Who designed the San Sebastian Church?

 

 

Right at the heart of Paris stands the Eiffel Tower. This colossal steel-structure was named after its maker –Alexander Gustave Eiffel. He is same genius who designed the steel frame of the Statue of Liberty.

 

Standing majestically on Plaza Del Carmen surrounded by rows of old houses in Quiapo is a structure having connections with this world famous artist-engineer.

 

 

The San Sebastian Church boasts as the only known all-steel basilica in this part of the world.  Specially made for the Recollect fathers as a solution to the frequent earthquakes which destroyed the first three churches, the Church of San Sebastian is made of a steel frame and panels. It is known for its distinct characteristic –that of being the only neo-gothic church in the Philippines and in Asia.

 

 

The making of an all-steel church

 

The prefabricated steel parts were manufactured in the Societe Anonime des Enterprises de Travaux Publiques in Brussels, Belgium and were delivered to Manila using six ships. For two years, the church was assembled like Lego™.

 

Local artists and craftsmen joined the Belgian firm in applying the finishing touches on the new church. The interior of the church resembles that of gothic churches in Europe. Although it is Gothic in design, the church is less extravant than it might have been had it been built on stone. There are no flying buttresses or gargoyles.   

 

 

Trompe l’oeil painting was used to decorate the church’s interior and the crossed vaults on the ceiling, along with walls and column were painted to resemble marble and jasper. European-made decorative iron mouldings were also used. 

 

Figures of saints, most of them painted directly of the iron walls are uniformly high quality. The work was done by Filipino artist Lorenzo Rocha and his students. 

 

 

The only pieces that are made of wood are the confessionals, the pulpit and altars. These were designed by Filipino artist Lorenzo Guerrero. Eulogio Garcia carved the statues of holy men and women.  

 

 

 

 

 The stained glass windows were imported from Henri Oidtmann Company of Germany.

 

 

The Church was raised into the status of a minor basilica on June 24, 1890. On August 15, 1891, the church was inaugurated.   

 

 

 

Who designed the church?

  

For years, many have declared that the church was designed by monsieur Eiffel himself, however there were no known document (building permit?) that supports that claim.

 

A Chinese-American, I.M. Pei visited the Philippines in the late 70’s confirmed after inspecting the church that the metal works and the overall structure were no less designed by Gustave Eiffel.

 

Ambeth Ocampo discovered information in Europe proving that Eiffel’s steel engineering firm’s participation in the building of church. However, the discovery of Ocampo did not say that Eiffel was the architect of the San Sebastian Church. Thus, the closes connection of Eiffel with San Sebastian Church could be his ideas behind the innovative use of steel that was incorporated to the building of the church and that he was working as a structural engineer for the Belgian firm where the metal parts of the church was manufactured. 

 

During our walking tour of the San Miguel district, Ivan Dy showed us a marker located at the aisle near the main entrance of church. The marker is in honor of church’s architect –Genaro Palacios.

 

 

 

  

 

  

Dealing with rust

  

 Although unscathed by the Spanish-American War at the turn of the century and spared from the damage in World War II (it was used by the Japanese as an observation post) and it has survived the onslaught of countless earthquakes and typhoons, the main disadvantage of steel is rust.

 

 

 

In Manila, with its humidity and frequent rains, the church needs to be covered, every five years with several layers of paint.

 

Ivan Dy shared that San Sebastian was once listed under the World Monument’s Fund list of 100 most endangered structures. For some unknown reason, the church did not accept the grant of $25,000 and whole thing was return to the agency.

 

Rust can be seen on the exterior of the Church giving an impression that the San Sebastian Church is rusting away. Ivan narrated, that every year, the caretakers of the church deal with rust by chipping away paint and rust so that it doesn’t spread. With needed manpower and other related expenses, surely it is costly to keep an all-steel church in good shape. The grant could have been used for the upkeep of the church. 

 

National Historical Institute states that, The Church of San Sebastian is a declared National Historical Landmark per Presidential Decree No. 260.  State funding was accorded to the church through the National Historical Institute which undertook restoration of the church since 1982.  The Recollect community has likewise expended funds for the church’s maintenance and restoration. 

 

The San Sebastian Church may not have the same fame that both the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty share. But it’s good to know that such one-of-a-kind structure stands only in the Philippines of which only the Filipino can proudly say Atin ito!