Iloilo Travelogue#10: Molo Church - the White Queen

If Jaro Cathedral serves as the Alpha Male Church of Iloilo City, Molo Church or St. Anne is definitely the Queen church. Standing sexy and tall in the heart of Molo town, with its two red-roofed belfry tower stretching high in the heavens, it is the only Gothic church in the whole country that is located outside of Manila. It is a must for all visitors to see this white church. And, yes, I said it right, it is not typo-error, this church is actually white by nature. Its walls are made up of tons of white corals that have been discolored by time, war and natural elements. It survived many strong earthquakes from the past and had served as an evacuation center for civilians during WWII. Unfortunately, one of its original towers became a Japanese machine gun nest and had to be destroyed by the American forces; shells of artillery sent its bells tumbling to the ground on March 18, 1945. Restoration was made after the war and in 1992, it was declared a National  Landmark.

Molo Church, Iloilo City

Constructed in 1831 and dedicated to St. Anne, the blessed Virgin Mary's mother, it houses sixteen (16) life-like female saints statues (eight on each side). These are St. Marcela, Apolonia, Genoveva, Isabela, Felicia, Ines, Monica, Magdalena, Juliana, Lucia, Teresa, Clara, Margarita and Marta. And while all the female saints are all cooped inside the church, the surrounding streets outside the church were named after male saints - St. Marcos, Joseph, Peter, John, Antonio etc. The locals believed that this shows how much the Moleños protects the women of Molo. 

Molo Church doors, Iloilo City

And, did you know that Rizal, our National hero, actually visited this church when he was on his way back to Manila from his exile in Dapitan. His boat, S.S Espana arrived in Ilolo and he was able to visit Escolta and Molo church. He actually described it as "La Iglesia Bonita" (A beautiful church). 

Upon entering, we saw a gated room which I think a place where they conduct baptismal back in the days. I love the medieval-looking chandelier hanging on its ceiling and the antique looking basin just below it. ^_^.

The white painted walls and gray accents on the cornices led my eyes directly to the golden structure at the end of its long aisle. Unfortunately for us, there was a funeral mass held at the time and out of respect for the person's grieving family, we did not take a closer look at its famous altar and was not able to get a shot of the colorful murals above it.

Molo Church, Iloilo City

But, there are a couple of old paintings on its walls near the entrance. The Last Supper and a painting of Jesus entering Jerusalem in a pony as shown in the pictures below. 

Last Supper, Molo Church

Jesus entering Jerusalem in a pony, Molo Church, Iloilo City

There is also that iconic life-sized statue of St. Michael showing his triumph over the devil. 

And even though we were not able to explore the church, we were able to visit the Adoration Chapel at the back of the church. A quiet place to say a little prayer. Just don't forget to take your shoes off and shut those phones and cameras off before entering. ^_^

Adoration Chapel, Molo Church.

How we got there:
From Iloilo City proper, we rode a jeepney bound for "Oton/Arevalo", just ask the driver to drop you off at the Molo Plaza, you can walk directly to the church from there. Fare is about PHP7.00/person.