San Rafael Arcangel Church is the parish church in Aloguinsan, a municipality located in the south of Cebu island, Philippines. It is also called Aloguinsan Church.
Table of Contents
History
The town’s name is said to mean fish-head, specifically the grouper fish that lives in its waters. For much of its history, it was part the neighboring town of Pinamungajan. It seceded by virtue of a royal decree in 1886. The church, thus, was part of Pinamungajan Church until it was established as a parish in 1912. Fr. Mariano Ruiz was the first parish priest. Aloguinsan Church is dedicated to St. Raphael the Archangel.
The present-day church was built starting in 1933 (supervised by Fr. Emeliano Sabandal) to 1939 (by Fr. Arsenio Cabrash).
Architecture
Just like San Francisco Javier Church in Alegria, Cebu, the bell-tower is in front of what is supposedly the facade. It must have been a contemporary addition. It is absent in an old picture from the 1960s which only shows the bare facade, but in front are two fluted, seemingly unfinished piers that rise up to roughly half the height of the church. The base of the bell-tower is the portico, the entryway to the church’s interiors, of open arches. The upper register is the belfry with perforated arches upon which two lines form a cross. On top is a hexagonal enclosure with diamond-shaped windows and the roof narrows into a pyramid with abutting side edges.
The puerta mayor is a wide arched entrance door. The church’s front-facing wall makes up the rest of the facade (recessed) at the sides of the bell-tower, each with an arch window and on top is a rose window, both of which are stained glass. Its pediment has been renovated from rectilinear to triangular. Another added construction are the extensions by the wings of the church. Their roofs slope up just right below the clerestory made up of rose windows.
Celebration
The feast of St. Raphael the Archangel is held every October 24. The secular Kinsan Festival began in 2006 to celebrate the abundance of eponymous grouper fish and is celebrated every June.
Other services
Baptism is scheduled every Sunday in the 10:30-morning Mass. The registration for the Pre-Jordan Seminar starts at 8:00 in the morning while the seminar begins half an hour after. Confession is scheduled every after Wednesday and Friday Masses.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of San Rafael Arcangel Church in Aloguinsan, Cebu 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 Aloguinsan.
Monday
- 10:00-11:00 AM (Cebuano - Mass at Cemetery)
Tuesday
- No mass schedule found.
Wednesday
- 4:30-5:30 PM (Cebuano)
Thursday
- No mass schedule found.
Friday
- 4:30-5:30 PM (Cebuano)
Saturday
- No mass schedule found.
Sunday
- 5:45-6:45 AM (Cebuano)
- 8:30-9:30 AM (Cebuano)
- 10:30-11:30 AM (Cebuano)
- 4:00-5:00 PM (English)
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | San Rafael Arcangel Church in Aloguinsan, Cebu |
| Other Names | Aloguinsan Church |
| Address | Poblacion, Aloguinsan, 6040 Cebu |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | (032) 469 9123 |
| saintraphaelparish001@gmail.com | |
| web.facebook.com | |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1912 |
| Age | 113 years |
| Status | Parish |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu |
| District | District V – Northwest Cebu |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of St. John of Sahagun |
| Patron | St. Raphael the Archangel |
| Feast day | October 24 |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 1939 |
| Age since completed | 86 years |
Nearby Churches
- Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Parish Church in Matabang, Toledo City
- San Juan Sahagun Church in Toledo, Cebu
- San Vicente Ferrer Church in Toledo, Cebu
- Sta. Cruz Parish Church in Talavera, Toledo City, Cebu
- Sta. Monica Church in Pinamungajan, Cebu
References
- Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu. Cathedral Museum of Cebu, Inc. and University of San Carlos Press. 2010. ISBN 978-9715390187.
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu. Retrieved June 17, 2022
- Elizaga, Troy. The Formation of Cities and Municipalities of the Province of Cebu, Philippines. Retrieved June 17, 2022
- Oaminal, Clarence Paul (May 21, 2014). The mayoralty election of Aloguinsan, Cebu in 1907. The Freeman. Retrieved June 17, 2022
- Communities included in town’s Kinsan Festival. SunStar. June 14, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2022
- Aloguinsan to celebrate Kinsan fest on June 17. The Freeman. June 9, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2022
- Sabanpan-Yu, Hope (December 2007). Cebuano Food Festivals: A Matter of Taste. Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society , December 2007, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 384-392. University of San Carlos Publications. Retrieved June 17, 2022
- Salgado, Ritche T. (May 10, 2009). Aloguinsan, Cebu’s treasure trove of adventure. The Freeman. Retrieved June 17, 2022