St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church (General Trias)

General Trias Church
Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Church
San Francisco de Malabon Parish Church
Parroquia de San Francisco de Malabon (Spanish)
Church façade in 2018
General Trias Church Location in Luzon Show map of Luzon General Trias Church Location in the Philippines Show map of Philippines
14°23′08″N 120°52′48″E
Location	General Trias, Cavite
Country	Philippines
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Churchmanship	Latin Rite
History
Status	Parish church
Founder(s)	Franciscans (1611)
Consecrated	1770s and 1991
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Marked Historical Structure (1992)
Architectural type	Church with attached convent
Style	Renaissance, Earthquake Baroque
Groundbreaking	1769
Specifications
Length	180 feet (55 m)[1]
Width	80 feet (24 m)
Nave width	60 feet (18 m)
Number of domes	None
Number of spires	One
Materials	Stone
Administration
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Manila
Diocese	Diocese of Imus
Clergy
Priest(s)	Rev. Fr. Oliver Genuino[2]

Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Church, also known as San Francisco de Malabon Parish Church and commonly known as General Trias Church, is the first Roman Catholic parish church of the municipality of General Trias in Cavite province in the Philippines. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Imus. Typical of towns established during the Spanish colonial period, the church is located at the plaza (town square) of General Trias, which was formerly called San Francisco de Malabon in honor of its patron saint, Saint Francis of Assisi.

History

Church interior in 2013

The first church in General Trias was established by the Franciscans when it was still a visita (sub-parish) of Cavite Viejo (now Kawit). It was transferred to the Jesuit order of Cavite Puerto (now Cavite City) in 1624, eventually becoming a separate parish on September 9, 1753.^[3]

The first stone church was erected in 1769 under the leadership of Doña Maria Josepha de Yrizzari Y Ursula, Countess of Lizarraga. It was restored and enlarged in 1834. The Luzon earthquakes of 1880 partially damaged the church. As a result, the facade was replaced in 1881 with further restoration in 1885. The roof tiles were replaced in 1892 with the lighter, corrugated galvanised iron roofing as further protection from earthquakes. It was again refurbished and enlarged in 1893.^[3]

Between 1989 and 1991, the church was restored to its former appearance. After completion, it was again consecrated on June 22, 1991, by Felix P. Perez of the Diocese of Imus in which it lies.^[3]

Convent building

Attached to the church is the convent. It is where the Banda San Francisco de Malabon, a local marching band, practiced the music of the Philippine national anthem Marcha Filipina before performing it during the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, in Kawit, Cavite.^[4] The convent now houses the Museo de San Francisco de Malabon.

Historical marker

The St. Francis of Assisi Church was declared a historic structure by the National Historical Institute of the Philippines (now National Historical Commission of the Philippines) with the placing of a marker in 1992.^[3]

Gallery

• 
  The church convent where the Banda San Francisco de Malabon rehearsed for the first performance of the National Anthem of the Philippines
• 
  Church NHI historical marker installed in 1992

References

1. Measured using Google Earth.
2. (2019-07-16). "Catholic Mass Schedule at St. Francis of Assisi Parish". Philippine Mass Schedule. Retrieved on July 16, 2019
3. "Simbahan ng Heneral Trias". Blogspot. Retrieved on June 25, 2013.
4. Simply Gladze (October 23, 2012). "St. Francis of the Assisi Church - Gen. Trias, Cavite". Travels and History. Retrieved on June 25, 2013.

External links

• Media related to General Trias Church at Wikimedia Commons
• St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church on Facebook