Baclayon, Loboc and Loon Churches
Posted On Thursday, October 30, 2008 at at 5:21 AM by Loyd Sagitarius
Being the oldest church in Bohol, the Baclayon Church serves as a cornerstone of the Boholanos’ embrace of the Catholic faith introduced by various religious orders all throughout the country. Baclayon church is the first stone church to be built around the area of Baclayon. It was constructed by both the hopeful Jesuits and the local town folks of Baclayon that were eager to embrace fully and strengthen their Catholic faith.
Our Lady of Light Chruch, Loon, Bohol, The Philippines
Later on, the rest of the Boholanos in various towns of the province caught up with the religious spirit displayed by the people from Baclayon by putting up their own respective stone-churches; thus, cementing their lives to the Catholic faith. Beside the idea, it is also interesting to note that the townspeople of Loboc and Loon built their own churches with different features making it unique to the other churches in the province.
St. Peter Parish Loboc Church
The Loboc Church which is located just few steps from the very famous Loboc river stands with pride with its massive edifice. The museum that is adjacent to it houses ancient church relics and artefacts and it is open for viewing all throughout the week. Right next to the museum is a convent where the internationally acclaimed and multi-awarded Loboc Children’s Choir is regularly trained not only for competitions but also for cultural performances and Eucharistic celebrations. If you happen to visit the church while the choir is having their practice, you would be lucky to have the opportunity to listen to the golden voices of these classically trained young singers. Nevertheless, if you visit as a group, given the permission, you may request the choir leader or the parish priest to get a glimpse of these melodic cherubs who will perform for you with just few tunes.
The Church of Loon, also known as the Church of the Virgin of the Light, projects magnificence with its Baroque-influenced architectural features reflected on the façade. On top of the main entrance of the church is a carved image of the Virgin of the Light who happens to be the patron saint of the Loonanons. As a tribute to the founding of the church with the Blessed Virgin Mary as their patron saint, the Loonanons hold a feast day annually every 8th of September. This festive celebration stands out from the rest of the feast days in different towns in Bohol as this is the only one scheduled on a different month unlike the rest that are in the month of May. Also, an interesting feature of this festivity is that during this occasion, everybody invites anyone to feast with them all throughout the day through “open house” invitations. One interesting feature of this church is that it is connected to Barangay Napo which used to be the former seat of the municipality of Loon through what is believed to be the longest stairway in the country. It has a total of 154 steps made up of coral stones. Fronting the church just few meters away are the tennis and basketball courts which are free for use by anybody even by visitors from other places.
Entrance Fee: None
Parking Fee (Any type of vehicle): None
Location: Loboc Church: Loboc—21 km from Tagbilaran City
Loon Church: Loon—25 km from Tagbilaran City