St. Joseph Parish Church in Mabolo, Cebu City

St. Joseph Parish Church is a neo-Gothic, Roman Catholic church built in Mabolo, Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines. It is called Mabolo Church or St. Joseph the Patriarch Parish Church.

Table of Contents

History

The church of Mabolo was part of the Parish of San Nicolas and later of Opon during the Spanish era. Its location used to be called Talamban, a settlement for refugees from coastal areas escaping from the pillage of sea raiders, and it became a town in 1605.

A Royal Approval to make the church into a parish was issued on December 9, 1847. When the church’s status was elevated to a parish on April 3, 1850, the town was renamed Mabolo.

The church that we see today was built in the Neo-Gothic tradition in the 1920s. A columbary was also built in the rear area. A historic bell that was cast in 1892 is still extant and in display.

The church sustained cracks after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that occurred on October 15, 2013.

Architecture

Mabolo Church underwent several considerable reconstructions. Old images show that it was made in a cruciform shape with finials on the buttresses that are found in either side of the nave. Its entrance was a massive pointed arch door with elaborate archivolt, and above is a pointed arch window with openwork.

Only one pair of such finials can be found in the present-day church. The side aisles are added, expanding its overall width, as well as the portico and stained glass window depicting the patron carrying the Holy Infant on the facade. In keeping with tradition, pointed arches are a motif in the facade (except for the windows in either wing extensions), including the portico, windows, and belfry.

The portico is supported by columns. Its pediment bears a low relief of a cross. The central section of the facade, its symmetry, a pair of blind pointed arch windows flanking the entrance, and multi-angled pediment remain from the original church. Vertical bands that may appear like plain pilasters rise from the ground up to the pediment.

The octagonal belfry is another one of the church’s striking features. It is erected on top of the main facade and made up of two levels. Its lower level has twin slender arch window openings on four alternating sides that give way to a half-conical transitional wall on the top. The upper register has pointed arch windows whose tympanums are blind, although pierced with a rose window and what would have been their lintels are ornately cut. Each side is topped with a blind gable dormer and the whole belfry gives way to a pyramidal roof.

Celebration

The feast day of St. Joseph Church is held every last Sunday of May.

Services

Baptism is at 10:45 morning every Sunday.

Mass schedule

Below is the weekly mass schedule of St. Joseph Parish Church in Mabolo, Cebu City 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 Cebu City.

Monday

6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
7:00-8:00 AM (Cebuano)
12:15-1:15 PM (Cebuano)
5:00-6:00 PM (English)
6:00-7:00 PM (Cebuano - Facebook Live)

Tuesday

6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
7:00-8:00 AM (Cebuano)
12:15-1:15 PM (Cebuano)
5:00-6:00 PM (English)
6:00-7:00 PM (Cebuano - Facebook Live)

Wednesday

6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
7:00-8:00 AM (Cebuano)
12:15-1:15 PM (Cebuano)
5:00-6:00 PM (English)
6:00-7:00 PM (Cebuano - Facebook Live)

Thursday

6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
7:00-8:00 AM (Cebuano)
12:15-1:15 PM (Cebuano)
5:00-6:00 PM (English)
6:00-7:00 PM (Cebuano - Facebook Live)

Friday

6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
7:00-8:00 AM (Cebuano)
12:15-1:15 PM (Cebuano)
5:00-6:00 PM (English)
6:00-7:00 PM (Cebuano - Facebook Live)

Saturday

6:00-7:00 AM (Cebuano)
7:00-8:00 AM (Cebuano)
12:15-1:15 PM (Cebuano)
5:00-6:00 PM (English)
6:00-7:00 PM (Cebuano - Anticipated Mass - Facebook Live)

Sunday

6:30-7:30 AM (Cebuano)
8:00-9:00 AM (Cebuano - Facebook Live)
9:30-10:30 AM (English)
10:45-11:45 AM (Cebuano - Baptism Mass)
12:15-1:15 PM (Cebuano - Funeral Mass)
1:30-2:30 PM (Cebuano)
3:00-4:00 PM (Cebuano)
4:30-5:30 PM (English - Facebook Live)
6:00-7:00 PM (Cebuano)
7:15-8:15 PM (Cebuano)

Church information

Details
Name	St. Joseph Parish Church in Mabolo, Cebu City
Other Names	Mabolo Church
Address	MJ Cuenco Ave., Mabolo, 6000 Cebu City
Country	Philippines
Contact	0923 845 5220, (032) 232-5979, 412-8096
Email	sanjosemabolo@gmail.com
Facebook	www.facebook.com
Website	sanjosemabolo.wixsite.com
Religion
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Established	April 3, 1850
Age	175 years
Status	Parish
Archdiocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu
District	District I - Metro Cebu North
Vicariate	Vicariate of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Patron	St. Joseph the Patriarch
Feast day	Last Sunday of May
Architecture
Completed	1920s
Age since completed	105 years
Style	Neo-Gothic

Nearby Churches

References

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu. Retrieved July 2, 2022
Balaanong Bahandi: Sacred Treasures of the Archdiocese of Cebu. Cathedral Museum of Cebu, Inc. and University of San Carlos Press. 2010. ISBN 978-9715390187.
Elizaga, Troy. The Formation of Towns and Parishes in Cebu, Philippines. Retrieved via Academia on July 2, 2022
IN PHOTOS: 171st fiesta celebration of St. Joseph the Patriarch Parish. Sunstar. May 23, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2022
Espinosa, Evelyn C. (May 9, 2014). Mabolo church to get facelift. The Freeman. Retrieved July 2, 2022
The rise of columbaries. SunStar. November 15, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2022
Oaminal, Clarence Paul. (January 17, 2020). Mabolo parish church. The Freeman. Retrieved July 2, 2022
Oaminal, Clarence Paul (November 24, 2017). The Vicariate of Southern Cebu (Part I). The Freeman. Retrieved July 19, 2022