Balanga Cathedral

Balanga Cathedral
Cathedral-Shrine Parish of Saint Joseph Katedral-Dambana at Parokyang Katedral ni San Jose (Filipino) Catedral-Santuario y Parroquial de San José (Spanish)
Balanga Cathedral in 2024
Balanga Cathedral Balanga Cathedral
14°40′45″N 120°32′25″E
Location	Brgy. Poblacion, Balanga, Bataan
Country	Philippines
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Former name(s)	Parish of St. Joseph (1793–November 8, 1975) Cathedral-Parish of St. Joseph (November 8, 1975–March 19, 2015)
Founded	1793
Dedication	Saint Joseph
Consecrated	March 17, 2005
Past bishop(s)	see Bishops section
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Church building
Style	Baroque
Administration
Division	Vicariate of Our Lady of the Pillar
Province	San Fernando
Metropolis	San Fernando
Archdiocese	San Fernando
Diocese	Balanga
Parish	Saint Joseph
Clergy
Archbishop	Florentino G. Lavarias
Bishop(s)	Vacant
Rector	Noel Niguid
Assistant priest(s)	Jersey Prepose Alwin Bobis

The Cathedral-Shrine Parish of Saint Joseph, commonly known as Balanga Cathedral, in Balanga, Bataan, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Balanga which comprises entire of the civil province of Bataan, Philippines. Currently, Noel Niguid and Alwin Bobis serve as the cathedral priests. On March 19, 2015, the cathedral was formally declared a diocesan shrine, changing its status from cathedral-parish to cathedral-shrine.

History

Church PHC historical marker

During the Japanese invasion, the cathedral was used as an artillery emplacement to bombard Mt. Samat, where the Filipino-American troops made their last stand. It was later renovated by the first bishop of the diocese, Celso Guevarra, who made its patron saint, Saint Joseph.

Interior and exterior

Church interior in 2023

After the war, Bishop Celso renovated the church. Its walls were white and a number of chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the largest before the altar. Behind the altar was a structure painted green with stripes of gold and a statue of Jesus in the left, Mary on the right, and Joseph holding the hand of Baby Jesus. Beside the altar, there were two statues, Lorenzo Ruiz in the left and Mary at the right. There was a group of bells lined together vertically by metal grilles, the usual bell design in almost all of the parishes in Bataan. There was a statue of Jesus of Nazareth near the main door, which was kept for rehabilitation, believed to be miraculous. People lined up and gave sampaguitas to its neck and cross; they would usually wipe its feet. Along the cathedral's aisle are the coat of arms of respective bishops of Balanga that were added during their installation dates, with the latest is the coat of arms of Bishop Ruperto Santos which was added when he was installed as bishop of the diocese on July 8, 2010 three months after being appointed on April 1.

In the 1990's during the term of Celso Guevarra, the cathedral's facade was changed where the bricks were added over the facade's white paint, the hole was moved higher, and a cross was added on its top.

When Bishop Socrates Villegas was installed as Bishop of Balanga on July 3, 2004 two months after being appointed on May 3 of that year, he saw that the decorations were in bad shape; he renovated the inside with a new design. When it was finished, the white walls were replaced by a wall of bricks, the structure behind the altar became marble white, the floors were higher, the lectern bearing the coat of arms of diocese of Balanga was replaced with the one with Holy Spirit, and the chandeliers were replaced by ceiling lights. In 2008, 15 life-size images of saints with their names were added outside the cathedral representing the patron saints from the 11 towns and 1 city of Bataan where the Diocese of Balanga has jurisdiction with and a few towns have multiple saints. A few months before he became archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan in Pangasinan on November 4, 2009, images featuring the ancestors of Jesus at the sides of a cathedral's dome and image of Jesus Christ at the dome itself were added.

