The Arrival of the Spaniards

LUBAO was a prosperous kingdom with an organized system of government and with strong
military fortifications when the Spaniards led by maestro de campo Martin de Goiti together
with Lt. Antonio Carvajal, other selected Spanish soldiers and Augustinian friars set foot to
conquer Lubao on September 14, 1571. In the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, the date is
one of the most important religious celebrations because it is the Feast Day of the Triumph of
the Cross. In Greek, it is called Raising Aloft of the Precious Cross and in Latin, Exaltatio
Sanctae Crucis or literally, Raising Aloft of the Holy Cross. (Exaltatio is Exaltation,
Triumph). It is the glorious moment when the Lord Jesus Christ won the victory against
mans sinfulness. It is the date to rejoice in songs and praises because it is the day when the
gates of Heaven finally opened for mans salvation. It is also celebrated with great gladness
and tidings because it is mankinds reunification with his Almighty Creator. In reverence to
the Feast Day of the Cross, the Spaniards deemed necessary the offering of a black
miraculous Holy Cross to the people of Lubao as a sign of their amity with them and their
acceptance of the Christian faith. Hence, God providentially chose Lubao to lead in the
propagation of the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Augustinian Church as its
missionary center in the propagation and configuration of Christendom in the central and
northern Luzon areas.
Timeline
Immediately after the arrival of the Spanish militia and Augustinian missionaries on
September 14, 1571, missionary efforts were made by the friars by immersing themselves in
the socio-cultural traditions of the people. Trained as church builders and equipped with
socio-anthropological foundations, the Augustinians started their evangelization and
conversion with faith in God with Datu Macabulus as its first convert.
Later, the pioneering missionaries built the first chapel along the lakeshores (paroba) of the
village of Gato (now barangay Santa Catalina). Using local materials, the church was made of
light structures of indigenous wood, bamboos and thatched nipa by Fray Juan Gallegos with
the help of maestro de campo Martin de Goiti during the early days of 1572.
On May 3, 1572, few months after its construction, the Iglesia San Agustin de Lubao was
officially accepted by the Archbishopric of Manila as a visita of Tondo. This acceptance
officially marks the foundation date of the church. During the same year (1572), the church
of Betis was annexed to Lubao.
On December 18, 1572, Agustin Cubacub and wife Mulao and four children received
Christian baptism from the Agustinian missionaries through Martin de Goiti and Captain
Lorenzo Chacon.
On March 5, 1575, Father provincial Alfonso Alvarado was deputized to take care of the
convent of the church and Father Juan Gallegos was named resident priest.
In 1580, a school of Latin and Humanities was established for the inhabitants and
missionaries from Spain and Mexico.
In 1591, Lubao, together with Betis, had four convents and 20,000 souls or Christian
converts.
On May 12, 1596, the Estudio de Gramatica (School of Grammar and Rhetoric) was
transferred from Candaba to Lubao with the schools superior Fr. Alonso de Mentrida as
professor of Grammar. The school provided positive influences on the moral and cultural life
of the people of Lubao that made them one of the earliest educated in the islands.
In 1599, the convent of Lubao contributed 100 pesos and 50 bushels of rice and 100 chickens
for the construction of the San Agustin monastery and infirmary in Manila. As an
Augustinian missionary center, its Book of Baptisms was often signed on the same day by
several priests administering the sacraments.
Thirty years later (1602), due to the continuous floods that swept Santa Catalina, the church
was transferred to its present site in San Nicolas 1st. Fr. Mateo Peralta, who was the churchs
parish priest in 1602, must have started constructing the church with the same light materials
that were used in erecting the first church in Santa Catalina. Later, the nearby river that
served as the landing area of the friars and missionaries was called Sapang Pari.
In 1613, Fr. Francisco Coronel started the construction of the present church building with
stronger materials.
In 1614, the first Augustinian printing press in the country, which was bought by the
Augustinians from Japan, was established in the convent of Lubao. The first book ever
printed in the printing press was Vida del Glorioso San Nicolas de Tolentino (The Life of
Saint Nichols) by Pr. Phelipe Tallada. Other books printed included the Arte y Reglas de la
Lengua Pampanga by Fr. F. Coronel in 1617, Relacion de el Martyrio de el S.F. Hernando
de S. Josef en Japon y del Santo Nicolas melo en Mofcovia by Fr. H. Becerra in 1618,
Catechismo y Doctrina Christiana en la Lengua Pampanga by Fr. F. Coronel in 1621 and
others. In 1635, Fr. Jeronimo de Venasque continued the construction of the building.
In 1638, Fr. Francisco Figueroa led in the completion of the church. The structure of the
church was Fr. Architect Antonio de Herrera, who also constructed the Church of San
Agustin in Manila.
In 1645, the Churchs building must have been slightly damaged during the earthquake since
the convent was then relieved from paying rent, an indication that there may have been
construction going on.
In 1710, the prior of the church was exempted from paying the rent for the second time, later
in 1717, due to the convents extreme poverty, and again in 1722. Due to the poor condition
of the church, the Chapter of October 31, 1729 appropriated 500 pesos from the provincial
funds for the construction of the convent of Lubao. Aside from this, all the income of the
chaplaincies of the convent was allotted for this purpose all through the duration of the
construction. Fr. Vicente Ibarra was the prior at that time.
