Coral walls
Grey stone.
Øyvind Holmstad — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Øyvind Holmstad — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Øyvind Holmstad — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Øyvind Holmstad — CC BY-SA 4.0
Baclayon Church is an old coral-stone church on the south coast of Bohol. Thick grey walls of coral blocks rise beside a square bell tower with a red roof, and a neighbouring building has traditional sliding wooden windows. Jesuit priests founded Baclayon in 1596, making it the oldest Christian settlement on Bohol; it became a parish in 1717 and the present stone church was finished in 1727. The Augustinian Recollects took over in 1768 and renovated it heavily. It has been declared a National Cultural Treasure and a National Historical Landmark. It was badly damaged in a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in 2013 and rebuilt between 2014 and 2018. You walk around the church to see its coral walls and tower, and the neighbouring building with its wooden windows, comparing the old coral stone with the parts rebuilt after the earthquake. The church is about 7 km in a straight line east of Tagbilaran. It is a working church, so cover your shoulders and knees, and do not wander during Mass.
Grey stone.
Red roof.
Traditional.
Baclayon town, Bohol Island
Yes, in 2013; rebuilt by 2018.
Clothes covering shoulders and knees.