Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption is the seat of the Diocese of Maasin located in Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines. It is also called Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption and Maasin Cathedral.
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History
The Jesuits arrived in Maasin and founded a church in 1700. When they moved out of the Philippines in their expulsion in 1768, priests belonging to the Order of St. Augustinian took charge of the church.
In 1771, it was declared a parish.
By 1843, the Franciscans came and became its administrators who placed the parish under the advocation of Our Lady of the Assumption. The Franciscans left towards the end of the Spanish conquest and the start of the Philippine Revolution, and at which point the secular clergy took over.
The church met unfortunate series of destruction over the years. An early church was erected by the Jesuit friars, however it was left in ruins after the devastating attack perpetrated by Moro pirates in 1754.
It was rebuilt between 1770s and 1780s. The church was damaged by fire in 1882. Reconstruction was carried out immediately by Filipino secular priests Fr. Toribio Padilla and Fr. Felix Magno.
When the Diocese of Maasin was established on August 14, 1968, the parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption became a cathedral. It is a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu.
On August 14, 2020, it was declared a diocesan shrine.
Patroness, Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion
The provenance of the two images of Our Lady of Assumption being kept in the Cathedral is unknown. She is called locally as Patrona and considered miraculous among devotees.
One image of Mary is made of wood. She seems floating in clouds and by Her foot a figure of a putto. She wears flowing garment and billowing cloak on Her back. Her head is haloed and raised upwards, while Her right hand is outstretched and the other placed gently on Her chest.
Another has a body made of wood while her head and hands of ivory. She is looking upwards with outstretched arms. On Her head is a halo set with stars and a crown.
The image received episcopal coronation on August 15, 2018. And on December 13, 2021, the Vatican approved the request of Bishop Prescioso Cantillas for canonical crowning. Thus her image’s canonical coronation took place on August 13, 2022.
Heritage
The National Historical Institute installed a Level II marker declaring the church as a Heritage Church in 1983.
Architecture
This Baroque, colonial-era church has an asymmetrical facade. Its gospel flank is an adjoining quadrangular edifice containing the baptistery with an arch window and the cathedral’s heritage marker.
In the epistle side is the bell tower. It has an octagonal shape and made of three floors, each less wider than the one below it. Its second level has an alternating open and blind arches and ringed with balustrade. The topmost too is similarly built, and it contains a clock that no longer works and pilasters in each edge that culminate into finials. It is capped with a dome.
The main facade has four pairs of pilasters with composite capitals in the ground level. One can access the interior through an archway, above which is Ave Maria emblem with a crown in high relief. Flanking the entrance are two sunken, rectangular panels with holy figures.
The rest of the facade has two rectilinear and one round windows, and in between these three is where the niche of the patroness encased in glass and ornamented with pilasters and a bloom of foliage. Its pediment is topped with a cross.
Celebration
The feast of Our Lady of the Assumption falls on the 15th of August.
Services
Holy Hour is scheduled from Monday to Saturday at 9:00 in the evening.
Confession is scheduled on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 6:30 to 7:30 in the morning. On Wednesday and Friday, it is set at 6:00 to 7:00 in the evening.
Mass schedule
Below is the weekly mass schedule of Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Maasin, Southern Leyte from May 5, 2025 to May 11, 2025. Please reach out to the church for an updated schedule. Additionally, you may also want to view mass schedules of churches in Maasin City.
Monday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:00-1:00 PM (Live)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Live)
Tuesday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:00-1:00 PM (Live)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Live)
Wednesday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:00-1:00 PM (Live)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Live)
Thursday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:00-1:00 PM (Live)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Live)
Friday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:00-1:00 PM (Live)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Live)
Saturday
- 5:30-6:30 AM
- 12:00-1:00 PM (Live)
- 5:30-6:30 PM (Live)
Sunday
- 5:00-6:00 AM
- 7:00-8:00 AM (Live)
- 8:30-9:30 AM (Live)
- 11:00-12:00 NN
- 2:00-3:00 PM (Live)
- 3:00-4:00 PM
- 5:00-6:00 PM
- 6:00-7:00 PM
Church information
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Maasin, Southern Leyte |
| Address | Brgy. Tunga-tunga, Maasin, Southern Leyte 6600 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Contact | Renaissance, Baroque |
| maasindiocese.media@gmail.com | |
| web.facebook.com | |
| YouTube | www.youtube.com |
| Religion | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Founder | Society of Jesus |
| Established | 1700 |
| Age | 325 years |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Declared as cathedral | August 14, 1968 |
| Declared as parish | Renaissance, Baroque |
| Age as parish | 2025 years |
| Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu |
| Diocese | Diocese of Maasin |
| Vicariate | Vicariate of Assumption in the Hills |
| Patron | Our Lady of the Assumption |
| Feast day | August 15 |
| Relic | Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage | Heritage Church |
| Builder | Fr. Toribio Padilla, Fr. Felix Magno |
| Style | Renaissance, Baroque |
| Belfry | 1 |
| Tower | 1 |
Nearby Churches
- Assumption in the Hills Church in Asuncion, Maasin City, Southern Leyte
- Mary Help of Christians Church in Malapoc Norte, Maasin City, Negros Oriental
- Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Guadalupe, Maasin City, Southern Leyte
- St. Raphael the Archangel Church in San Rafael, Maasin City, Southern Leyte
- Sto. Niño De Ibarra Church in Ibarra, Maasin City, Southern Leyte
References
- Katedral ng Maasin. National Historical Commission of the Philippines. October 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2022
- Diocese of Maasin Philippines. Union of Catholic Asian News. Retrieved December 26, 2022
- Leslie Anne L. Liwanag, Guiraldo C. Fernandez Jr., and F.P.A. Demetrio III. Critique on the 1983 historical marker installed by the National Historical Institute at the Our Lady of Assumption Cathedral, Maasin City, Southern Leyte, Philippines. Social Sciences Diliman. July-December 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2022
- Maasin’s Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral declared diocesan shrine. CBCP News. August 15, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2022
- History of Maasin’s Evolution. Maasin. Retrieved from original post on December 26, 2022
- James Malabanan. Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Maasin – The Powerful Protectress of Maasin, Southern Leyte. Pintakasi. August 14, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2022
- CBCP News. Canonical coronation to Maasin’s Our Lady of the Assumption granted. Business Mirror. February 6, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022
- Diocese of Maasin. Claretian Publications. Retrieved December 26, 2022