Heritage church in Ilocos Sur town gets ‘minor basilica’ status

St. Nicholas of Tolentino Parish Church —PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO PARISH

LAOAG CITY — Pope Francis has granted the title of “minor basilica” to the 447-year-old St. Nicholas of Tolentino Parish Church in Sinait town, Ilocos Sur, the top Roman Catholic church official in the province said.

Nueva Segovia Archbishop Marlo Peralta made the announcement in a Mass on Monday at the church during the opening of its “Jubilee Doors” for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines. It coincided with the anniversary of the parish’s declaration as an Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Cristo Milagroso.

According to Peralta, the official and solemn declaration rites for the parish’s status as a minor basilica will be held during the feast day of St. Nicholas on Sept. 10.

The parish church would then bear the name “Basilica of St. Nicholas de Tolentino and Sanctuario de Santo Cristo Milagroso,” he said.

According to the 1989 Vatican document, Domus Ecclesiae, minor basilicas are traditionally named because of their “antiquity, dignity, historical value, architectural and artistic worth, and/or significance as centers of worship.”

Peralta said top church officials would be invited to witness the declaration, including the newly appointed Manila Archbishop Jose Advincula.

Parishioners could seek “spiritual blessings” and gain “connection” with the Pope through the basilica, Peralta said.

Considered as a heritage church for being one of the oldest religious buildings in the country, St. Nicholas of Tolentino Parish Church was built in 1574 by Augustinian missionaries.

Catholic faithful across the Ilocos region and those in the neighboring province of Cagayan visit the church to venerate a 400-year-old image of Jesus Christ, known as “Apo Lakay.” —JOHN MICHAEL MUGAS