In 1762, when Manila was occupied by the British, the students of Arts and Theology of the
Estudio de Manila were transferred to the convent of Lubao for the continuation of their
studies conducted under the supervision of Fr. Diego Noguerol. During this time, one author
described the San Agustin Church of Lubao as one of the most sumptuous in the islands.
Apart from being finely constructed with bricks, it had large proportions that resulted in a
comfortable dwelling. It is the largest church in Pampanga.
From 1773-1791, the administration of the church was transferred to clerigos or secular
priests. Fr. Martin Victoria was the first secular priest and Fr. Juan Zita was the last. In the
inventory made in 1774, Lubao owned 2 large crosses of the Christ Jesus and another 2
smaller ones.
In 1791, after 18 years of secular administration, Lubao Church was returned to the
missionary of the Order of San Agustin. Upon its transfer, Fr. Josef de Vetonio was assigned
the parish priest in 1791.
A document dated 1829 disclosed that the church of Lubao was constructed by its people
with massive masonry stones and bricks. It was constructed using indigenous materials
including stones, egg white, lime, mollasses and heavy quality timbers such as Acli (Albizzia
acle Merr.), Anibiung (artocarpus cumingiana Trec.), Bulaun (vitex parviflora Juss.), Apalait
or narra (Pterocarpus indicus Wild.), Tindalo (Pahudia rhomboidea Prain.), Saplungan or
yakal (Hopea plagata Vid.) and others.
In 1877, Fr. Antonio Bravo did some repair works. In 1893, Fr. Antonio Moradillo worked on
the bells and interior decoration of the church. The murals depicting scenes from the life of
Saint Augustine were also done during this period. Fr. Moradillo also built the chapel of the
Lubao Catholic Cemetery in San Nicolas.
In 1898, the buildings were occupied by the revolutionary forces of General Emilio
Aguinaldo. In 1945 and in 1962, they buildings of the church were damaged by the war and
strong typhoons. The dome, transept and roof collapsed during the heavy shelling during the
Japanese occupation. The sunken panels and other liturgical ornamentations painted by
Dibella and Alberoni were lost. The main retablo escaped the damage.
In 1949-1952, it was repaired under the direction of Fr. Melencio Garcia. The rest of the
church was restored in 1954. In 1961, at the time of the ascendancy of Diosdado P.
Macapagal as the 9th President of the Philippines, he helped in the massive rehabilitation of
the church and planned to convert portions of the convent into museum.
On April 21, 1997, shortly before former President Diosdado Macapagal died, upon his
request to his family to be with his town mates for the last time, his revered remains stayed
and eulogized inside the church for the whole day, and was later interred at the Libingan ng
mga Bayani in Makati City. Since 2001 to present (2009), President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo has celebrated her thanksgiving birthday celebration in the church.
On June 24, 2002, the church parish priest, Fr. Rodolfo de Guzman helped in the
refurbishing of the whole church and its convent and patio due to the wedding of then
Pampanga Vice Governor Juan Miguel Mikey Arroyo, eldest son of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo with Angela Montenegro in
simple but solemn rites. Former Presidents Corazon C. Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos were
among the prominent principal sponsors. On that occasion, His Holiness Pope John Paul II
greeted the couple abundance of joy and peace upon Juan Macapagal-Arroyo and Angela
Montenegro through a message sent through Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines
Archbishop Antonio Franco, and was read by officiating priest Pampanga Bishop Paciano
Aniceto.
On September 14, 2006, the 329-page book Lubao: The Cradle of Kapampangan
Civilization, written by Dr. Rodrigo M. Sicat and published by the Municipal Government
of Lubao, was launched inside the church and was attended by Mayor Dennis G. Pineda,
members of the Municipal Council and the people of the town. Pampanga Second District
Representative Juan Miguel Mikey Arroyo and Pineda led the cutting of the ceremonial
ribbon.
In 2007, the constructed portico that dwarfs the churchs magnificence was removed and the
defaced original flat surface of the churchs facade was reconstructed with new red block
bricks. The old roof was entirely restored with durable and brand new red materials.
In 2009 under the supervision of its present parish priest, Fr. Noli Fernandez, major
restoration works on the convent were made to serve as the parish priests residence and to
house the museum. The architectural design was with neo-classical. Since the continuous
restoration and conservation efforts to re-establish the glorious history of the San Agustin
Church of Lubao were made, it gradually towers today as one of the finest and magnificent
Augustinian churches in the archipelago.
The San Agustin Church of Lubao is not only Pampangas oldest and largest Agustinian
church in Central Luzon but in Northern Luzon as well. The San Agustin Church de Lubao is
second only after the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila that were both designed and
bulit by Fr. Architect Herrera.
More than a national historical landmark, an honor it received from the National Commission
on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the church deserves greater than the accolade: to be
recognized as one of the countrys National Treasures.
Sept. 2, 2013 -- National Museum has declared the 441-year old St. Augustine Parish
Church in Lubao town as an Important Cultural Property of the country.
"The church qualified for the distinction because of its significant architectural designs and
its simple and solemn retablo," National Museum Cultural Heritage Preservation Section
head Carmencita de los Mariano explained.
In a statement, Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda said "the declaration is important for our
history, culture and faith, and one of the reasons why tourists visit the province is because of
our old churches such as this one."