# Binondo Church

The Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, also as Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Parish and commonly known as Binondo Church, is located in the district of Binondo, Manila fronting Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz, in the Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Manila. The church was founded by Dominican priests in 1596 to serve their Chinese converts to Christianity. The original building was destroyed in 1762 by British bombardment. A new granite church was completed on the same site in 1852 however it was greatly damaged during the Second World War, with only the western façade and the octagonal belfry surviving.
Lorenzo Ruiz, who was born of a Chinese father and a Filipino mother, trained in this church and afterwards went as a missionary to Japan, where he and his companions were martyred for refusing to renounce Christianity. Lorenzo is the Philippines' first saint and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1987. A large statue of Ruiz stands in front of the church.
Masses are held in Filipino, Mandarin, Hokkien, and English. As of 2022, the present parish priest and shrine rector is Esteban U. Lo.

## History

Even before the arrival of the Spanish to the Philippines there was already a community of Chinese traders living in Manila. The population of Chinese traders increased with the advent of Spanish colonization of the Philippines, due to increased trade between the islands. The upsurge in their population prompted the Catholic Missionaries to manage the conversion of the Chinese population to the Christian faith.
In 1596, Dominican priests founded Binondo church to serve their Chinese converts to Christianity as well as to the native Filipinos. A church was constructed before 1614. When transferred to its present site in the 18th century, a new church was built to accommodate new churchgoers. In 1778, the roof was replaced with nipa as the wood was destroyed by termites. In 1863, the church was slightly damaged by an earthquake. The original structure has sustained damages during wars and various natural disasters.
Chinese martyr John Alcober served as a priest in the church in the 18th century. Domingo Cruz y Gonzales supervised the construction of the dome in 1781.
American bombing during World War II on September 22, 1944, destroyed the structure. Almost everything, including the majority of the archives of the parish, were burned. Nothing was left behind except the stone walls of the church and the fire-tiered octagonal bell tower. After the war, Binondo parishioners had to make do with a roofless church for several years until it was rebuilt in the 1950s. The present church and convent were renovated between 1946 and 1971.
On July 23, 1992, Pope John Paul II approved the petition to elevate Binondo Church as a minor basilica. It was solemnly declared as such on October 25 of the same year by then-Manila Archbishop, Cardinal Jaime Sin. On September 22, 2024, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines elevated the Binondo Church into a national shrine.

## Architecture

The current granite church completed in 1852 and features an octagonal pagoda-like bell tower which suggests the Chinese culture of the parishioners. The church was burned during the British invasion of 1762. Another one was quickly built following the occupation. Improvements were made in the 18th century but the edifice was again destroyed in the 1863 earthquake. It was rebuilt in the grandeur the remains on which we see today. Before the war, it was considered as one of the most beautiful churches in the country. Its bell tower was composed of five stories, octagonal in shape. At its top was a mirador (viewing window). This roof was destroyed during the 1863 earthquake.
The roof behind the pediment and the walls at the left of the façade are additions in the past years. The original façade, with some few renovations, is similar to that of the Italian High Renaissance churches. The façade is buttressed on the sides by pilaster mass terminated by urn-like decorations. A tower is found at the apex of the pediment. At the base of the pediment, along its central axis, is a small circular window framed by smaller columns and pediment which are framed by a foliated scroll. At the right is the huge, octagonal tower characterized by cantons at its angles and pedimented window openings.
* Dominican saint statue on the eastern flank
* Dome of church, surmounted by a papal tiara and keys to denote its status as a basilica
* False window on the base of the belfry
* Church NHC historical marker installed in 1972
* Marble plaque in front of the building
* Viewing the nave from the narthex
* Choir loft and narthex, viewed from the nave
* View of the apse and main altar, modeled after the façade of Saint Peter's Basilica
* Arches, pendentives and inner dome
* Dome detail with the Holy Ghost and angels, and small medallions of the Four Evangelists in the pendentives

## Trivia

* The current main altar of the church is loosely modeled after the façade of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
* The basilica has been reconstructed many times due to natural calamities and only the belfry is what remains of the original 16th century structure.
* Andrés Bonifacio and his second wife Gregoria de Jesús were wed in Catholic rites in the church in March 1893 or 1894. The couple had also undergone a marriage ceremony under the Katipunan, the secret society that Bonifacio headed as part of the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish Empire.