Prepared by:

Krisia E. Castuciano,
BSN 4
INTRODUCTION
The Roman Catholic Church in the
Philippines is part of the worldwide Catholic
Church, with its head being the Pope. It is
also one of two nations in Asia with a
predominantly Roman Catholic population
(the other being East Timor), and is
the third largest Catholic country in the
world (after Brazil and Mexico).
INTRODUCTION
The faith was brought to what is now
the Philippines by Spanish missionaries and
colonizers, who arrived in waves beginning
in the 16th century. Compared to
the Spanish Era when Catholicism was
the de facto state religion, Christianity in
the Philippines today is a spectrum of
Catholic adaptation, which sits alongside
various other Christian denominations of
foreign and local origin.
INTRODUCTION
In general, the Philippines has the strongest
Christian influence in Asia, and a majority
of Filipinos practice the faith in different
ways, from the ultra-orthodox, traditional
sort, to Folk Catholicism and
even Charismatic Catholicism. In 2011, it
was estimated that there were 75.5 million
of Filipino Catholics, or roughly 80% of the
population.
The hundreds of churches that were built
throughout the Philippines were a product
of the missionary enterprise of the Spanish
regime that began in 1521.
On March 16, 1521, Ferdinand Magellan, a
Portuguese-turned-Spanish navigator,
reached the island of Homonhon in Samar,
the easternmost island in the archipelago.
Magellans discovery of the archipelago
was accidental; he was on a route
westward across the Pacific in search of
Oriental spices and the riches of the
Indies.
The Catholic religion was introduced
in the islands as soon as the Spanish
landed in Samar.
In March 31, 1521, the first mass ever
performed in the archipelago was held
on the shore of Limasawa.
This momentous event was signified
by the planting of a wooden cross on a
hill overlooking the sea.
This cross would symbolize the first
Christianization attempt of the islands
by the Spanish missionaries.
In a skirmish with the natives led by a
chieftain named Lapulapu, Magellan
was not to return to Spain alive.
Three years after sailing from San Lucar
where the voyage started, the remainder of
Magellans expedition team completed the
first circumnavigation attempt of the globe.
It was 22 years later when the archipelago
was once more rediscovered by the Spanish,
this time by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos.
He claimed the archipelago under the
Spanish rule and named it Philippines in
honor of King Philip of Spain.
The arrival of the Spanish General Miguel
Lopez de Legaspi in February 1565, 44 years
after Magellans discovery of the islands,
marked the beginning of Spanish influx in
the new colony, most of them coming from
New Spain or Mexico.
This renewed interest in the archipelago
was prompted by the orders of Philip II to
the Viceroy of New Spain to Christianize the
islands as well as to use it as a base for the
spice trade in the region.
The cross, along with the sword, ruled the
new colony for almost 400 years.
Throughout this period, the culture and way of life
of the people in the archipelago took on a path
that was dominantly controlled and determined by
the Spanish conquistadors.
Except for pockets and areas where there were very
strong resistance against the colonizers, such as
the people in the Cordillera region and in southern
Mindanao, the natives eventually adapted to a
Christian way of life.
Other influences inevitably affected the
course of life in the archipelago, including
the form of government, economy, lifestyle,
and educational system.
Yet, the colonial atmosphere was very
disadvantageous, often very painful and
bitter, to the colonized people.
To remedy the growing dissatisfaction of the
people, the Spanish activated political,
economic, and social reforms in the late 18th
and early 19th centuries.
While foreign education became accessible
only to a privileged fewthe illustradosit
had a paradoxical effect to the peoples
struggle for freedom from the colonizers.
The illustrados became instrumental in
revealing and articulating the atrocities of
the Spanish regime.
The nationalistic fever of a few natives
spread throughout the country and led to
numerous skirmishes against the Spanish
authority.
Finally, the nationalistic movement
catapulted to the Philippine revolution of
1896. In 1899, the last of the Spanish fleet
left the Philippines for the last time.
Behind them, they left, among many
irrevocable influences, hundreds of brick
and stone churches throughout the
archipelago.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_
the_Philippines#History
http://philippinechurch.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/bri
ef-history-of-philippine-churches/