During the term of Bishop Ruperto Santos, the patio and exterior area of the cathedral was improved, and numerous vendors were discouraged within its premises. The cathedra's clothing was changed from red to orange with a cross at its backrest in 2015. Pavement of the ground on the exterior was made from 2017 to 2018, and the belfry added the bricks in 2019. In 2020, the cathedral's roof were painted from green and white to red. Pipe organs were also added on the cathedral's choir loft. Months before Santos became Bishop of Antipolo on July 22, 2023, the cathedral's leftmost entrance was blocked with a wall but the door is still present.

Feast of the patron saint

The feast day of Saint Joseph is celebrated twice annually in the city of Balanga, on March 19 and the pistang bayan every April 28.

Bishops and sede vacante administrators

Image	Name	Appointed	Positions while serving as bishop-elect and before being installed as Bishop of Balanga	Installed	Period in Position (Bishop-elect and Installed Bishop of Balanga)	Length	Coat of arms
	Celso Nogoy Guevarra	June 4, 1975	Titular Bishop of Vannida	November 8, 1975	June 4, 1975 – June 18, 1998	23 years, 14 days (8415 days)
	Honesto Flores Ongtioco	April 8, 1998	Priest of Archdiocese of San Fernando	June 18, 1998	April 8, 1998 – August 28, 2003	5 years, 4 months, 20 days (1968 days)
	Socrates Buenaventura Villegas	May 3, 2004	Auxiliary Bishop of Manila Rector of EDSA Shrine	July 3, 2004	May 3, 2004 – November 4, 2009	5 years, 6 months, 1 day (2011 days)
	Ruperto Cruz Santos	April 1, 2010	Priest of Archdiocese of Manila Rector of Pontificio Collegio Filippino	July 8, 2010	April 1, 2010 – July 22, 2023	13 years, 3 months, 21 days (4860 days)

Sede vacante administrators

Name	Preceding Installed Bishop	Succeeding Installed Bishop	Length	Age at start and end of tenure or term as sede vacante administrator
Antonio "Tony" S. Dumaual — died July 21, 2023	Honesto Flores Ongtioco (August 28, 2003)	Socrates Buenaventura Villegas (July 3, 2004)	10 months, 5 days (310 days)	61 years, 6 months, 23 days / 62 years, 4 months, 28 days
Victor de la Cruz Ocampo (later Bishop of Gumaca, Quezon) — died March 16, 2023	Socrates Buenaventura Villegas (November 4, 2009)	Ruperto Cruz Santos (July 8, 2010)	8 months, 4 days (246 days)	57 years, 7 months, 19 days / 58 years, 3 months, 22 days
Florentino Galang Lavarias (Archbishop of San Fernando, Pampanga)	Ruperto Cruz Santos (July 22, 2023)	TBA		66 years, 4 months, 8 days /

Timeline

Image gallery

• 
  Another historical marker
• 
  Detail of the Angels in the church facade
• 
  Facade of the Balanga Cathedral
• 
  Belfry
• 
  Frontage of right side entrance
• 
  Schedule of Masses
• 
  Cathedra, with the Cathedral/Bishop's Coat of arms (Ecclesiastical heraldry) above it
• 
  Our Lady of Lourdes
• 
  Dome
• 
  Our Lady of Perpetual Help
• 
  Black Nazarene
• 
  Confessional
• 
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando - 1st Bishop Celso Nogoy Guevarra, D.D.+, Church grave
• 
  Church interior from the sanctuary
• 
  Sanctuary
• 
  Columbarium
• 
  Statue inside
• 
  Individual storage of cinerary urns
• 
  Facade of the columbarium
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  Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
• 
  St. Joseph Formation Center
• 
  Fr. Mariano Sarili Hall
• 
  Parish Offices
• 
  Priests' residence

See also

• Roman Catholicism in the Philippines

External links

• Media related to Balanga Cathedral at Wikimedia Commons
• Balanga Cathedral on Facebook
• CBCP Diocese of Balanga
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Balanga