16th century church next focus of QC tourism dev’t

The Quezon City government hopes to draw more visitors to Santuario de San Pedro Bautista, a church dedicated to the Franciscan missionary from Spain who organized Christian communities in the country for more than a decade before he was martyred in Japan in 1597. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

The Quezon City government is embarking on a new tourism project centering on the 426-year-old Santuario de San Pedro Bautista Church in San Francisco Del Monte, one of the oldest churches in the country.

The plan was announced earlier this week by Mayor Herbert Bautista as the city unveiled its new tourism website and slogan, “QC Welcomes You.”

“Welcomes” stands for “walk, enjoy, learn, celebrate overnight, meditate, eat and shop.”

“We want to develop the San Pedro Bautista Church in District 1 and transform it like Vigan,” the mayor added. He was referring to heritage-rich capital of Ilocos Sur province, which is known for well-preserved ancestral homes and churches dating back to the Spanish colonial era.

Founded in 1590, the Santuario was later dedicated to Spanish missionary Fr. Pedro Bautista, one of the 26 Catholic martyrs executed in Japan in 1597.

According to the mayor, the church property has a vacant area of around 5,000 square meters where a market, a parking area and a walkway for tourists may be set up. With the church itself already aesthetically and structurally sound, the area just needs some additional infrastructure, he noted.

A “Vigan-like” development is envisioned for the 4-century-old church in QC’s Frisco area.

“What we want there is to convert a 2,500 square meter (area) into a multilevel market, with the basement allotted for delivery vehicles, the ground floor for the market, and the upper levels for clinics,” Bautista explained during a program held on Monday.

The other half of the area, the mayor said, may be allotted for the buses and other vehicles bringing in tourists, who from there can then take a cobblestone path going to the church.

Bautista also cited plans for the houses located along the path to host shops selling products from the various regions. If the homeowners would agree, the city government would shoulder the cost of converting the houses for this purpose, he added.

By developing the Santuario area, City Hall hopes to draw more visitors to the city during summertime, particularly on Holy Week when Catholics go on Visita Iglesia or a pilgrimage to various churches as part of their devotion.