Pinaglabanan Church

The St. John the Baptist Parish (colloquially, Pinaglabanan Church; Filipino: Parokya nI San Juan Bautista), is a 19th-century Roman Catholic church in San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines.NameThe church derives its name from John the Baptist, to whom it is dedicated. He is both the patron saint and namesake of the city, which has the ceremonial name of "San Juan del Monte" (Saint John of the Mountain), owing to the area's hilly terrain.The edifice is also known colloquially as the "Pinaglabanan Church", as it is several metres from the Pinaglabanan Shrine. The area near the church and shrine received the name "Pinaglabanan" (Tagalog for "battleground") as the Katipunan engaged the Spanish Empire in the Battle of San Juan del Monte, marking the start of the 1896 Philippine Revolution.HistoryEstablishmentAlthough the parish was established on 15 July 1894, the construction of the first church happened a year after, under the supervision of architect Luis Arellano and the financial support of Mariano Artiaga. A Franciscan, Fr. Roman Pérez, OFM served as the first parish priest from 1894 until 1897.