Molo Church
History and Brief Description
Molo Church is the only Gothic church in the entire country outside of Manila, It was constructed in 1831 under Fray Pablo Montaño and further expanded and finished by Fray Agapito Buenaflor in 1888 under the supervision of Don Jose Manuel Locsin.
Its two belfries had around 30 bells of different sizes ranging from small handbells to big campaniles making a musical tone.
The Gothic character of the church is manifested not only in its two pointed towers but also on the pointed arches at the main altar and four side altars, pulpits and confessionals.
On August 4, 1886, national hero Jose Rizal dropped at Molo on his way back to Manila from exile at Dapitan in Mindanao. He went to see his friend, Raymundo Melliza who showed him the church.
In his diary, Rizal wrote, “We went to Molo to see the church painted by a lad who has left the locality. The church is pretty (Iglesia Bonita) outside with paintings inside mostly copies of biblical scenes by Gusty Dore.”
Actually, there were two painters who painted the murals inside the church Mariano Mabunay and Jesus Huervas.
The church was so strong that it withstood several strong earthquakes in the past. During World War II, it was the evacuation center of the civilians supervised by its parish priest, Msgr. Manuel Alba.
One of the original towers which was a Japanese machine gun nest, was destroyed on March 18, 1945, when shelled by the artillery of the United States Liberation Forces bringing its bells crumbling to the ground.
After the war, restoration of the damaged parts of the church was undertaken by Msgr. Alba and Gov. Timoteo Consing, Sr.
The church, which is dedicated to Santa Ana, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, has larger than life images of female saints lined in two rows (eight on each side) inside the church, each standing on a pedestal attached to a massive stone pillar and under the Gothic style canopy.
The Church is also known for the name “The Feminist Church” because most if not all the statues in the Church represent female saints and also because the Church believes that “Everyone is Equal”.
These saints are Sta. Marcela, Apolonia, Genoveva, Isabel, Felicia, Ines, Monica, Magdalena, Juliana, Lucia, Rosa de Lima, Teresa, Clara, Cecilia, Margarita and Marta.
