Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Balamban, Cebu

Saint Francis of Assisi Church is an old Roman Catholic Church constructed in Baroque style in Balamban, a northwestern town of the province of Cebu, Philippines. It is also referred to as Balamban Church.

Table of Contents

History

St. Francis of Asisi is the patron of Balamban Church. It became a parish in 1857, becoming independent from the mother parish of Jinulauan, now the parish of Toledo.

Architecture

The church’s facade is characterized by slender, dramatic columns that bloom into foliage at their capital. A porte-cochere is made up of two such columns flanked by twin piers on singular plinths terminating in sharp, pointed finials.

The entablature is decorated with ornamental reliefs and at the center is an imagery of a lamb, above which is an exquisite relief depicting two winged figures kneeling and their heads bowed before a monstrance.

The parapet has balustrade, and it rises in the center with finials standing on either side of a voluted niche of a monstrance flanked by kneeling angels.

Entering the church is the portico of an arcade of three arches with corresponding pilasters similarly decorated. The entrance leads to vestibule. The puerta mayor is an archway flanked by twin, fluted, rectilinear pilasters of simpler capitals.

In the upper register of the entrance is an arch window with balustrade flanked by rose windows. On either side of the portico is an arch window with tracery, a rose window, and on the roof the two-level, quadrilateral belfry, pierced with balustraded arches and capped with finials and dome.

Celebration

The feast of St. Francis is celebrated in October 4th, and the fiesta in Balamban is called Lingaw Sadya Festival.

Services

The Holy Hour is dedicated every first Friday of the month after the 5:15 PM mass.

Every first Saturday of the month, the Holy Rosary is heard at 4:30 early morning followed by the Mass at 5:30 in the morning.

The parish office is opened from 8:00 in the morning until noon. After about an hour of lunch break, it is opened again from 1:15 to 5:00 in the afternoon.

Mass schedule

Below is the weekly mass schedule of Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Balamban, Cebu from May 12, 2025 to May 18, 2025. Please reach out to the church for an updated schedule. Additionally, you may also want to view mass schedules of churches in Balamban.

Monday

5:15-6:15 PM (FB Live)

Tuesday

5:15-6:15 PM (FB Live)

Wednesday

5:15-6:15 PM (FB Live)

Thursday

5:15-6:15 PM (FB Live)

Friday

5:15-6:15 PM (FB Live)

Saturday

5:30-6:30 AM
5:30-6:30 PM (Anticipated Mass - FB Live)

Sunday

5:00-6:30 AM
6:30-7:30 AM
8:00-9:00 AM (FB Live)
10:30-11:30 AM
3:00-4:00 PM
4:00-5:00 PM (FB Live)
6:00-7:00 PM

Church information

Details
Name	Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Balamban, Cebu
Other Names	Balamban Church
Address	E.S. Binghay St., Brgy. Sta. Cruz, Balamban, Cebu 6041
Country	Philippines
Contact	(032) 520 5144
Email	sfrancida_1004@hotmail.com
Facebook	web.facebook.com
Religion
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Established	1857
Age	168 years
Status	Parish
Archdiocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu
District	District V – Northwest Cebu
Vicariate	Vicariate of St. Francis of Asisi
Patron	Saint Francis of Assisi
Feast day	October 4
Architecture
Completed	Post-war
Style	Baroque

Nearby Churches

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 20, 2022
Elizaga, Troy. The Formation of Towns and Parishes in Cebu, Philippines. Retrieved via Academia on June 20, 2022
Lingaw-Sadya Festival: Municipality of Balamban. Cebu Provincial Tourism Office. Provincial Government of Cebu. Facebook. Retrieved June 20, 2022
USJ-R Correspondent (July 27, 2019). USJ-R de Balamban joins Lingaw Sadya Festival. Agustinos Recoletos. Retrieved June 20, 2022
Oaminal, Clarence Paul (January 26, 2018). The Vicariate of Western Cebu (Part 2). The Freeman. July 19, 2022