National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes

The National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, better known as Lourdes Church, is a Roman Catholic national shrine in Quezon City, Philippines. The church is under the care of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin of the Philippine Ecclesiastical Province and under the Vicariate of San Pedro Bautista of the Diocese of Cubao.The original church was located in Intramuros until it was destroyed during World War II. Nonetheless, the two images of Our Lady of Lourdes dating from 1892 and 1894 respectively were hidden and spared during the bombing. Both images stand today in the present church at Quezon City.The present church was completed and inaugurated in 1951. On 1997, it was declared as a national shrine by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines. Dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, the church celebrates its feast or fiesta on February 11, the anniversary of the first apparition in Lourdes, France.HistoryEleven missionaries from Spain arrived in Manila on May 13, 1886 and stayed with the Franciscans in Intramuros. Six of the friars left while the remaining five continued to provide the spiritual needs of the area until they built the first Capuchin house in Gen Luna Street in Intramuros, Manila, opening it to the public on May 8, 1892.Father Berardo de Cieza requested Manuel Flores to sculpt a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes later that year. A second image was sculpted by the same person with the guidance of Father Antonio of Valencia. In September 1897, Architect Federico Soler started the enlargement of the chapel with help from donations from a Mr Moron. The new church dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes was inaugurated on February 3, 1910.