"THE HIDDEN BEAUTY": "BOLJOON THE CEBU HERITAGE FRONTIER"

"THE BEAUTY OF BOLJOON"

ABOUT BOLJOON

Boljo-on
Land area: 11,500 hectares / 111.2 square kilometers

Boundaries: It is bounded by the Municipality of Alcoy in the north, the Municipality of Oslob in the south, the Municipality of Malabuyoc in the west and Bohol Strait in the east.

Total population: 13,380

Boljoon is a fifth (5th) class municipality composed of eleven (11 barangays. Of the eleven, 6 barangays are coastal including the Poblacion, the rest are upland barangays. It is an agricultural town where fishing and farming is the two main livelihood of its people. The Poblacion is the main commercial district of the town.

Boljoon is one of the oldest towns in southern Cebu. It is also the quaintest and picturesque. Its narrow coastal plains are bordered by cliff and luxuriant hills; which offers a commanding view of the Bohol Strait. Boljoon therefore is hemmed in by tall mountain ranges with residual natural forests making it " THE ONLY POSTCARD TOWN IN THE ENTIRE PROVINCE OF CEBU".
According to Marin Morales, the town was created in 1598 while the parish was established a year later. A certain Fr. Blanco disputed this claim and asserted that the Parish was founded in 1600. Another source stated that Boljoon's church was created in 1606 with Barili and Pari-an in 1614 and Mandaue in 1630. A document that still exists in the Archives of the Augustinian Province of the Philippines recorded the formal establishment of Boljoon's Parish in 1692 with Fray Nicholas de la Cuadra, OSA, as its first parish priest. The present church was constructed in 1783 by Fray Ambrosio Otero, OSA, in 1783 and completed by Fray Julian Bermejo, OSA, who also continued the church convent that was finished in 1841.

" THE FACES OF BOLJOON"

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Boljoon Church in Cebu: A UNESCO World Heritage Site Candidate

It has been my long time dream to visit the centuries-old church in the Southern town of Boljoon in Cebu. In fact, I want to stop at each and every southern town as this trail is just scattered will grandiose churches!

The Church of Boljoon is officially known as Nuestra Señora de Patrocino Parish Church. It is approximately 2.5 hours away from Cebu City if one would take a VHire via the SRP route.

The Boljoon Church faces the Tañon Strait. The view is simply breathtaking. Who doesn’t love hearing mass on a Sunday morning with the rising over the seas facing the Boljoon Church?
The church was constructed using the pseudo-baroque rococo style. Its facade has bas reliefs that has been beautifully executed. It is also said that the Church in Boljoon is theoldest stone church still standing in Cebu today.

On the right side of the church is its belfry and a cemetery complex decorated with skulls. It was really interesting to see this kind of cemetery design.
The church of Patrocinio de Maria in Boljoon Cebu has already been included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List. I just hope that this would finally be included on the list together the Churches of Santa Maria, Ilocos Sur, San Agustin Manila, Paoay Ilocos Norte and Miag ao Iloilo, which is collectively known as the Baroque Churches of the Philippines