On our way to Sapang Dalaga in Misamis Occidental, we stopped by Jimenez Church—a late 19th-century Baroque Church—or also known as the San Juan Bautista Parish Church located in the town of the same name.
Built on top of the hill by the Augustinian Recollects in 1829, it underwent a series of renovations until the current structure finished construction in 1896. Built mostly from coral stone, the church's design was credited to Father Roque Azcona who led the groundbreaking of the church in 1862.
Declared as part of National Cultural Treasure of the Philippines in 2001, Jimenez Church is characterized by its facade that is missing the architectural element of pediment present in most Spanish-built churches from the same era. In lieu of it, are a portico, a trio of arched entrances and a rooftop enclosed by a parapet.
Also featuring some Renaissance style touches, the church is made more glorious by its interior highlighted by a high ceiling covered with paintings dating back to the 1890’s and rows of Gothic-styled pillars.
During our visit, the current Parish Priest invited us to check out the steel pipe organ on the second floor overlooking the altar. He told us that the organ pipe was the same one installed by Father Constancio Asencio following the construction of the church in the late 1890's.
From the second floor, we climbed a wooden flight of stairs to the rooftop and then to the three-tiered bell tower.
Since Mindanao was hardly invaded by the Spanish and much of the region’s inhabitants remained a follower of the Islam religion, there were only a few churches established during the colonial period. With San Juan Bautista Parish Church among the very few, it also earns the distinction as one of the well-preserved Roman Catholic Church in Mindanao.
