San Fernando de Dilao Church

The San Fernando de Dilao Parish Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Paco, Manila, Philippines, honoring the Spanish king Saint Ferdinand III of Castile. From February 7, 2012 to April 9, 2014, the parish was used as the Pro-Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Manila, during the structural renovations of the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The church inside is notable for its romanesque-Byzantine interior with recently Italian Baroque styled Altar, most notably the Latin inscriptions similar in style to Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.The church is currently administered by its parish priest, Rev. Msgr. Rolando R. de la Cruz. In addition, the church provides active medical, dental and ENT charitable services for its poor parishioners within the community.HistoryIn 1580, the first church built was made of nipa and bamboo and was originally dedicated to Our Lady of Purification. Fr. Juan de Garrovillas of the Franciscan order has rebuilt the church using stone materials in 1599-1601. The neighbourhood's name Dilao refers to a local shrub once used to dye textiles yellow (current Filipino orthography: diláw, "yellow").