Archdiocese of San Fernando.

History

Town history

San Luis was formerly referred to as San Nicolas de Cabagsac after its former vicar, Father Nicolas de Orduño. The meaning of cabagsa is a "place where plenty of fruit bats are caught". The Church was founded by Augustinian missionaries in 1742. Father Ambrosio de San Agustin was assigned as its first priest on April 25, 1744. ^{[1] [2]}

Church history

Records do not tell of the exact date of the construction of the present-day church although it was stated that Father Isidro Bernardo restored the said church structure in 1883. Father Francisco Diaz, then, enlarged the convent in 1877. ^[1]

Architecture

Church interior in 2025

The church facade is predominantly Baroque in style with the roughness and heaviness of its looks although some hints of Renaissance style can be found on the details of its twin belfries. The recessed main portal showcases a relief of the papal symbol and is flanked by two heavily-ornamented saints' niches. Stone balusters decorate the single window on the facade, the blind windows flanking it and the base of the pediment. Dominating the facade are columns capped with Ionic capitals and scroll-like volutes on the pediment. ^[1]

Gallery

• 
  Detail of the facade
• 
  Church altar and reredos
• 
  Dome interior
• 
  Santo Entierro
• 
  Church main portal

References

1. Galende, Pedro G. (1996). Angels in Stone: Architecture of Augustinian Churches in the Philippines (2nd ed.). Manila, Philippines: San Agustin Museum. pp. 158–159. ISBN   9719157100.
2. "History of San Luis". Official Website of the Municipality of San Luis. Retrieved April 14, 2015.

External links

• Media related to Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Church (San Luis, Pampanga) at Wikimedia Commons
• San Luis Gonzaga Parish Church on Facebook