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 October 28, 2024 to November 3, 2024. 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 |
sanjosemabolo@gmail.com | |
www.facebook.com | |
Website | sanjosemabolo.wixsite.com |
Religion | |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Established | April 3, 1850 |
Age | 174 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 | 104 years |
Style | Neo-Gothic |
Nearby Churches
- Alliance of Two Hearts Church in Cebu City
- Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe de Cebu
- 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
- Sto. Niño Church in Guba, Cebu City
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