Nuestra Señora del Patrocinio de Maria Parish Church

TheNuestra Señora del Patrocinio de Maria Parish Church(Our Lady of Patronage of Mary Parish Church), commonly known asBoljoon Church, is aRoman Catholic Churchdedicated to the Our Lady of Patrocinio in the municipality ofBoljoon,Cebu, Philippines, under theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu.It has been declared aNational Cultural Treasureby theNational Museum of the Philippinesand a National Historical Landmark by theNational Historical Commission of the Philippines. It is also under consideration for theUNESCOWorld HeritageSites of the Philippinesas a member of theBaroque Churches of the Philippines(Extension).Church historyBoljoon (also spelledBoljo-on) began as a smallChristian settlement namedNabulho.[1]It became avisitaofCarcarin 1599, and a small chapel was placed under the advocacy of the BlessedVirgin Mary. It was elevated to a parish on October 31, 1690, based on the decision of Father Francisco de Zamora, Provincial of theAugustinians, as a result of the increasing number of Christians in the area. The decision was implemented upon the appointment of FatherNicolás de la Cuadra as its first parish priest on April 5, 1692.[1][2]As early as 1732, the Augustinians proposed to leave Boljoon, owing to a shortage of priests;[2]they eventually left onSeptember 27, 1737. Administration of Boljoon was later transferred to theJesuits. The Augustinians returned to Boljoon in 1747 in exchange for Liloan, Cotcot and Maraling from the Jesuits.[3][4][5]Architectural historyIn 1782, earlier buildings in Boljoon were destroyed by pirates.[2]The present church of Boljoon was built by Augustinian priest Father Ambrosio Otero in 1783.[6]Construction of the church was continued by Father Manuel Cordero in 1794 and completed by Father Julián Bermejo in 1841.[1]Father Bermejo also built other structures as part of Boljoon's defense network, such as the watchtowers and blockhouse. The church was later restored by Father Leandro Morán, the last Augustinian priest of Boljoon, who served from 1920 to 1948.[7]The followingyear, theArchdiocese of Cebutook charge of Boljoon.[4]Father Zacarias Suñer was appointed as the first secular parish priest of Boljoon in 1958.[3]In 2007, restoration work was performed through the Boljoon Heritage Foundation, with funding from the Cebu Provincial Government.[8]Historical and cultural designationsThe church was declared as a National HistoricalLandmark by theNational Historical Institutein 1999,[7]and it was listed as aNational Cultural T