St. Joseph Parish Church

When I saw the gate of St. Joseph Parish Church, I felt something in there which I couldn’t explain. Maybe because I was happy seeing the old designs of the posts of the gates. The stones of the church were like pearls because of the sun light. This church is the house of the worlds famous Las Piñas Bamboo Organ and it served as the protection of it for several decades. It is also included in the list of Baroque churches of the Philippines and one of the National Culture Treasure.

St. Joseph Parish Church was built in the lead of Fray Diego Cera Dela Virgin del Carmen, who created the Las Piñas Bamboo Organ. The construction of this heritage church started from 1797 to 1819 with the help of the residents. Since bamboo spread out in the town, F. Diego Cera made the church from it. It was destroyed by natural calamities for several times, but F. Diego Cera ordered to have it restored.

It was partially damaged by an earthquake in 1880, together with the Bamboo Organ. Then its roof was blown away by typhoon in 1882 making the church not functional until 1888 where the church was completed, but still the organs was unplayable for some decades. When the Bamboo Organ was brought to Bonn, Germany for its restoration; the residents restored some of the parts in the church

The structure was built from adobe (volcanic rock) gathered from Manila and Pampanga.

The adobe being used in the structure was properly placed and intact, making sure that it will not collapse and can surpass the calamities. The style of the church is an earthquake-baroque. The walls of this church are measured one meter thick.

In the photo above, is the statue of beside the Thanks Giving Tree (acacia tree). According to its explanation, the man actually holds a blue print of the church during the construction.

This is the Adoration Chapel of the church. Now, it serves as the museum where some of the artifacts can be found. Beside the museum is the St. Joseph’s Academy which was established in 1914. The photos below were taken inside the museum:

At the photo above, the original chair used by St. Ezekiel Moreno “A Saint Among Filipinos” (1848-1906). He arrived in Manila in 1870 and served as a missionary to different provinces, like Palawan, Mindoro, Batangas, Imus, Las Piñas and many more. He underwent a painful operation performed almost entirely without anesthesia. He died with cancer of the nose. He was beatified on November 1, 1975 by Pope Paul VI and then canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1992. Now, this church is one of the foundation of Christianism in the country. To hear and see more photos of the Bamboo Organ, click here: Bamboo Organ

HOW TO GET HERE:

From EDSA, you can take a bus going to Coastal Mall then take a ride to Tambo in Zapote, then alight at Las Piñas bayan.  If you still can’t find it, you can ask the residents in bayan.

MRT stations, you can travel to Taft Station, then take a jeep going to SM Mall of Asia, then take a bus going to Coastal Mall then take a ride to Tambo in Zapote, then alight at Las Piñas bayan.  If you still can’t find it, you can ask the residents in bayan.