Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel Parish Church is a Marian and Roman Catholic church in Lutopan, Toledo City, Cebu, Philippines.
Lutopan is also referred to as Barangay DAS (after Don Andres Soriano), so the church is also referred to as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Barangay DAS and Lutopan Church.
Table of Contents
History
In 1958, a small chapel was built to serve the religious needs of the people working for and affiliated with Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation, later called Carmen Copper Corporation. It was made possible through Don Andres Soriano Sr. and his spouse Carmen. Its patroness is Our Lady of Mt. Carmel of whom Carmen Soriano was a devotee.
Fr. Epifanio Codilla was the first priest assigned as chaplain. Aside from catering to the mining village, the chapel was opened to churchgoers from the neighboring villages of Cantabaco, Campo 8, and Loay.
In August 1959, it was elevated to a parish during the time of then Archbishop Julio Cardinal Rosales and when Fr. Nanding Arriba was the parish priest of Toledo.
Fr. Gerardo Jumao-as organized the first proposal to build a bigger church. His plans however did not push through when the mining company faced financial hardship from the global price decline of copper that led to cessation of its mining operations in 1994.
Later, the reconstruction project was picked up by Fr. Domingo Tapic in February 2008. Groundbreaking rites took place in 2010. Finally on July 16, 2017, the new church was inaugurated in a pontifical mass celebrated by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and parish priest Fr. Rolando Manayon in time for the patronal feast day. The archbishop also performed its dedication and blessing.
Architecture
Lutopan Church sits on a property where the old church and convent were located with a land area of 4,861 square meters. It was designed by the engineers of Carmen Copper Corporation. Its total construction project cost was 58 million pesos, of which 11.3 million pesos was donated by the company. The rest of the funds were from donations by parishioners, church organizations, and donors. During its inauguration, Archbishop Jose Palma remarked that it was cathedral-like for its size and architectural aesthetic.
The church has an overall tiled exterior with arched and round apertures. It is embellished with fluted, engaged columns of composite capitals, grooved pilasters, and (interestingly) floating capitals found in its pair of bell towers that bound the facade. Two pairs of such columns terminate just below the pediment, while two other pairs are conjoined into an arch.
A portico of a vaulted ceiling is located in its entrance door. Above it is the stained glass window portraying the patroness. The towers have octagonal floor plan and topped with pyramidal roofs. By the level of the roof and around the towers are holy figures.
Celebration
The feast day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is every July 16.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel Parish Church in Lutopan, Toledo 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 Toledo City.
Monday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:15-1:15 PM
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Tuesday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:15-1:15 PM
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Wednesday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:15-1:15 PM
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Thursday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:15-1:15 PM
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Friday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:15-1:15 PM
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Saturday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:15-1:15 PM
- 5:30-6:30 PM
Sunday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 8:00-9:00 AM
- 9:30-10:30 AM
- 11:00-12:00 NN
- 4:00-5:00 PM
- 6:00-7:00 PM
- 7:30-8:30 PM
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel Parish Church in Lutopan, Toledo City |
| Other Names | Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Barangay DAS, Lutopan Church |
| Address | Barangay DAS, Lutopan, Toledo City, Cebu 6038 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | (032) 467-1037, 467-1036 |
| mtcarmelparishdas@gmail.com | |
| www.facebook.com | |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Founder | Andres Soriano Sr., Carmen Soriano, Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corporation |
| Established | 1958 |
| Age | 66 years |
| Status | Parish |
| Declared as parish | August 1959 |
| Age as parish | 65 years |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu |
| District | District V – Northwest Cebu |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of San Pedro Calungsod |
| Patron | Our Lady of Mt. Carmel |
| Feast day | July 16 |
| Architecture | |
| Groundbreaking | 2010 |
| Completed | July 16, 2017 |
| Age since completed | 7 years |
| Consecrated | July 16, 2017 |
| Inauguration | July 16, 2017 |
| Architect | Engineers of Carmen Copper Corporation |
| Belfry | 2 |
| Tower | 2 |
Nearby Churches
- Sacred Heart Parish Church in Poog, Toledo City
- San Isidro Labrador Parish Church in Lamac, Pinamungajan, Cebu
- San Pedro Calungsod Parish Church in Cantabaco, Lutopan, Toledo City
- St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church in Magdugo, Toledo City
References
- Archdiocese of Cebu. Claretian Publication. Retrieved January 15, 2023
- New church opens in Toledo. Sunstar. July 18, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2023
- Doris C. Bongcac. Chapel becomes a cathedral-like church. Cebu Daily News. July 17, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2023