San Guillermo Parish Church

San Guillermo Parish Church is named after San Guillermo, the patron saint of Bacolor, Pampanga, Philippines, where the church is erected. The church was originally constructed by the Augustinian Friars in 1576 – also the town's founding – with Fr. Diego De Ochoa, OSA, as the town's first parish priest. Having been installed as such two years after.In 1880, the church was destroyed by an earthquake only to be rebuilt by Fr. Eugenio Alvarez in 1886. On September 3, 1995, lahar flow from the slopes of Mount Pinatubo which erupted into world notice on June 15, 1991, buried the church at half its 12-m height prompting its more than 50,000 town residents to evacuate to safer grounds in resettlement areas. Near the façade of the parish church is a museum which contains the history of the church. It also contains paintings of the Pinatubo eruption in 1991.HistoryBacolor is one of the oldest towns in the Philippines. The first church was built by the Augustinian friars in 1576 on the lot of Don Guillermo Manabat, a rich landlord believed to be the founder of Bacolor. An earthquake destroyed the church and a new church was built by Fr. Manuel Diaz in 1897. It has a central nave and well-lighted transept with windows. The main retablo, side retablos and pulpit are gilded with gold leaf. The richness of the decoration of Bacolor church depicts the advanced stage of baroque and rococo. In spite of the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, which half-buried the church on October 1, 1995, the structure is still being used as place of worship. It was already a world-renowned tourist destination before the lahar tragedies; now more tourists flock to the church whose remaining features are being preserved and maintained.