Metro Manila has long been considered to be quite notorious, as most capital areas are. The fast-paced way of life, the mixture of different people with different beliefs and convictions inhabiting the same highly urban community tends to bring about a certain amount of indifferenceand perhaps, even viciousness. This is why being considered to be “the most attended church in Asia” is a coveted title Baclaran church, or the National Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual help, takes pride in. amidst the chaos of fast=paced urban living, the people from all over Metro Manila and the neighboring provinces are drawn to this church located almost at the tip of Metro Manila, in Paranque City.
The image of Our Mother of perpetual help was brought to the Philippines in 1906 by the Redemptorist Fathers. However, the very first Perpetual novena in 1946 was not celebrated in Baclaran, but at the Redemptorist Church of St. Clement in IloIlo. Fr. Gerard O’ Donell, the Redemptorist Rector of Lipa at that time, saw the novena and intended to hold the same novena in Lipa. Eventually, he became the Rector of Baclaran, where he fulfilled his desire to promulgate the Perpetual Novena. And so on June 23, 1948, Fr. Leo English conducted the First Perpetual Novena in Baclaran.
The people whoa attended the novena started with the small number of 70. That was in the year 1948, when the Baclaran church can hold only 300 people. Within the year, the attendance of the crowd grew and additional sessions of the Novena as well as additional sections of the church had to be made in order to accommodate the people. A year later, there were eight teeming sessions of the Novena, and Wednesdays have been singled out as the national day of prayer to the Mother of Perpetual Help.
A bigger church had to be made because of the constant and quick increase in the number of devotees flocking the church. The Redemptorist Fathers made a petition for each person to make a humble donation of six centavos per week. This way, even the simplest-living person was able to contribute to the construction of the church. However, it took a long time to get the sufficient amount of money to complete the construction of the church. The entire construction of the church took six years, with the Novena going on as it did before the construction.
Finally, in January of 1958, Baclaran church was declared as the National Shrine of the Mother of Perpetual help by the Philippines Hierarchy. The church was completed in December of the same year, when it was fervently consecrated by Archbishop Santos of Manila.
The architecture of the church is described as Modern Romasque. The architect of the church, Cesar Consio, initially intended a higher church with a bell tower. However, because of the proximity of the church to the airport terminals, certain adjustments had to be made. The church was constructed a bit lower with a bell tower. Nevertheless, the interior design of the church, especially the design of the ceiling and the slender pillars, create the illusion of a high church.
The Baldechino with its columns and capitals are made of giallo oro and Bottecino marbles, while the dome, the high altar, the predella and the steps are of white Carrara. The Shrine, the tabernacle, the reredos and the sanctuary gates are made of Italian bronze. It is also said that the afternoon sun filters into the Sanctuary through the stained-glass rose window at the choir loft.
The total length of the church measures 350 feet. The very long aisle could be quite attractive to marrying couples. As said by the current parish priest, Fr. Frank Pidgeon, “Any bride would love to take that long walk.” However, Baclaran Church is not a parish church, and weddings are not conducted here.
The church can seat 2,000 individuals and can accommodate another 9,000 standing. Every Wednesdays to pray the Novena. They start coming in from four in the morning until midnight. The church is also considered to be “an important center of spiritual regeneration” because of the confessions that are heard almost every hour daily.
The Bacalaran Church remains true to its devotion and veneration of Our Mother of Perpetual Help by serving as a sanctuary in many ways. It is the only church that is open to the public 24 hours every day, all days of the week. It becomes a sanctuary to those who do not have anywhere to go in the dead of night in the church because there is no one to pick them up and they have nowhere to go. The church also has very active outreach programs. Among these is the free medical and dental clinic located at the side. The church also has a shelter for runaway children – it is where they take care of the moral and emotional needs of the children until they are once again, ready to go back to their homes.
At the tip of chaotic Metro Manila lies a Sanctuary for all devout souls. When you really think about it, the fact that the most attended church in Asia stands right in the middle of chaotic place like Baclaran is actually not very bizarre. It is the Sanctuary of jaded souls and of strong faiths that remain intact despite the turmoil of urbanity.
