National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles - JARO , ILOILO
The Jaro Cathedral, formally Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral and the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles (Spanish: Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria), is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro. It is located in district of Jaro of Iloilo City, in the province of Iloilo, on the island of Panay, in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is under the original patronage of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
The shrine is constructed of Romanesque revival architecture.
A distinctive feature is that the bell tower is located across a busy street, on the Jaro Plaza. Typically, belfries are built next to their churches. In this case, the tower was adjacent to an earlier church, but an earthquake destroyed the church and left the tower.
Another distinctive feature is the stairs attached to the front facade of the cathedral, over the main entrance, leading up to a shrine above the main entrance to a statue of Our Lady of the Candles, as can be see in the picture at the top of this article.
The original cathedral was built in 1874 by the first Bishop of Jaro, Mariano Cuartero, O.P. It was destroyed by an earthquake in January 1948 and later repaired in 1956 by the first Archbishop of Jaro, Jose Maria Cuenco. The current parish rector is Most Rev. Gerardo Alminaza, Divinitatis Doctor.
Surrounding the cathedral and sharing the same general location are a variety of archdiocesan and parish offices. There is also a perpetual adoration chapel. About a block away is the archdiocesan seminary and across the plaza is the archbishop's palace, or official residence.
In January 2012, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines approved the cathedral as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles.
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