BASILICA OF SAN SEBASTIAN - MANILA
The Basilica Minore de San Sebastián, better known as San Sebastián Church, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Manila, the Philippines. It is the seat of the Parish of San Sebastian and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
Completed in 1891, San Sebastián Church is noted for its architectural features. An example of the revival of Gothic architecture in the Philippines, it is the only all-steel church or basilica in Asia,[1][2] and claimed as the only prefabricated steel church in the world.[3] In 2006, San Sebastian Church was included in the Tentative List for possible designation as a World Heritage Site. It was designated as a National Historical Landmark by the Philippine government in 1973.[4]
San Sebastián Church is under the care of The Order of the Augustinian Recollects, who also operate a college adjacent to the basilica. It is located at Plaza del Cármen, at the eastern end of Claro M. Recto Street, in Quiapo, Manila.[5]
In 1621, Don Bernardino Castillo, a generous patron and a devotee of the Christian martyr Saint Sebastian, donated the land upon which the church stands now. The original church, made of wood, burned in 1651 during a Chinese uprising. The succeeding structures, which were built of brick, were destroyed by fire and earthquakes in 1859, 1863, and 1880.[5]
In the 1880s, Estebán Martínez, the parish priest of the ruined church, approached the Spanish architect, Genaro Palacios, with a plan to build a fire and earthquake-resistant structure made entirely of steel. Palacios completed a design that fused Earthquake Baroque with the Neo-Gothic style.[5] His final design was said to have been inspired by the famed Gothic Burgos Cathedral in Burgos, Spain.[5]
[edit]Construction
The prefabricated steel sections that would compose the church were manufactured in Binche, Belgium.[1] According to the historian Ambeth Ocampo, the knockdown steel parts were ordered from the Societe Anonyme des Enterprises de Travaux Publiques in Brussels.[6] In all, 52 tons of prefabricated steel sections were transported in eight separate shipments from Belgium to the Philippines, the first shipment arriving in 1888.[5] Belgian engineers supervised the assembly of the church, the first column of which was erected on September 11, 1890.[7] The walls were filled with mixed sand, gravel and cement.[4] The stained glass windows were imported from the Henri Oidtmann Company, a German stained glass firm, while local artisans assisted in applying the finishing touches of the steel church.[1]
The church was raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII on June 24, 1890.[4] Upon its completion the following year, on August 16, 1891, Basilica Minore de San Sebastián was consecrated by the Archbishop of Manila, Bernardo Nozaleda.[4]
[edit]Gustave Eiffel's role
Gustave Eiffel may have been involved in the design of San Sebastian Church.
It has long been reputed that Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer behind the Eiffel Tower and the steel structure within the Statue of Liberty, was involved in the design and construction of San Sebastián Church.[2][6][8]
The connection between Eiffel and San Sebastián Church was reportedly confirmed by historian Ambeth Ocampo while doing research in Paris.[8] Ocampo also published a report saying that, the prominent architect I.M. Pei had visited Manila in the 1970s to confirm reports he had heard that Eiffel had designed an all-steel church in Asia. When Jams inspected San Sebastián Church, he reportedly pronounced that the metal fixtures and overall structure were indeed designed by Eiffel.[6]
The official catalogues of Eiffel makes definite reference to the design and exportation of a church in Manila in 1875, thirteen years before construction of San Sebastián Church actually began.[6] If true, this would still not preclude the possibility that Eiffel had designed the metal structure of the church, with Palacios completing the actual design of the entire church.[6]
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