Tayabas Basilica

The Minor Basilica of Saint Michael the Archangel at Tayabas is the church people mean when they call something the key-shaped church: successive extensions from the sixteenth century onward left it with a long nave and a broader transept and apse, so the plan seen from above resembles an old key, and at over a hundred metres it is among the longest Spanish colonial churches in the Philippines. It is built of brick and stone with a heavy facade, a separate bell tower and a wooden ceiling, and the accumulated centuries of building and rebuilding are visible in the changes of material along its length. It was declared a National Cultural Treasure. Tayabas around it has a set of Spanish-era stone bridges scattered through the barangays, several of them still in use, and the town keeps a slower pace than nearby Lucena. Lucban and Kamay ni Hesus are a short drive up into the hills.

History

The Franciscans Juan de Plasencia and Diego de Oropesa, the "Apostles of Laguna and Tayabas", brought Catholicism here in 1578, and in 1585 Tayabas became a parish under Saint Michael, with a first church of bamboo, nipa and anahaw. On the order of Saint Pedro Bautista the church was rebuilt in brick in 1600, and the earthquake of 1743 left only its walls standing; on 13 August 1898 General Vicente Lukban received the surrender of the Spanish garrison on its patio. It became a minor basilica on 18 October 1988 and a National Cultural Treasure on 31 July 2001 (Wikipedia, Tayabas Basilica).

What you'll find

• The long nave - the hundred-metre interior of the key plan.
• The heavy facade - stone and brick front with the bell tower.
• The changing fabric - visible phases of building along the walls.
• The old bridges - Spanish stone spans around the town.

When to go

November to May for dry travel. Weekday mornings for a quiet church; weekends bring weddings and Masses.

Before you go

It is a working parish and closed to sightseeing during services. There is little formal interpretation on site. Tayabas has limited visitor facilities beyond the plaza.

Nearby

Lucban, Kamay ni Hesus and Mount Banahaw are up the hill; Lucena is the transport hub.

Key facts