6.9-Magnitude Earthquake Destroys Historic Philippines Church

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A historic church in central Philippines was destroyed last week following a 6.9 magnitude earthquake near the northern region of Cebu Island.

The century-old Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Daanbantayan municipality collapsed after suffering significant damage from the tremors, Premier Christian News reported.

According to Parish Priest Randy Nebrija, no one in the parish was injured from the quake.

"There is sadness among people, especially the parishioners. It's regrettable, but still, I could see in their eyes that there is still hope that we can rebuild the church," he said.

The church, which was built in 1886, was declared in 2022 as the first archdiocesan shrine in the Philippines dedicated to St. Rose of Lima, PhilStarLife reported. Additionally, the church is one of the pilgrimage sites in Cebu Island, which is considered to be the birthplace of Catholicism in the Philippines, dating back to the 16th century when the Spanish colonizers arrived on the island.

"It really hurts seeing what happened to our church. In just a few seconds, the quake destroyed it. It's hard to accept that our church collapsed," said resident Vince Toring.

 

At least 68 people were killed in the earthquake that struck Cebu Island, despite initially reporting the death toll at 72 after some deaths were counted twice.

According to The Christian Post, it is the deadliest quake recorded in Cebu since 2013. At the time, over 20,000 people were confirmed displaced, while thousands more slept in open spaces due to fear of aftershocks.

In addition to Santa Rosa de Lima, four other historic churches suffered structural or cosmetic damage St. Peter and Paul Parish Church in Bantayan (1863), San Isidro Labrador Church in Tabogon (parish from 1851, current building 1954), San Juan Nepomuceno Parish in San Remigio (1864), Archdiocesan Shrine of San Vicente Ferrer in Bogo (1858, reconstructed after World War II), according to Philippine News Agency.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages / Handout/Cebu Governor's Office/Anadolu and Ezra Acayan

Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.