Cathedral Parish of St. John the Baptist and Diocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño, more commonly known as Kalibo Cathedral, is the ecclesiastical seat of the Diocese of Kalibo and located in Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines. It is the first and the oldest church established in the province of Aklan and its patroness is Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
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History
Augustinian friars founded the church in Kalibo in 1581, with Fr. Andres Ibarra assigned to preach to the natives and who was succeeded by Fr. Pedro Arce. By 1594, Kalibo was one of the six Augustinian monasteries. It took about a century before it became a parish, which occurred in 1680, and it was dedicated to the devotion of St. John the Baptist as its patron.
People first settled in Laguinbanwa in Numancia where a church was erected but the pueblo was transferred to the present-day location, a distance of two kilometers. Another church was built in the new pueblo beginning in 1804 and completed in 1826.
The town was burned in a conflagration that happened on May 24, 1885, and the convent was rebuilt the following year. The church was reconstructed in post-war years by Archbishop Gabriel M. Reyes.
Made of bricks, its walls were damaged in the aftermath of an earthquake on June 14, 1990. Funded by generous donors and lay faithful, it underwent renovation and repair under the supervision of National Artist Leandro Locsin starting in 1993.
Locsin retained salient architectural elements of the colonial-era church while he also reinforced the structure with concrete to ensure durability in times of calamities like earthquakes.
Kalibo was under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cebu at the outset of the Spanish period, then of Jaro, Iloilo (1865), and of Capiz (1951). On January 17, 1976, it was created into a diocese by Pope Paul VI as a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Capiz. The diocese was canonically erected on July 15, 1976 and Kalibo Church was elevated into a cathedral.
Sto. Niño de Kalibo
Kalibo Cathedral is the pilgrim site for the devotion of Sto. Niño de Kalibo and the religious heart of the annual Ati-Atihan Festival. Ati-Atihan refers to the act of painting the skin black to resemble the appearance of indigenous people called Atis (Aetas), and it is thought that it was a pre-colonial custom that was incorporated into Catholic fiesta during Hispanic times.
In a written account by Msgr. Jose Iturralde in 1975, the tradition of Ati-Atihan began in the town of Ibajay and was brought to Kalibo in the 18th century. In 1798, Malinao priest Fr. Fernando de Legaspi witnessed the yearly fest in honor of Sto. Niño in Ibajay. In 1798, Malinao priest Fr. Fernando de Legaspi witnessed the yearly fest in honor of Sto. Niño in Ibajay.
Upon his return, he organized a similar tradition in the parish of Malinao. Then he was assigned to the Parish of Kalibo where he also brought along and conducted the annual fest beginning in 1800. The Ati-Atihan Festival was officially established on June 11, 1871.
In 1975, the local church held the high mass in honor of Sto. Niño in town plaza upon the request of Mayor Federico O. Icamina and it has a become an annual tradition ever since.
Architecture
Pilasters with elaborate plinths come in pairs on the facade, and its pointed-arch entrance contains clustered-column jambs. The papal insignia consisting of a triregnum and St. Peter Keys is found at the feet of and above the doorway (flanked by cherubs). The pediment contains pilasters, blank walls, and the glass window depicting the Holy Child. In the gospel side is the bell tower.
Celebration
The feast of St. John the Baptist is June 24. The bigger celebration is the popular feast of Sto. Niño de Kalibo every third Sunday of January in an annual tradition called Ati-Atihan Festival.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of Cathedral Parish of St. John the Baptist and Diocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño in Kalibo, Aklan 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 Kalibo.
Monday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
- 7:30-8:30 AM
- 5:15-6:15 PM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
Tuesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
- 7:30-8:30 AM
- 5:15-6:15 PM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
Wednesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
- 7:30-8:30 AM
- 5:15-6:15 PM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
Thursday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
- 7:30-8:30 AM
- 5:15-6:15 PM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
Friday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
- 7:30-8:30 AM
- 5:15-6:15 PM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
Saturday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV)
- 7:30-8:30 AM
- 5:15-6:15 PM (Anticipated Mass - Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable)
Sunday
- 5:00-6:00 AM
- 6:00-7:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable - ACTV) 9:00-10:00 AM
- 10:00-11:00 AM
- 12:00-1:00 PM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable)
- 4:00-5:00 PM
- 5:00-6:00 PM (Facebook Live - Kalibo Cable)
- 6:00-7:00 PM
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cathedral Parish of St. John the Baptist and Diocesan Shrine of Sto. Niño in Kalibo, Aklan |
| Address | Kalibo, Aklan 5600 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | 0963 801 7752 |
| kalibocathedral@gmail.com | |
| www.facebook.com | |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1581 |
| Age | 444 years |
| Status | Cathedral, Diocesan Shrine, Parish |
| Declared as cathedral | July 15, 1976 |
| Declared as parish | 1680 |
| Age as parish | 345 years |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Capiz |
| Diocese | Diocese of Kalibo |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of St. John The Baptist |
| Patron | Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Sto. Niño, St. John the Baptist |
| Feast day | June 24 |
| Architecture | |
| Tower | 1 |
Nearby Churches
References
- Diocese of Kalibo. Retrieved January 1, 2024
- Paul Dumol, PhD, Grace Concepcion, PhD, and E.J. Ofilada (August 15, 2020). Research Update: Foundation Dates for “The Pueblos of Panay”. Center for Research and Communication. Retrieved January 1, 2024
- Historical Background. Provincial Government of Aklan. Retrieved January 1, 2024
- Vibrant Kalibo. Municipal Government of Kalibo. Retrieved January 2, 2024
- Kalibo Cathedral. Heritage Conservation Society. January 13, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2024
- Rosario Cruz-Lucero and Alexander de Juan with contributions by Jeffrey Yap, John Barrios, and E. Arsenio Manuel. Aklanon. Our Islands, Our People: The Histories and Cultures of the Filipino Nation, edited by Rosario Cruz-Lucero. 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2024
- Fr. Jude Isidro A. Rebaldo. 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines: Sr. Sto. Niño de Kalibo. Cathedral Parish of St. John the Baptist- Diocese of Kalibo. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2024
- Jun Aguirre. Legend of the Ati-atihan Fest in Aklan. Business Mirror. March 4, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2024