After the death of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 at the hands of the forces of Lapu-Lapu, the chieftain of Mactan Island, the remnants of Magellan's expedition sailed the Victoria back to Spain under Sebastian del Cano, thus completing the circumnavigation of the globe. Spain then sent Ruy Villalobos to conquer the islands Magellan had claimed for Spain. Although Villalobos did not find the islands, he named them Las Islas Felipinas in honor of Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, who would later become Felipe II.
A subsequent Spanish expedition to conquer the islands, led by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Andres de Urdaneta (an Augustinian priest and well-known cosmographer and navigator), reached Cebu Island in 1565. Thus began the conquest and Chrisitnaiztion of the different islands now known as the Philippines.
The Spaniards destroyed all traces of pagan worship, building in their stead makeshift altars where they held mass. At first, they persuaded the natives to attend mass; then they coerced them with threats of damnation. To instill in the natives an understanding of the power and might of the Christian God--and the superiority of Spain--huge churches were built. It was through their building that Christinization was effected, and it is by studying these churches that we can understand how successful this process was.
The first churches were modified basilicas made of bamboo, nipa palm leaves, and other local materials. Because such structures were easily destroyed by the typhoons that annually buffet the archipelago, the Spaniards introduced brickmaking and stonecutting. At first, stonecutting was carried out by Chinese workmen. Soon enough, however, the natives acquired the necessary skills.
Meanwhile, northern Luzon was conquered by Juan de Salcedo, who came in 1572. He subdued and pacified the Ilocos region, and Christianization followed. In 1594, the Council of the Indies gave orders to the governor-general and the bishop of Manila to divide the archipelago into contiguous areas and assigned religious orders to evangelize specific locations to avoid overlap and conflict of interests.
The Augustinians, who arrived in 1565, enjoyed priority. Assigned to their spiritual jurisdiction were the province of Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Panay Island, Cebu, and the Ilocos in the north. The Franciscans, who arrived in 1577, took the provinces around the Lake of Bai (now Laguna), the Camarines provinces, the Bicol Peninsula, and Morong (now Rizal). The Jesuits, who came in 1581, worked in Cavite, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, and other areas in the Visayas and in Mindanao. The Dominicans, who arrived in 1587, were confined with the Chinese in the Parian Binondo, Manila, and in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, and central Luzon. The Recollects, who came in 1606, took Bataan, Zambales, and Pangasinan.
These postings are significant because each order built churches according to its own preferences. Soon rivalries, expressed in the building of grander and more elaborate churches, developed between them. Each order had its own patron saint, of whom a carved relief always occupied the pediment above the main door in the façade, but each church also had unique design elements.
Ilocos, to which the Augustinians were assigned, is
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