Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu is a Roman Catholic Church located in Guadalupe, an urban barangay in Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines.
Table of Contents
History
Perhaps the earliest record of Guadalupe was in 1751 stating its mother parish was San Nicolas Church (Cebu City). A chapel made of bamboo and nipa was known to have existed in 1886. When it was established as a parish in 1933, the image of the patron was enshrined in a church made of concrete.
Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu
The origin of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu is a complex, tangled story, one that’s explored more fully by historian and National Artist Resil B. Mojares in 2002.
According to tradition, the holy icon was reportedly a gift from Augustinian missionaries to the inhabitants who revolted against Spanish colonizers, escaped to the outskirts of the center in Cebu, and later became Christian converts.
It was lost and forgotten over the years until it was discovered in a cave in Kalunasan. A small chapel was built for pilgrims, and then a church was erected on a spot nearby. Later, Guadalupe Church was constructed on the present location which was more accessible and so that devotees need not have to cross a river that’s prone to overflows.
For years, the image was kept within the confines of San Nicolas Parish to be brought out to Guadalupe every feast day of December 12th and after which it would be returned to San Nicolas Parish. During a procession on the way back to San Nicolas in the 1920s, the image fell from the carriage. It stood upright on the ground facing towards the general direction of Guadalupe, and a decision was reached that the statue would be permanently enshrined there.
Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu was canonically crowned and became the patroness of the Archdiocese of Cebu on July 16, 2006. The list of holy icons with pontifical coronation includes Nuestra Señora del Patrocinio in Boljoon, Nuestra Señora De Regla in Opon, and Santo Niño De Cebu in Cebu City.
Langob Shrine
The discovery of and the miracles attributed to Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu and the water dripping from the cave inspired pilgrims to visit the site now called the Langob Shrine where a replica stands in its altar.
Architecture
The church’s portico constitutes an arched overhang providing shade on the space right in front of the entrance. It is flanked by small gardens and foregrounded strips of wall surface with two windows, the lower one being rectangular-shaped and the other an arch. The arched main doorway is composed of a rectilinear opening, lintel, and semi-circular openwork. A decorative pilaster that’s erected into an arch rises from the entrance to the upper register where a stained glass window depicting the patroness is found and descends back to the other end of the entrance. On the pediment is a rose window with quatrefoil decor. The pediment is adorned with accented trimming and on its apex a pedestal on which a cross is erected.
The three-bodied bell tower stands in the gospel flank. Its first level has rose windows and elongated arch-openings embellished with cross motif, while the upper level of smaller width has balustrade, is pierced with arches, and contains a clock. The uppermost story is shaped like a cupola with lantern arch windows and capped with a dome.
Celebration
The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu is held every December 12th. In 1902, cholera swept through Cebu. The patroness was honored for the miraculous ending of the said epidemic which has become an annual celebration called Celebracion sa Julio every July that also coincides with the anniversary of canonical coronation of the image.
Services
Baptism is scheduled during 11:00 AM mass on Sunday.
Solemn procession is held after 7:00 PM Mass every first Saturday
The parish office is open 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon and from 1:30 to 5:00 PM daily.
Votive Mass is scheduled at 8:00 AM every 16th of the month.
Langub mass schedule every Sunday is as follows: 9:45-10:45 AM (Cebuano), 4:00-5:00 PM (Cebuano).
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe de 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 Cebu City.
Monday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Cebuano)
- 7:00-8:00 PM (English)
Tuesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Cebuano)
- 7:00-8:00 PM (English)
Wednesday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Cebuano)
- 7:00-8:00 PM (English)
Thursday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Cebuano)
- 7:00-8:00 PM (English)
Friday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Cebuano)
- 7:00-8:00 PM (English)
Saturday
- 6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Cebuano)
- 7:00-8:00 PM (English)
Sunday
- 5:15-6:15 AM (Cebuano)
- 6:30-7:30 AM (Cebuano)
- 8:00-9:00 AM (Misa pro Populo)
- 9:30-10:30 AM (English)
- 11:00-12:00 NN (Cebuano)
- 1:00-2:00 PM (Funeral)
- 2:30-3:30 PM (English)
- 4:00-5:00 PM (Cebuano)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (English)
- 7:00-8:00 PM (English)
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu |
| Address | Labra Street, Guadalupe, 6000 Cebu City |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | (032) 254 4593 |
| web.facebook.com | |
| www.instagram.com | |
| twitter.com | |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1751 |
| Age | 274 years |
| Status | Archdiocesan shrine |
| Declared as parish | 1933 |
| Age as parish | 92 years |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu |
| District | District I - Metro Cebu North |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart |
| Patron | Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu |
| Feast day | December 12 |
Nearby Churches
- Alliance of Two Hearts Church in Cebu City
- Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Cebu City
- Birhen sa Guadalupe sa Sugbo Church in Cebu City
- Chapel of Holy Relics in Tabor Hill, Cebu City
- Church of Mary Coredemptrix in Talamban, Cebu City
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church in Capitol, Cebu City
- San Isidro Labrador Church in Talamban, Cebu City
- San Pedro Calungsod Church in Pulangbato, Talamban, Cebu City
- St. Joseph Parish Church in Mabolo, Cebu City
- Sto. Niño Church in Guba, Cebu City
References
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu. Retrieved July 9, 2022
- Baguio, Marjun A. (December 10, 2009). Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu: A Homage. The Freeman. Retrieved July 9, 2022
- Abatayo, Rosalie O. (December 12, 2019). Our Lady of Guadalupe on her 86th fiesta: Bigger church, stronger faith. Cebu Daily News. Retrieved July 9, 2022
- Panganiban, Kendrick Ivan B. (May 8, 2022). Cebu’s Mount Carmel Parish declared archdiocesan shrine. Business Mirror. Retrieved July 9, 2022
- Mojares, Resil B. (March/June 2002). Stalking the Virgin: The Genealogy of the Cebuano Virgin of Guadalupe. Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society Vol. 30, No. 1/2, SPECIAL ISSUE: SAINTS AND FIESTAS, pp. 138-171 (35 pages). University of San Carlos Publications. Retrieved July 9, 2022
- Oaminal, Clarence Paul (May 30, 2018). The Guadalupe and Tinago rivers of Cebu. The Freeman. Retrieved July 9, 2022
- Oaminal, Clarence Paul (August 26, 2016). The pre-Martial Law priests in Cebu. The Freeman. Retrieved via PressReader on July 9, 2022
- Mayol, Ador Vincent S. (May 20, 2017). Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Langob Shrine: A cave to calm the heart, heal the soul. Cebu Daily News. Retrieved July 9, 2022
- Uy, Jasmin R. (July 9, 2006). Our Lady of Guadalupe set for coronation July 16. The Freeman. Retrieved July 10, 2022
- Guadalupe parish embarks on new project. Cebu Daily News. July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2022