The Parish Church of Barangay Guadalupe means a lot to me. Not only because I still currently live in Barangay Guadalupe but more importantly because I basically grew up in this church.
When I was a kid, I was a member of the quite popular (during that time) Guadalupe Children’s Choir. And on weekends, I’d spend long hours in this same church singing during weddings and other special occasions.
As I was growing up, I witnessed how the parish church gradually changed. And with different leaderships (both in the community and the church itself,) the church eventually changed completely. I’m not saying it became rusty and bad. No. To be fair, I do acknowledge that our views of the world differ from when we were small and now that we’re more mature. When I was a kid, the church sure was grand, and huge, and just magical. But I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that our beloved church, up until around 2 years ago, kinda looked like it was missing the maternal care. You know what that means.
So, imagine my surprise when recently, I came back for the first time in a really long time to find that the church had been fixed. And nope, it didn’t look like the Guadalupe Church of my youth. Nope. This one looked so much better.
Facade of the Guadalupe Parish Church, home of Cebu’s Patroness – Our Lady of Guadalupe of Cebu
They have retained the architectural details. But I’m sure thankful for the repainting job. They changed the main color from brown to blue, too! The church looks so alive now!
The ‘new’ interior made my jaw drop. It was spectacular!
Here is a semi-180-degree view of the main altar and the two wings. Magnificent, isn’t it?
The church’s focal point – the dome – looking immaculate in pure white.
Here is a view of the main altar and the chandelier hanging from the dome.
The candle-lighting area had also been re-imagined and transformed. It used to look quite messy and tight. Now, it looks bright and really relaxed.
In front of the church, this structure (I believe also houses a pre-school,) has been completed. The place looks so much cleaner now.
I hope that this not the end, but just the beginning of more wonderful things to come. To everyone who made this possible, thank you very much. Padayon!
If you want to see old photos of Guadalupe Parish Church, you may visit my old blog post entitled GUADALUPE PARISH CHURCH: A CLOSER LOOK which I published eleven years ago.
