Saint Joseph the Patriarch Church

The Saint Joseph the Patriarch Church also known as Archdiocesan Shrine of Saint Joseph the Patriarch is a church located in the town center of San Jose, Batangas in the Philippines. The church is known for being one of the parishes that Fr. Manuel Blanco O.S.A, who authored the Flora de Filipinas, administered.Church historyFr. Jose Victoria built the church in 1762. The Augustinian Chapter of May 9, 1767 named Fr. Agustin Horbegozo as the town's parish priest. Fr. Tomas Cañón replaced the old structure with one made of lime and pebbles. In 1790 the archbishop of Manila ordered the parish church of Batangas to give one of its old, dimanteled retablos to San Jose. Fr. Manuel Blanco in 1812 replace the original buildings with new ones made of masonry, he constructed the convento and began the work on the present church, but left in 1816 without seeing it completed. The church roof went up in flames in 1847 and was changed to tile in 1849 by Fray Marcos Anton. A fire damaged both the church and convento in 1857. While the church underwent repairs, a new convento had to be built. Fr. Ramon Sanchez took over the parish in 1856 and continued the restoration work on the church, with the completion of the convent and tower, he also added a baptistery to the church in 1868; that was fitted with a marble font in 1878. Fray Bruno Laredo (1870-1884) improved both church and convent, rebuilding the bamboo sacristy in stone, and commencing the work on the transept. During the term of Fr. Vicente Maril (1884-1887), the roof of the church was replaced by galvanized iron. Fr. Victoriano Perez (1890 to 1896) restored the L-shaped convent and completed works on the transept and dome.The 1898 revolution expelled the Spanish friars from the Philippines, the last Spanish parish priest being Fray Manuel de Arostegui of the Order of Saint Augustine, bears the last entry on the Book of Baptism dated May 28, 1898. He was replaced by Fr. Vicente Jose Romero who became the parish priest of the town.