Place: San Agustin Church (Intramuros, Manila)
Date: 15 June 2008

The San Agustin Church is just near the Manila Cathedral, so we decided to check it out as well. The first and the last time I have been here was when I was 9 years old, when the school went on a field trip. That early in my life, I already fell in love with the church and told myself I want to get married there!

Going back to our visit, I was really excited to see the church again, but was again sad that we didn’t have camera. Well, I am still holding on to Uncle Pete’s camera, but I could only take a very few shots, so part of me was sad, part was happy, and part was disappointed. =)

There was a wedding going on, so we went to the museum first (the gray building on the right side of the church). There was a fee should one enter the museum - 100 pesos for adults, 50 pesos for college students, and 45 for high school students. When we entered the museum, a tour was starting. The tour guide was really great, and although he spoke too fast and his punch lines were a bit hard to understand (especially for young people), I did get to enjoy it.

I found out from the other people in the bunch that the tour guide’s name is Carlos, and as clueless as I was, I found out that he’s actually a very popular person and that he’s one professional tour guide. I do give credit to this man — he was awesome! I learned a lot from him and I admire his way of presenting the history in full color! That history wasn’t really good (if you’re a Catholic and you’re very religious you might not like how he laid out the details), but I appreciated his guts for being so brutally honest about it.

Some pictures inside the museum and church:

*** My sister. Notice that headless statuette? ***

*** Even if there were two men behind me, I still wanted to have a picture taken behind that great wood carving and image. ***

*** The cemetery inside the museum. Take note of that brown epitaph at the top. ***

*** Great details inside the church. ***

If my memory serves me correct, this church is actually the oldest church in the Philippines, being completed in year 1607 (If I am wrong, please correct me, I am writing this out of memory). There were churches older than this one for sure, but the distinction “oldest” was given to this church because there were no drastic changes since it was completed! Surely, that belfry on the left side of the church was destructed, but the whole church remained intact. There were actually seven cathedrals inside Intramuros, but only two remained (this and the Manila Cathedral). And even if the country was bombed by the Japanese during World War 2, this church was spared. Thank God for that!

And that cemetery picture… I knew back then that there’s a cemetery here, but the reason for that picture was that I just knew from that visit that the hero Juan Luna (the one who painted the very great masterpiece, “Spoliarium”) was actually “buried” here! This cemetery, we were told, was the same spot where a bomb hit and killed lots of people.

The details inside the church was just so awesome! From the ceiling, to the chandeliers… everything! So now you probably know why I wanted to get married here. I am still hoping that I will get married in this church, but it’s actually a far fetched dream because I know getting married here would cost a fortune (exact figure I don’t know, but it’s expensive). If my future husband, whoever he may be, can’t afford this church, then I will suggest we go inside the church and exchange our vows ourselves. =)

The tour lasted more than an hour, and when Carlos walked us out to Casa Manila, we realized it was already late and we need to go home. We didn’t finish the tour anymore, although I would hope to see it next time.

There are still so many things inside the church and museum left to be photographed, and on August 09 I will be back to satisfy that craving. Expect a more in-depth tour inside this majestic place in the days to come.

Happy Weekends!

*** Jenn ***