Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Sampaloc's Sacred Ground: The Franciscan Backstory (1613-1918)

2014

The Most Holy Trinity Church of Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila, stands on the former sacred ground of Cementerio Balic-Balic (1890-1918) built by Friar Ramon Caviedas OFM (*1849-1918). This book, the first of a two book project, attempts to situate the history of the Most Holy Trinity Church within the context of Fr. Ramon's life and Sampaloc's Franciscan heritage. This study includes archival, photographic, and cartographic materials about Sampaloc's beginnings as a Franciscan convent in 1613 climaxing with the Battle of Balic-Balic during the Philippine American War (1899) and the closure of Manila's Spanish colonial cemeteries (1913-1918).

i “Cuando el estandarte de Castilla se reflejó en las ondas de Pacifico, y cuando después, sustentado por el brazo de Magallanes, tremoló al viento en aquellas volcánicas regiones, impregnando sus laureles de los efluvios del champaca y del sampaloc, quiso devolver el ardiente beso que imprimia en su fondo el astro rey, esparciendo en los nuevos dominios españoles los purísimos destellos del Cristianismo." Aristedes Saez de Urraca, Madrid a Filipinas: Impresiones de Viaje, 1889, p. 149 “When Castille’s flag reflected in the waves of the Pacific, and when afterwards, supported by the strength of Magellan’s arms, it waved into the winds of those volcanic regions, impregnating its laurels with the fragrance of champaca and sampaloc, it wanted to return the ardent kiss of the sun, spreading Christianity's pure light in those new Spanish dominions."1 A Two Book Project: ii Sampaloc’s Sacred Ground The Franciscan Backstory (1613-1918) Most Holy Trinity Parish, Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila. 2014 On High Ground* The Trinitarian Journey (1925-2000) Most Holy Trinity Parish, Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila. 2015 *Note: Working Title. The second book starts with the re-opening of the closed funerary chapel of Cementerio Balic-Balic and ends in 2000 (Year of the Trinity, Jubilee Year Celebration of the Roman Catholic Church). Due for publication May 2015. iii Sampaloc’s Sacred Ground The Franciscan Backstory (1613-1918) Most Holy Trinity Parish, Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila Martin R. Gaerlan 2114 Santísima Trinidad Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila iv Copyright Philippine Copyright © 2014 Copyright and Published By Martin R. Gaerlan and Gaerlan Management Consulting All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. First Printing – August 2014 Printed by CentralBooks Quezon City ISBN 978-971-95603-1-9 Quotations, citations and image reproductions done with proper crediting of source institution to the best possible knowledge of the author and that said materials are under public domain. Should there be any concern about copyright, please contact the author. Cover Concept and Digital Layout by Martin R. Gaerlan. Front Cover: Facade of Sampaloc’s Twin Churches (Source: Ateneo de Manila University); Corporate Seal of Parroquia de Sampaloc, Arrabal de Manila (Source: National Archives of the Philippines); Portrait of Fr. Ramón Caviedas OFM (Source: Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental Madrid). Back Cover: Sampaloc Map (Source: University of Michigan Library); Facade of Cementerio Balic-Balic-Funerary Chapel circa 1899 (Source: National Library of the Philippines), Back View of Former Funerary Chapel of Balic-Balic Cemetery circa 1969 (Source: Msgr. Isidro Jose Collection); Funeral Procession in Front of Former Funerary Chapel of Balic-Balic Cemetery circa 1930’s (Source: Lucina Ramos-Reyes Collection). 