One of the overlooked sights in the city of pines, except of
course if one is a (devout) Christian, is the Our Lady of Atonement Church
or popularly known as Baguio Cathedral.
The church is located right at the center above the famous Session
Road through a 100-step stairs with a metal hand railings. But if you’re one of those who have a 60-year
old lungs like me, I was was always panting, stopping midway, climbing that long stairs from Session Road. The easier way would be to walk to the end of the Session road way past
the Porta Vaga Mall and turn left at the Jollibee on the corner and you’ll find
the entrance with just few steps ascending up to the façade of the church.
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| The 100 steps ascend to Baguio Cathedral. |
Apparently, the façade is painted in pink and light blue. The cathedral (similar to Puerto Princesa’s
Cathedral) is a reminiscent of medieval European architecture. Probably owing to the fact that the architect
and engineer who conceived the design is European (Belgian), Rev. Fr. Leo
Vendelmans with Fr. Adolph Cansse and two more brothers – Roman Catholic
missionaries of the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae from Scheut, Belgium.
With the help of twenty five Igorot carpenters, the first phase of
the church started construction in 1920 and was finished in 1924. The two stunning square spires were added
later on.
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| Angels guarding the entrance of the church. |
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| Inside Baguio Cathedral. |
The cathedral is located on top of Mount Mary which was previously
called “Kampo” by the Ibalois (indigenous people of the Cordillera or
more popularly known as Igorots).
During the Japanese occupation, it served as an evacuation center and
one of the structures that survived during the 1945 Battle of Baguio (World
War II) when the Allied forces executed the large-scale aerial bombing of the
city.
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| Beautiful stained glass mosaic. |
In history, isn’t it a common practice that churches are
customarily constructed on a hill or the highest point of a city or town? I can’t help but wonder - perhaps the
Cathedral used to be the highest point overlooking the whole city.
Now, I am able to gaze slightly down to the Cathedral in the
distance from the upper panorama view deck of SM Baguio.
Location of Baguio Cathedral in Google map: https://goo.gl/maps/Vbnim
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