San Juan Nepomuceno Church is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Biliran, Biliran, Philippines.
Table of Contents
History
Experts stated that the Jesuits erected the church in Biliran in the 17th century. Its ruins are found in Sitio Ilawod, Barangay Caracaray, present-day Naval—which was the community that sprang around the Spanish-era shipyard when Biliran was called the island of Panamao. On September 10, 1712, Biliran was raised into a pueblo.
The church was burned, the town plundered, and people slain or captured by the Moro pirates that followed the trail of the Anas River in 1754.
On October 10, 1765, Fr. Gaspar Ignacio de Guevara was appointed the parish priest of San Juan Nepomuceno Church. He transferred the pueblo and the church to a hilly inland that corresponds to the present-day Barangay Hugpa.
Fr. Guevarra was captured and killed by the Moros in 1775, and the colonial-era edifices were destroyed. The ruin of a watch tower remains standing in the present and is considered a historical site.
In 1828, Caibiran was made into an independent municipality and Naval seceded to become an independent town in 1860.
Architecture
The church has a rectangular lay-out and above the sanctuary is a dome-lantern pierced with rectilinear apertures and topped with a pyramidal roof and cross. The facade is contemporary, with its wall featuring windows interspersed with concrete and ledges. The entrance has a portico, above which a central section rising towards the pediment is bounded by stone exterior. The bell tower is erected in the epistle side.
Celebration
The feast day of St. John Nepomucene is May 16.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of San Juan Nepomuceno Church in Biliran, Biliran 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 Biliran.
Monday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Tuesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Wednesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Thursday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Friday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Saturday
- 6:00-7:00 AM
Sunday
- 5:00-6:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | San Juan Nepomuceno Church in Biliran, Biliran |
| Address | San Juan Street, Biliran, Biliran 6564 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | 0905 284 9257 |
| sanjuannepomuceno.biliran@gmail.com | |
| www.facebook.com | |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1828 |
| Age | 197 years |
| Status | Parish |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo |
| Diocese | Diocese of Naval |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of St. James the Apostle |
| Patron | St. John of Nepomucene |
| Feast day | May 16 |
| Architecture | |
| Tower | 1 |
Nearby Churches
- St. Francis de Borgia Church in Cabucgayan, Biliran
- St. Isidore the Worker Church in Culaba, Biliran
- St. James the Apostle Church in Caibiran, Billiran
References
- 150 years: Naval (1860-2010) Annual Town Fiesta. October 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2024
- Bantayan ng Biliran. National Registry of Historic Sites and Structures in the Philippines. Retrieved April 23, 2024
- Prof. Rolando O. Borrinaga, Ph.D. A POSITION PAPER FOR THE ERECTION OF A HISTORICAL MARKER FROM THE NATIONAL HISTORICAL INSTITUTE (NHI) IN NAVAL, BILIRAN PROVINCE. Biliran Island. Retrieved April 23, 2024