5 To my wife, family, friends, fellow parishioners – Beyond time and place, Sampaloc’s Sacred Backstory continues.... 6 In Commemoration Quadricentennial Anniversary Sampaloc, Manila (1613-2013) 95th Anniversary – Death of Fr. Ramón Caviedas OFM, Builder of Cementerio Balic-Balic (1918-2013) 88th Anniversary – Re-opening of Cementerio Balic-Balic’s Chapel (1925-2013) 85th Anniversary - Dedication of Parroquia Balic-Balic to the Santísima Trinidad (1928-2013) 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction – Three Anniversaries 1 Requiem on a Hill 5 1925 Silence Broken 5 1882 An Unexpected Beginning 10 1877 Men in Brown 12 1613 Health Spot 16 1621 Temporary Visitors 17 1639 Chinese Rebellion 22 1636 Hunger 24 1736 Printing Press 24 1783 The Twin Churches 29 1872 Cavite Mutiny 32 1889 When the Earth Trembled 35 1630 Tears of St. Francis 38 1881 Rebuild a Church 43 1882 Flowing Waters and Tears 47 8 1882 October Storm 51 1848 Cemetery Divide 55 1857 Old Sampaloc Cemetery 58 1884 Petition For A Burial Ground 59 1884 Location, Location, Location 62 1886 Promenade de Sampaloc 74 Streets of Sampaloc 77 1890 Bury My Heart in Balic-Balic 83 1897 The Franciscan Split 85 1896 Collision At the Edge 87 1899 Battle of Balic-Balic 90 1901 When the Edge Moved 98 Born of Peace, War’s Orphans 103 1902 Filthy Clean 104 1913 Requiem for Spanish Manila’s Cemeteries 115 1918 A Franciscan’s Resting Place 123 Proposed Historical Marker 124 Epilogue 125 Endnotes 129 9 Appendices 145 Appendix 1: List of Parish Priests Assigned to Sampaloc (1616-1898) Appendex 2: Total Population, Baptism, Burial, Crude Birth Rate, Crude Death Rate of Sampaloc, Manila, 1862-1897 Appendix 3: List of People Born in Barrio Balic-Balic, Sampaloc, Manila – 1896 Appendix 4: Request for Exhumations, Buried in Balic-Balic Cemetery, Archdiocese of Manila Appendix 5: Declaracion para Fincas Urbanas – Sampaloc 1890. Appendix 6: Rosenstock’s Manila City Directory – Sampaloc, circa 1904-1905 Appendix 7: Partial List of Books Printed by the Convento de de N. S. de Loreto del Pueblo de Sampaloc (1736-1798) Bibliography 168 About the Author 176 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. 65th Fiesta Sovenior Program Cover (Author’s Collection) 1 2. Sacred Ground: Out of the Box Photo Exhibit.(Author’s Collection) 2 3. 75th Fiesta Celebration (Author’s Collection 3 4. Archbishop Michael J. O’Doherty (Author’s Collection) 4 5. Trinidad Fernandez y Rodriguez (Author’s Collection) 4 6. Original Main Altar, Most Holy Trinity Church circa 1930’s (Lucina-Ramos Reyes Collection) 5 7. Janiuay Cemetery, Iloilo (La Illustracion Española y Americana, Author’s Collection) 6 8. Funerary Chapel, Balic-Balic Cemetery (Harper’s History of the War in the Philippines, Philippine National Library) 7 9. Balic-Balic Cemetery Tombstone Remnants, Ang Gubat Residence (Author’s Collection) 8 10. Fr. Ramón Caviedas OFM(Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental Madrid) 9 11. Nuestra Señora de los Angeles, Intramuros (Franciscan Archives of the Philippines) 10 12. Fr. Ramón Caviedas OFM Appointment Letter (Archdiocesan Archives of Manila) 11 13. Franciscan Parishes in Manila 1882 12 14. Lumbang Church, Laguna Intramuros (Franciscan Archives of the Philippines) 13 15. 1819 Map of Manila and suburbs (Biblioteca Nacional de España) 14 16. Historical Marker, Sampaloc (Lopez Memorial Museum & Library) 17 17. Mother Jerónima de las Asuncion (Museo del Prado) 18 11 18. By The River, 1869 Map of Manila (National Archives of the Philippines) 19 19. Orillas del Rio de Sampaloc 1879 (Lopez Memorial Museum & Library) 20 20. 1869 Visita de Solocan Map (National Archives of the Philippines) 21 21. Apparition of St. Francis During 1693 Chinese Revolt (Philippine Magazine, August 1929 University of Michigan) 22 22. Imprente en el Convento de Nuestra Señora de Loreto (Biblioteca Nacional de España) 25 23. 