St. Augustine Church, Paoay

Paoay, Ilocos Norte is home to one of the four Philippine churches inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Paoay Church or St. Augustine Church. Paoay is, I think, a 2-hour bus ride from Vigan and only ten minutes from Batac. To visit the church, one can try a mini-bus from Vigan going to Laoag but stop at the Paoay-Batac junction, then from there you can ask the locals for directions.

This was my first time to visit Paoay Church, although I had been to Paoay a couple of times. The church is located kilometers away from the Malacanang of the North and Fort Ilocandia, which we first visited. From afar, the church isn't that impressive, but when you get closer, you will appreciate the facade and the size of the church! Its facade is far more impressive than those of San Agustin and Sta. Maria Churches. Unfortunately the church was closed so we weren't able to get inside. So what we did was just buy some crafts near the church for Christmas gifts, which were much more cheaper.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION:

The particular charm and excitement of Paoay Catholic Church consists of its size and the colossal proportion of its buttresses. The strangest flower of Moorish architecture, it represents a triumph of adaptation in blending an enormously sophisticated style to the rugged realities of stuccoed bricks and coral blocks.


The Church facade is gabled. Similar to American churches, it is given a vertical stress by the vertical coat of arms of the tiers tending up to the finials. Rosettes, emblems and coat of arms adorn its upper parts. However, constant weathering has rendered these ornaments indistinct from a distance. The piers sport a rectangular mold. Bricks constitute the lower part of the facade, whereas coral blocks, the upper part.


Huge buttresses (earthquake Baroque), perhaps unmatched throughout the archipelago, give ballast to the massive walls of the church. All in all, they number 24 - eleven on each side, and two at the rear - each projecting five and half paces from the wall and with a two-pace thickness. Stairways of varying slopes are attached to both side walls. At the rear wall is the gable that stands in memory of one time stylized Chinese clouds. Rough measurements provide an idea of its enormous size. Lengthwise, the church (that is, from front door to rear wall) measures 103 paces with a width of 20 paces inside.


Towards the right frontal side of the church, dominating the skyline, stands in lonely detachment, the three story coral brick tower, crowned with a dome and exhibiting a steel bar portal at the first story.

Since the church was closed, I wasn't able to take photos of its interior. The Church takes pride in possessing a marble main altar and four side altars of classical Baroque influence. An improvised sacristy is at the side of the main altar for the old sacristy, which is at the rear of the altar, has been badly dilapidated by the forces of nature. Windows, currently of modern influence, enshrine stained glass. The nave is covered with tiles of varying sizes and styles. Attached to one of the huge columns is a steel pulpit of intricate ornate design, dating back to 1891.

(Ilocos Review, Volume 3, Numbers 1 & 2, January-December 1971, Churches in Ilokandia Ilocos Norte pp. 270-271)