San Nicolas de Tolentino Church is an old Roman Catholic Church and National Cultural Treasure located in Dimiao, a town that is in the southern part of Bohol, Philippines. It is also known simply as Dimiao Church.
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History
Dimiao Church was the sixth parish that the Jesuits built in Bohol during the Spanish era.
Although the exact date of its establishment cannot be determined, the earliest mention in a historical document that refers to the church was in as early as 1750.
Restoration works were done to repair the damages from the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on October 15, 2013. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines formally turned over the restored church on September 1, 2018. Later, its roof was damaged by super typhoon Odette on December 17, 2021.
Heritage
The Dimiao complex that includes the San Nicolas de Tolentino Church, convent, sacristy, kitchen, and Ermita ruins were declared National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum on July 30, 2011.
Architecture
This church was constructed between 1797 and 1815, and it shows Baroque characteristics with Muslim influence. The altar, pulpit, and pipe organ dates are from the 19th century, and the old building material of tabique pampango can be found above the crossing.
The church’s facade has horizontal decorative molding run along the facade, illustrating the base, two levels, and the uppermost section that consists of a gable flanked by octagonal belfries. At the center is an arched entrance door flanked by blind arch windows in the ground level. Each side of the door rises a pair of engaged Corinthian columns; they give way to similarly designed columns in the upper register, and from there moldings slope towards the center on the pediment tracing an outline a gable roof.
Above the door is a coat of arm. In the upper register is a recessed arched niche of the patron flanked by open arched windows. Pilasters divide the facade vertically. They are ornate, each consisting of high relief of various motifs and decors. They are larger at the base and taper upwards. Two pilasters in the center rise up to and dissect the pediment, and they are flanked by similar pilasters that culminate in finials. The pediment rises to a central acroterium.
The church’s facade connects to the belfries on each side by a wall of a blind arched window (in the epistle side) and an arched door (in the gospel side) in the ground level and a small open arched window in the upper register. The belfry is pierced by a rectilinear window on each alternating side. The church has seven bells, the oldest of which is dated 1841.
Celebration
Dimiao Church is dedicated to St. Nicholas of Tolentino, whose feast day falls on September 10. The local government of Dimiao meanwhile celebrates the Pamakwan Festival every May.
Services
The parish office is open from 8:00 in the morning until 12:00 noon and from 2:00 to 5:00 afternoon from Mondays to Saturdays. Every Sunday, it is only open in the morning.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of San Nicolas de Tolentino Church in Dimiao, Bohol from November 25, 2024 to December 1, 2024. Please reach out to the church for an updated schedule. Additionally, you may also want to view mass schedules of churches in Dimiao.
Monday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Tuesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Wednesday
- 5:00-6:00 PM
Thursday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Friday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Saturday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Anticipated Mass)
Sunday
- 6:30-7:30 AM
- 8:30-9:30 AM
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | San Nicolas de Tolentino Church in Dimiao, Bohol |
| Other Names | Dimiao Church |
| Address | Sawang, Dimiao, Bohol 6305 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | 0917 795 3446 |
| sannicolasdetolentinodimiao@gmail.com | |
| www.facebook.com | |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1750 |
| Age | 274 years |
| Status | Parish |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu |
| Diocese | Diocese of Tagbilaran |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of the Holy Child |
| Patron | St. Nicholas of Tolentino |
| Feast day | September 10 |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage | National Cultural Treasure |
| Completed | 1815 |
| Age since completed | 209 years |
| Style | Baroque |
Nearby Churches
- Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church in Lila, Bohol
- St. Isidore the Farmer Church in Tabuan, Garcia Hernandez, Bohol
- St. John the Baptist Church in Garcia Hernandez, Bohol
- Sto. Niño Church in Valencia, Bohol
References
- Jose, Regalado Trota (April 4, 2015). Bohol Churches. National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved June 25, 2022
- Oaminal, Clarence Paul (March 5, 2018). The Vicariate of Southern Bohol. The Freeman. Retrieved June 25, 2022
- D’Ayala, D; Galasso, C; Putrino, V; Fanciullacci, D; Barucco, P; Fanciullacci, V; Bronzino, C; … Yu, K; (2016). Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Priority Cultural Heritage Structures in the Philippines. In: Proceedings of the 6th Asia Conference on Earthquake Engineering (6ACEE). ACEE. Retrieved June 25, 2022
- Dimiao Church. Filipinas Heritage Library. Retrieved June 25, 2022
- Luis I Ablaza Hall: Religious Art from the 17th to 19th Centuries. National Museum of the Philippines. Retrieved June 25, 2022
- Sembrano, Edgar Allan M. (December 26, 2021). Bohol’s Spanish colonial churches now restored. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 25, 2022
- Udtohan, Leo (November 2, 2016). Visitors find strange attraction to 200-year-old honeycomb-like tombs in Bohol. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 25, 2022
- Sembrano, Edgar Allan M. (January 16, 2022) ‘Odette’ devastates heritage sites in Cebu and Bohol. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 25, 2022
- Soliva, Merrian Piquero PhD (May 31, 2018). Dr. Daquio: 1st Pamakwan Festival keynote speaker. Agricultural Training Institute; Department of Agriculture. GOV.PH. Retrieved June 25, 2022