While we were researching for a beautiful church in Metro Manila for our wedding, Guadalupe Church kept popping up in search results as well as being mentioned in wedding post directories. Guadalupe Church is considered one of the most beautiful churches in Metro Manila. It stands grand, and its interiors are breathtaking. Understandably so, Guadalupe Church is one of the most sought-after churches around the city for weddings.

Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Guadalupe Church)

Finding Guadalupe Church

Guadalupe Church is quite hard to spot because it lies concealed in an inconspicuous segment of EDSA. Unless you are specifically looking for Guadalupe Church, chances are, you might not even have an idea that it's there because it's surrounded by shanties and obscured by giant billboards.

Anyway, Guadalupe Church is one of the churches that we considered when Mommy Khris and I were planning our wedding. However, it was already booked on our preferred date, so it didn't push through.

To go to Guadalupe Church, if you are coming from Quezon City, a quick right turn on a narrow road right after the Guadalupe Bridge will bring you to this hidden gem.

History of Guadalupe Church

Perched atop a hill, Guadalupe Church was built by the Augustinian friars, presided by Fray Juan de Montes de Oca, in the early 1600s and was completed after almost three decades of construction and a succession of friar administrators.

In the early 1600s, Our Lady of Guadalupe was designated as the patroness of the community, in honor of the Virgin Mother who was venerated in Spain. Decades later, devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe spread via the Manila-Acapulco trade. Devotees came all the way from Spain and Mexico to pay their respects to the Virgin Mary.

Also known as Nuestra Señora de Gracia Church, Guadalupe Church is a Baroque Roman Catholic church. Viewed from its front, it looks like a massive stone fortress with thick stone walls.

The church is a mélange of different architectural styles. The façade is Neo-Romanesque-Gothic with Doric columns holding the cornice and pediment. Throughout the exterior, there are also touches of Baroque and arabesque designs.

Large side entrances allow a natural breeze to flow through the interiors of the church. Despite the large doorways, the interiors of the church seem impenetrable to sound, providing a respite from the noise and hustle of EDSA. It was a sanctuary. In fact, the property used to be a retreat house for the Manila clergy in the olden days.

The Guadalupe Church also once served as a school and an orphanage to give shelter to orphans of the victims of cholera that ravaged Manila in the late 1800s. It survived the Japanese Occupation, the Philippine-American War, and several earthquakes.

Nowadays, the church, renowned for its splendor, is one of the most sought-after wedding venues in Metro Manila.

The tale of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The tale of Our Lady of Guadalupe began on December 19, 1531, when the Virgin Mary appeared before an elderly Mexican peasant named Juan Diego while on his way to church. The apparition happened at Tepeyac Hill, where there once stood an Aztec Temple.

The Virgin instructed Juan to ask the bishop to build a church on the site where she appeared so that she could be visited by Mexicans who had petitions or who wanted to be healed.

Juan approached the Bishop, who, as expected, was in disbelief at his story. The Bishop dismissed Juan, but he returned for the second time upon instructions of the Virgin. At the second meeting, the Bishop asked for a sign to test if Juan was indeed telling the truth.

Unfortunately, Juan was unable to return to the Bishop for 3 days because his uncle became seriously sick. When his uncle’s health took a turn for the worse, Juan decided that it was time to get a priest.

On his way to the church, the Virgin appeared to Juan once again and told him to pick the flowers on top of Tepeyac Hill, the sign that the bishop asked for. He is to hide the flowers in his tilma, an outer garment worn by men, until he arrives at the bishop. He did everything as instructed.

When Juan opened his tilma, the roses fell to the floor. However, both men were astounded to see the image of the Virgin Mother imprinted on the tilma. In the image, she appeared as a native princess with her head bowed and hands folded in prayer to God.

Under her feet is a great crescent moon, a symbol of the old Aztec religion, a message that is more powerful than the Aztec gods, yet she herself is not God.

As an epilogue, a church was built in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Juan Diego's tilma, with a shelf-life of only around 30 years, remained miraculously preserved.

On October 12, 1945, Pope Pius XII decreed Our Lady of Guadalupe to be "Patroness of all the Americas." Her feast day is December 12, and it is a Holy Day of Obligation in Mexico.

Epilogue

Whenever I pass by the Guadalupe Bridge, I can't help but think about the Guadalupe Church. I've only been here once, but I found it hard to forget. Probably because I associate it with a happy memory, which was the time when we were planning our wedding.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading about the history of Guadalupe Church as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Have you even been to Guadalupe Church? If not, then you have to visit it to see its beauty for yourself.

Heritage Series: Nuestra Señora de Gracia Church (Guadalupe Church)

Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Guadalupe Church)

Finding Guadalupe Church

History of Guadalupe Church

The tale of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Epilogue

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