1797 Nuestra Señora de Consolacion (Biblioteca Nacional de España) 26 24. Conclusion de las Flores de Mayo (National Library of the Philippines) 27 25. Funeral Memorial King Carlos IV (Biblioteca Nacional de España) 28 26. Sampaloc’s Twin Churches Twice Over – Present (Author’s Collection) 30 27. Sampaloc’s Twin Churches Twice Over – Past (http://www.arkitektura.ph) 30 28. Sampaloc’s Religious Center circa 1924 (Ateneo de Manila University) 31 29. La Virgen de Loreto Novena circa 1930 (Author’s Collection) 32 30. Sampaloc’s Moveable Feast Archdiocesan Archives of Manila) 33 31. Barrio San Anton, Sampaloc (Imagionario Colonial, National Museum of the Philippines) 34 32. Earthquake Manila, Iglesia Santo Domingo (Author’s Collection) 36 33. Walter H. Young (archive.com) 37 34. 1858 San Augustin Church (The Illustrated London News, January 2, 1858, Author’s Collection) 41 35. San Agustin Church from Iris Street (Ebay) 41 36. 1881 VOT Façade Renovation Plan (National Archives of the Philippines) 42 37. VOT Façade circa 1924 (Ateneo de Manila University) 42 38. Tower of Beauty (Lopez Memorial Museum & Library) 43 39. VOT Tower from Bustillos (Author’s Collection) 44 40. Twin Towers of Sampaloc (Author’s Collection) 45 12 41. Our Lady of Loreto (Stephan & Ulla Rama Collection) 46 42. Carriedo Fountain, Sampaloc Rotunda (Author’s Collection) 47 43. Carriedo Postage Stamp (Author’s Collection) 47 44. Sampaloc Rotunda (Lopez Memorial Museum & Library) 48 45. King Alfons II and Queen Marie Christine (New York Public Library) 49 46. 1882 October Typhoon Destruction (Author’s Collection) 51 47. John Foreman (Gutenberg.org) 51 48. 1856 Typhoon Destroys Sampaloc (Filipina Heritage Library) 52 49. 1882 Storm Destroys Barrio San Anton (La Illustracion Española y Americana, XLVII, Biblioteca Nacional de España) 52 50. Storm by Manila’s Shore (Author’s Collection) 53 51. Sampaloc Parochial Seal (Familysearch) 54 52. Governor General Narciso Claveria (National Archives of the Philippines) 55 53. Funerary Cross, San Pedro Macati Cemetery 1899 (University of Michigan) 56 54. 1899 Architectural Plan, San Pedro Macati Cemetery (Archdiocesan Archives of Manila) 57 55. 1882 Location of Old Sampaloc Cemetery (Centre Excursionista de Catalunya) 58 56. Number of Burials at Old Sampaloc Cemetery (FamilySearch) 58 57. 1884 Petition to Build New Sampaloc Cemetery (National Archives of the Philippines) 59 58. Number of Deaths in Sampaloc (Chart, Author) 60 59. Child’s Funeral Procession Santa Ana (Harvard University/archive) 61 60. Funeral Postcard circa 1900 (Author’s Collection) 62 61. Funeral Postcard circa 1900 (Author’s Collection) 64 62. 1881 Paco Cemetery Location Plan (National Archives of the Philippines) 65 63. 1863 Santa Cruz Cemetery Location Plan (National Archives of the Philippines) 66 13 64. Flooded Bustillos Street (Author’s Collection) 67 65. Funeral Procession by the River (Author’s Collection) 67 66. 1882 Tondo’s Other Cemetery Location (Centre Excursionista de Catalunya) 68 67. 1898 Tondo’s Lecheros Cemetery Location (National Archives of the Philippines) 69 68. Sampaloc Population Growth 1649-1904 (Author’s Collection) 70 69. 1852 Sampaloc Fields and Hills Map (Institute Cartografic de Catalunya) 72 70. 1898 Urban Sampaloc Map (University of Texas at Austin) 73 71. Promenade de Sampaloc (Lucon et Palaouan I-X , Southeast Asia Visions, Cornell University Library) 74 72. Promenade de Sampaloc (U.S. Library of Congress) 74 73. Promenade de Sampaloc (Bibliothèque Nationale de France) 75 74. Street Scene of Sampaloc (Our New Possessions: The Philippine Islands, Author’s Collection) 75 75. Talisay Trees Calle Alix (National Anthropological Institute, Smithsonian Library) 75 76. 1879 Tree Planting Location Map (National Archives of the Philippines) 76 77. 