Molo Church

St Anne's at Molo was completed in the 1880s in coral stone, a Gothic revival design with twin spires that is unusual in a country where colonial churches are overwhelmingly baroque, and it is known locally as the feminist church because of what stands along its nave: sixteen statues of women saints mounted on the columns down both sides, an arrangement decided by the parish at the time of building and, so far as anyone knows, unique in the Philippines. José Rizal is recorded as having visited and admired it. The church has been damaged and repaired more than once; it is a declared National Historical Landmark. Molo district around it was the Chinese-mestizo quarter of Iloilo and retains ancestral houses and the Molo mansion, and the district's other export is pancit molo, the dumpling soup named after it.

History

The first church was built in 1831 under Fray Pablo Montaño; plans for a stone church were drawn up in 1866, approved by Bishop Mariano Cuartero in 1869 and completed in 1888 by Fray Agapito Buenaflor under the supervision of Don José Manuel Locsin. José Rizal visited on 4 August 1886 to see its biblical paintings, now gone, and in 1992 the church was declared a national landmark (Wikipedia, Molo Church).

What you'll find

• The women saints - sixteen statues along the nave columns.
• The twin spires - Gothic revival front in coral stone.
• The vaulted interior - pointed arches through the nave.
• The Molo district - ancestral houses and the plaza outside.

When to go

November to May. Weekday mornings are quiet; weekends bring Masses and weddings. The Dinagyang festival in January fills Iloilo City.

Good to know

It is a working parish and closes to sightseeing during services. Repairs after earthquakes mean parts are restoration. Molo is a short ride from the city centre, not walking distance.

Nearby

Jaro Cathedral is across the city; Miagao Church is about an hour southwest.

Key facts