St Peter's Church

Why St Peter's Church is special ?

The Saint Peter the Apostle Parish Church, or Loboc Church, is a Roman Catholic church in the municipality of Loboc, Bohol, Philippines, within the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran.

After the Jesuits established the Christian community in Baclayon, they moved to Loboc and established a second Christian settlement in Bohol. The parish was established in 1602, and the present coral stone church was completed in 1734. Because of its strategic location, it became the center of the Jesuit mission in the Bohol area. In 1768, upon the expulsion of the Jesuits, the town was transferred to the Augustinian Recollects.

The church is classified as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines. It was considered for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Philippines as a member of two categories, the Baroque Churches of the Philippines (Extension) and the Jesuit Churches of the Philippines.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/

What to explore at St Peter's Church?

Loboc Church contains a lot of interesting treasures. Among these are the decorative stone carvings and friezes on the exterior walls; a relief of St. Ignatius in polychrome stucco intriguingly hidden behind the main altar, seven ancient retablos from both the Jesuit and Recollect periods; ceiling murals done in the 1920s by the Cebuano artists Rey Francia y Canuto Avila, one depicting the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the town’s secondary patron, during the great flood of 1876; carved wooden cornices and decorative corbels shaped as gargoyles or mythical animals; and the unique three-story convent, perhaps the only one of its kind in the country.

Source: http://beta.orgph.com/

How to get to St Peter's Church?

Loboc is 21 km east of Tagbilaran. Catch a bus to Loboc, or one in the direction of Carmen, and ask the driver to drop you off at the church.