1880 House Plan Celestina y Fernandez (National Archives of the Philippines) 77 78. Doña Aleja Atayde, Vuida de Gruet (Lopez Memorial Museum & Library) 78 79. Jose M. Lago House Plan (National Archives of the Philippines) 79 80. 1897 Don Antonio la Puente House Plan (National Archives of the Philippines) 80 81. Barrio Sampaloc House (BNE) 80 82. Nipa Houses, Sampaloc (Smithsonsian Institution) 80 83. View of April 23, 1894 San Anton, Sampaloc Fire (Lopez Memorial Museum & Library) 81 84. 1908 Balic-Balic Fire (Lopez Memorial Museum & Library) 82 85. Main Cemetery Gate, Balic-Balic, Sampaloc (National Library of the Philippines) 83 86. 1891 Completion of Sampaloc funerary chapel (Archdiocesan Archives of Manila) 84 14 87. 1897 Sale of Half of Sampaloc Cemetery (Archdiocesan Archives of Manila) 85 88. Fr. Antonio Martin de Vidales OFM (Lopez Memorial Museum & Library) 85 89. 1899 Death Certificate (FamilySearch) 86 90. 1898 Dead Filipino Insurgent in Nagtahan (British Library) 87 91. Spanish Soldiers of War (BNE) 88 92. General Primo de Rivera Waiving Olive Branch of Peace (todocolleciones) 88 93. 1898 Primo de Rivera Defensive Life (BNE) 89 94. Calle Bustillos Troop Patrol (Souvenir of the 8th Army Corp 1899, Filipinas Heritage Library) 90 95. War Refugees Return via Calle Alix, Sampaloc (The San Francisco Call, October 16, 1898. U.S. Library of Congress) 91 96. Santa Mesa Where the Fighting Began (U.S. Library of Congress) 92 97. Capt. Edgar A. Wedgewood (Author’s Collection) 93 98. Utah Battery, La Loma Cemetery Wall (Author’s Collection) 94 99. Bury Me in Balic-Balic. (The Graphic, September 23, 1899, Author’s Collection) 95 100. American General Staff, Blockhouse 4 (John Stewart Post Number One, Veterans of Foreign Wars) 96 101. 102. Destroyed Balic-Balic Visita (Benito J. Legarda, Jr.) 96 Victorious American General Staff, Sampaloc Cemetery (National Library of the Philippines) 97 List of Sampaloc Barrios 1893 (Archdiocesan Archives of Manila) 99 103. 104. 1895 Disappearing Blockhouse No. 5 (National Archives of the Philippines) 100 105. 106. 107. 1903 Index Map of Manila (Author’s Collection) 102 Georg Haufe and Espiridiona Family (Stephan & Ulla Rama Collection) 103 108. 109. 1901 Map of Manila (Author’s collection) 101 1912 Paco Cemetery Postcard (Author’s Collection) 104 Festival of the Dead Paco Cemetery (National Library of the Philippines) 105 15 Paco Cemetery Bone Pit Postcard (Author’s Collection) 106 110. 111. Guarding the Dead (Our Islands and their People, 1899, Author’s Collection) 107 112. 1901 Maytubig American and Native Cemetery Map ( University of Chicago) 108 1792 Manila’s Oldest Cemetery Plan (National Archives of Spain) 110 113. 114. 115. Capilla del Cementerio de Binondo circa 1900 (BNE) 113 116. Binondo’s Funerary Chapel (Author’s Collection) 113 117. North Cemetery Aerial View (Author’s Collection) 114 118. 1920 North Cemetery Map (University of Chicago) 114 North Cemetery Mausoleum Postcard (Author’s Collection) 115 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. Burials at Balic-Balic Cemetery (Author’s Collection) 116 Chinese Cemetery Chapel Postcard (Author’s Collection) 117 Santa Cruz Cemetery Gate (National Library of the Philippines) 117 Balic-Balic Cemetery Niches (Enriquita Pascua Collection) 118 Alfonso Ramos and Elena Espinosa (Lucina Ramos-Reyes Collection) 119 125. 1918 Request for Exhumation (Lucina-Ramos Reyes Collection) 120 126. Fr. Carlos Cabido (Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental Madrid) 121 127. 128. 129. Binondo’s La Loma Cemetery Gate (BNE) 112 1918 Death Certificate Fr. Ramón Caviedas (FamilySearch) 122 Franciscan Common Ground La Loma Cemetery (Author’s Collection) 123 R.I.P. Fr. Ramon Caviedas OFM (Archivo Franciscano Ibero-Oriental Madrid) 124 16