Baclaran Church
The National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help (Filipino: Pambansáng Dambana ng Iná ng Laging Saklolo; Spanish: Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro), also known as the Redemptorist Church (Spanish: Iglesia Redentorista) and colloquially as Baclaran Church (Filipino: Simbahan ng Baclaran), is a national shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help along Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Parañaque city of Metro Manila, Philippines. The church enshrines the icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and is one of the largest Marian churches in the Philippines.
| Baclaran Church | |
|---|---|
| National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help | |
| Redemptorist Church | |
| |
Church façade in March 2024 | |
| 14°31′53″N 120°59′43″E | |
| Location | Parañaque, Metro Manila |
| Country | Philippines |
| Language(s) | Filipino, English |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Religious institute | Redemptorists |
| Website | Baclaran Church |
| History | |
| Status | National shrine |
| Dedication | Our Mother of Perpetual Help |
| Consecrated | December 1, 1958 |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Heritage designation | Important Cultural Property |
| Designated | June 27, 2023 |
| Architect(s) | César Homero R. Concio Sr. |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Modern Romanesque |
| Groundbreaking | January 11, 1953 |
| Completed | December 5, 1958 |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 11,000
|
| Length | 110 m (350 ft) |
| Width | 36 m (118 ft) |
| Height | 22 m (71 ft) |
| Other dimensions | Façade facing west |
| Floor area | 5,069.2 m2 (54,564 sq ft) |
| Number of towers | 1 |
| Materials | Adobe, steel, cement |
| Bells | 24 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Manila |
| Diocese | Parañaque |
| Deanery | Santa Rita de Cascia |
| Parish | Our Mother of Perpetual Help |
| Clergy | |
| Rector | Rico John Bilangel |
Devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help is popular amongst Filipino Catholics, who flood the church on Wednesdays to attend Mass and pray the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. In Manila, Wednesdays are popularly called "Baclaran Day" due to congested roads near the shrine. The original icon enshrined above the main altar came from Germany before priests of the Redemptorist Order brought it to what was then the United States territory of the Philippine Islands in 1906. Since 1958, the shrine has been authorised by the Holy See to remain open 24 hours a day throughout the year.
The wider shrine complex also serves as the headquarters of the Manila Vice Province of Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, while the Cebu Province of the Redemptorists is headquartered in Cebu. The shrine's current rector is Rico John Bilangel. The shrine celebrates its annual feast day on June 27, the liturgical feast day of the icon. The Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido monument within the church compound was inscribed in 2019 in the CIPDH-UNESCO's Memorias Situadas, which maps international sites of memory linked to serious human rights violations. The Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido honors the victims of the brutal Marcos dictatorship.