San Simon Church
History and architecture
The convent of San Simon was established by the Augustinians on April 20, 1771, and was placed under the patronage of Apostle Simon Peter. The town was formerly named after its secondary patron, Our Lady of the Pillar, and was purportedly named after its founder Mariano del Pilar de los Reyes. It was later renamed San Simon by Governor-General Simón de Anda y Salazar who named the town from his namesake upon the recommendation of his close allies, the Augustinian Friars. Governor-General Anda moved the capital of the colony to Pampanga a few years before the founding of the town due to the 1762 British Invasion. Not much historical records are available regarding the construction of the current church other than that a stone edifice was constructed by Father Benito Ubierna in 1870. A certain Father Bernabe built the convent in 1889. Both structures were razed by fire by Filipino revolutionaries on May 5, 1898.
Much of the stone walls of the church are intact while the façade and bell tower has been remodeled. The façade features a triangular pediment, three triple-arched windows on its second level and a concrete porte-cochere. To its left stands the rectangular belfry topped with a pagoda-like canopy.
Gallery
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Convent entrance
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Side walls with pyramidal dome
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Main portal with steel doors
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Side portal decorated with a triangular pediment
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Dome interior
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Church nave in 2014
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Side altarpiece with image of the patron saint
References
- ^ Castro, Alex. "Pampanga Towns: SAN SIMON". viewsfromthepampang.blogspot.com/. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ "San Simon - History". www.sansimonpampanga.gov.ph/. Local Government Unit of San Simon, Pampanga. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
- ^ Galende, OSA, Pedro (1996). Angels in Stone: Architecture of Augustinian Churches in the Philippines (Second ed.). Manila, Philippines: San Agustin Museum. pp. 154–155. ISBN 9719157100.
External links
- Media related to Our Lady of the Pillar Parish Church (San Simon, Pampanga) at Wikimedia Commons
- San Simon Church on Facebook