The venerable San Guillermo Church, in the former capital
of the Philippines, Bacolor, is a beautiful legacy of the Agustinos who built
the church in 1576 on land donated by Don Guillermo Manabat, town founder. Completely
destroyed by an earthquake, it was rebuilt in 1897 by Fray Manuel Diaz.
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| SAN GUILLERMO CHURCH, wikimedia commons |
The gilded retablo mayor, and the side retablos are
intact—despite being half-buried in the lahar inundation of 1995 triggered by
the Pinatubo eruption. They are profusely carved with baroque and rococo
designs, and the richness of the details are better seen now that they have
been beautifully restored. Inside the nichos are various antique Augustinian santos from the colonial period.
These, too, have been restored, repainted, and regilded under the supervision
of the late Thom Joven, Pampanga’s most eminent ecclesiastical artist.
Now a tourist attraction, the San Guillermo Church
continues to be a place of worship, a witness to the history and old glory of
Bacolor, acclaimed for its arts and artists, hence the sobriquet—“Atenas ning
Pampanga”-- the Athens of Greece.
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