The Most Holy Name of Jesus Church, also called Arevalo Church and Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño De Arevalo, is a Roman Catholic church in the town of Arevalo, Iloilo City in Iloilo, Philippines.
Table of Contents
History
Also popularly called Villa Arevalo or simply Villa, Arevalo was one of the areas explored by Spanish colonizers in the island of Panay along with Dumangas, Oton, Janiuay, and Tigbauan in the early years of the conquest.
It was founded as La Villa Rica de Arevalo by the time of Governor General Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa in 1581, naming it after his hometown in Spain. It was also the same year that the image of Sto. Niño was brought to Panay, becoming the third oldest after Cebu (1565) and Tondo (1572), and thus it predates the Sto. Niño enshrined in Iloilo City (1968).
It was declared a parish with Fr. Diego Velasquez as the first parish priest in 1582. Soon it became apparent that it eclipsed the settlement established in Oton in 1572, becoming the resident of Spanish officials in the island.
The Augustinians took over in 1584, and they installed Fr. Juan Montoya, O.S.A. as parish priest. However, the religious order could not maintain their presence in 1587 due to lack of friars. It was ceded to the Jesuits and then to the secular clergy. Years later and due to attacks from Moro raids and initiated by the Dutch, the Spaniards relocated to Fort San Pedro in Ilong-Ilong, now called Iloilo.
The church is contemporary as it is said that the old structure was destroyed and rebuilt many times in the course of several centuries. The parish is called Most Holy Name of Jesus after the name of Spanish settlement in Cebu called Sanctisimo Nombre de Jesus.
In 1868, Fr. Anselmo Avancena built the convent called Convento de Arevalo. He also initiated the second reconstruction of the church which was completed in 1869 and erected the monument that bears a crown in honor of Spain’s Queen Isabela II. Its most distinctive feature is its location in the middle of the plaza, unlike others in the country where the church is erected in its periphery, if not separately.
The image of Sto. Niño is believed to be miraculous and helped the townsfolk from attacks, drought, locust infestation, and other tribulations. A replica is located in the church while the original image is kept in Convento de Arevalo for safekeeping.
During the war, the convent was razed by the Americans to keep it from being made into a headquarter by the advancing Japanese forces, but the fire was put out without intervention. Three years after the war, a destructive earthquake struck but the image miraculously remained from where it was, somehow unperturbed from the tremors.
On January 16, 2022, the church was declared Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño De Arevalo and the image was crowned by Jaro Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo. It became the third shrine of the archdiocese after St. Vincent Ferrer in Leganes and Our Lady of Fatima in Jaro.
Architecture
A massive four-bodied bell tower stands in the gospel side of the church. Its base is quadrangular, and it has two levels of octagonal belfries pierced with arch openings with the lower one bigger in size than the one above it. It is topped with a pyramidal roof and a cross.
A portico greets visitors as they come in through to the entrance, and above it “Most Holy Name of Jesus” is inscribed. The entryway is a huge arch door. The facade is clean and plain. Ornamented with four pilasters, it has five lanchet windows with stained glass panes: one on top of the main door and two others flanking it. The pediment is empty of embellishments except the niche in the middle containing the image of the Holy Child and above it are the words “1581 St. Niño de Arevalo.”
The plaza has the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Celebration
The feast of Sto. Niño is celebrated every third Sunday of January.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of Most Holy Name of Jesus Church in Arevalo, Iloilo City from November 18, 2024 to November 24, 2024. Please reach out to the church for an updated schedule. Additionally, you may also want to view mass schedules of churches in Iloilo City.
Monday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Hiligaynon)
Tuesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Hiligaynon)
Wednesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Hiligaynon)
Thursday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Hiligaynon)
Friday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Hiligaynon)
Saturday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Hiligaynon)
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Anticipated Mass - Hiligaynon)
Sunday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Hiligaynon)
- 7:30-8:30 AM (English - Facebook Live)
- 9:00-10:00 AM (Hiligaynon)
- 4:30-5:30 PM (English - Youth Mass)
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | Most Holy Name of Jesus Church in Arevalo, Iloilo City |
| Other Names | Arevalo Church, The Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish |
| Address | Brgy. Sta. Filomena, Arevalo, Iloilo City 5000 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | (033) 337 5667 |
| web.facebook.com | |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Status | Archdiocesan shrine, parish |
| Declared as parish | 1582 |
| Age as parish | 442 years |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of St. Paul |
| Feast day | Third Sunday of January |
Nearby Churches
- Immaculate Conception Church in Tanza, Iloilo City
- Our Lady of Fatima Church in Lapuz, La Paz, Iloilo City
- Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church in Calumpang, Molo, Iloilo City
- San Jose Obrero Church in Fundidor, Molo, Iloilo City
- San Jose Placer Church in Iloilo City, Iloilo
- Santa Maria Church in Iloilo City
- St. Anne Parish Church in Molo, Iloilo City
- Sta. Teresita del Niño Church in Iloilo City
- The Assumption of Our Lady Church in Bo Obrero, Iloilo City
References
- Sornito, Ime. Santo Niño de Arevalo – Iloilo’s almost overlooked treasure. Panay News. January 22, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022
- Panganiban, Kendrick Ivan B. 2 Holy Child Shrines declared on Santo Niño feast. CBCP News. January 17, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022
- The Augustinians and Arevalo. Augustinian Churches. August 9, 20212. Retrieved October 18, 2022
- List of Tourist Attraction. City Government of Iloilo. August 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2022
- Sto Nino De Arevalo of Iloilo: Miraculous, Historical But Uncelebrated. October 2, 2011. Retrieved an archive copy from original post on October 18, 2022
- Malabanan, James. Santo Niño de Arevalo – The Third Oldest image of the Holy Child in the Philippines. Pintakasi. December 19, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2022
- History of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Villa de Arevalo, Iloilo City. Jaro Archdiocesan Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education. January 12, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2022
- The MARKS of ANTIQUITY. Archdiocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño De Arevalo. January 15, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022