Loon Church

The Nuestra Señora de la Luz Parish Church, commonly known as Loon Church, was a Roman Catholic Church in the municipality of Loon, Bohol, Philippines, under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tagbilaran. The parish was established by the Jesuits in 1753. Father Jose Garcia commissioned Domingo de Escondrillas to design the stone church which was built from 1855 to 1864.It was declared as a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.The entire church building and convent were reduced to rubble when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Bohol and other parts of Central Visayas in October 15, 2013.Church historyThe Jesuits established the parish of Loon on June 22, 1753 under the patronage of the Our Lady of Light, locally known as Birhen sa Kasilak. It is believed that the first Jesuit church was located in the downtown area called Napo (formerly the town's center) along the sea. The center, including the church, was moved in the upper portion called Moto due to pirate raids. The church complex was built with defensive stone walls and armed with a cannonball in the 1770s. Moto and Napo were connected by a stairway called inang-angan (translated as chopped ladder) with 174 stone steps built under the term of Father Antonio Yus.