Palo Metropolitan Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Palo in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It is also called Palo Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration, Palo Church, and Our Lord’s Transfiguration Parish Church.
Table of Contents
History
The Jesuits established their first two missions in Carigara (where they put up Holy Cross Church) and Dulag (where they put up Our Lady of Refuge Church). From Dulag, they spread out to the town of Palo and its mission was founded in 1596.
The church in Palo was founded by Fr. Cristobal Jimenez, S.J. and Fr. Francisco Encinas, S.J.
The works of the early Christian missionaries were fraught with hardship. They organized people to live in closer proximity rather than scattered in far-flung settlements.
Baptism, unlike the wholesale practice done in other missions, was painstakingly conducted so each convert understood the Catholic teachings.
Church-building was another endeavor that was done differently. Instead of relying on forced labor, the Jesuit friars insisted in accomplishing the undertaking with hired manpower.
The colonial areas however were subjected to Moro raids, the most vicious of which was on October 28, 1603 when Palo and Dulag were razed to the ground. More attacks occurred in the succeeding years. When the Jesuits were in charge, they started assigning vicars in the parishes and Palo had a permanent missionary starting in the 1690s.
By 1768, the Augustinians replaced the Jesuits. There were very few Augustinian friars that the parish was handed over to the secular priests. And then the Franciscans took over in 1843. In 1896, the diocesan clergy took over the administration of the parish.
The whole province of Leyte used to belong to the Diocese of Cebu starting in 1595. It became part of the diocese of Calbayog in 1910 and then it ceded to become a separate diocese on November 28, 1937 with Fr. Manuel Mascarinas, D.D. as the first bishop and the church became a cathedral on March 25, 1938.
On March 23, 1968, it was split to give birth to the Diocese of Maasin. Then on October 15, 1981, it was declared an archdiocese. Among its suffagans are the dioceses of Borongan, Calbayog, Catarman, and Naval.
Palo Metropolitan Cathedral was repaired starting in 1850 by Fr. Agustin de Consuegra. In addition, Fr. Pantaleon de la Fuente put a clock in the facade in 1896. It became a hospital at the height of the Second World War by the American Liberation Forces.
The cathedral had repairs done starting in November 2012 at the cost of 25 million pesos. Yet when Typhoon Haiyan (called Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines) struck on November 8, 2013, it was one of the structures that were ruined. Its church grounds became mass burial grave for those who perished in the natural calamity. Pope Francis visited the cathedral and blessed the grave, located in the left flank of the church near the Millenium Tower, in 2015. The names of the deceased are marked on the head stones located in the tower.
Heritage
The Philippine Historical Committee installed a heritage marker (Level II) in Palo Cathedral in 1954, designating this house of worship as Heritage Church.
Architecture
Old pictures of the Neo-Gothic church reveal that reconstructions have been carried out throughout history, starting from the original rubble-work. The facade has a color palette of goldenrod as base and maroon and white as accents. It is also a canvass of playful geometric figures and interesting surface textures.
The facade is flanked by a pair of bell towers. In the ground level, a porte cochere of three arches and four piers can be found. Its roof is decorated by balustrade. The upper level is punctured by slats of arch windows with stained glass panes. The pediment is irregular and curvilinear, culminating in a gable and a pedestal that holds the image of Transfigured Christ on a puff of billowing clouds.
The quadrangular, five-bodied bell towers have grooved bands in place of pilasters. The upper two sections are divided by cornices, and they are decorated by recessed rectilinear area as well as high reliefs of rhomboid and round motifs. The pilasters are topped with finials in the fourth level, which is pierced by open rose and arch windows and gable. The last floor is an octagonal structure pierced in all sides with rectilinear openings and capped with a conical roof.
The church is cruciform in shape; the transepts however are erected at an angle rather than spread out perpendicularly. Above the crossing is a church tower; it gives way to an octagonal lantern floor with dormer windows and pyramidal roof. The interiors of the church reveals geometric, sharp-angled rafters on the ceiling that emanate from the posts. The clerestory are sections that contains a group of three arch windows. Below them is horizontal cornice, round aperture, and rectangular windows.
Celebration
The patronal feast day is every August 6.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of Palo Metropolitan Cathedral from June 9, 2025 to June 15, 2025. Please reach out to the church for an updated schedule. Additionally, you may also want to view mass schedules of churches in Palo.
Monday
- 6:00-7:00 (Binisaya)
- 12:00-1:00 PM (English)
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Binisaya)
Tuesday
- 6:00-7:00 (Binisaya)
- 12:00-1:00 PM (English)
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Binisaya)
Wednesday
- 6:00-7:00 (Binisaya)
- 12:00-1:00 PM (English)
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Binisaya)
Thursday
- 6:00-7:00 (Binisaya)
- 12:00-1:00 PM (English)
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Binisaya)
Friday
- 6:00-7:00 (Binisaya)
- 12:00-1:00 PM (English)
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Binisaya)
Saturday
- 6:00-7:00 (Binisaya)
- 12:00-1:00 PM (English)
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Binisaya)
Sunday
- 4:30-5:30 AM (Binisaya)
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Binisaya)
- 8:00-9:00 AM (English)
- 10:00-11:00 AM (English)
- 12:00-1:00 PM (English)
- 3:00-4:00 PM (English)
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Binisaya)
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | Palo Metropolitan Cathedral |
| Other Names | Palo Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lord’s Transfiguration, Palo Church, Our Lord's Transfiguration Parish Church. |
| Address | Barangay Luntad, Palo, Leyte 6501 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | (053) 832-1966, 0945-3365949, 0928-3443030 |
| oltpcathedral1596@gmail.com | |
| www.facebook.com | |
| Website | archdioceseofpalo.org |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Founder | Fr. Cristobal Jimenez, S.J. and Fr. Francisco Encinas, S.J |
| Established | 1596 |
| Age | 429 years |
| Status | Cathedral, Parish |
| Declared as cathedral | March 25, 1938 |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo |
| District | Eastern District |
| Vicariate | Palo Vicariate |
| Patron | Our Lord's Transfiguration |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage | Heritage Church |
| Completed | 1850 |
| Age since completed | 175 years |
| Builder | Fr. Agustin de Consuegra |
| Style | Neo-Gothic |
Nearby Churches
References
- Sarah Jayne Olan. FAST FACTS: Palo Cathedral, Leyte. Rappler. January 12, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2022
- Palo Metropolitan Cathedral. Sangguniang Bayan ng Palo. Retrieved November 10, 2022
- Ador Vincent S. Mayol. ‘Event of the century’ for Palo Cathedral. Cebu Daily News. January 15, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2022
- Palo archdiocese crowns Nuestra Señora de Esperanza de Palo on Yolanda’s 9th anniversary. Archdiocese of Palo. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022
- History. Archdiocese of Palo. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022
- The Cathedral of Palo. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. Retrieved November 10, 2022